The Woes of Moving an Urban Garden

Here's my yard right now, and well... I'm moving again. In July.

I've been doing this urban gardening project for about three years now, and this will be the third place I've lived in those 3 years. This is one of the main challenges that makes NYC gardening so difficult: We are a city of renters (about 70% of us rent instead of own our homes, according to the New York Times), so we have to figure out how to grow long-term plants in temporary spaces which we have no control over.

My solution to this problem has always been container gardening. I grow everything, even 6-foot tall corn, in buckets & bins so that when I move I just pack the binned plants into the back of a van and bring them to the new yard. The place I'm living now was an especially exciting move because it actually has soil in the yard instead of a fully paved space like I had before, so when I moved here I began transplanting my bucket plants into the ground.

Now that I'm moving again only 8 months later and in the middle of the growing season, I'll need to get a little creative (and I may even have to leave some of my babies behind). I still have the majority of my plants in buckets, but I did already move my lily bulbs to the ground (and OHMYGOSH did they thrive like never before) as well as my strawberries, mint, chives, and smaller spring flower bulbs. I had also been starting seedlings with the intention of transplanting them into the ground, but the time to transplant came about the same time I learned of the move, so I didn't do it and I sacrificed a few seedlings because they had nowhere to go.

But, dear readers, don't be sad, because this is actually good news and I've been sneakily hiding it from you for 4 paragraphs. The reason I'm moving is because I bought a home!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a condo in a building with 8 units, and I'm on the first floor with a private backyard. The yard is a total blank slate concrete slab, with not so much as a single flower pot or chair. I can build permanent planter boxes! I can set up a greenhouse! I can get chickens! My yard is protected on both sides, so no more kids jumping my fence from the street to smash my terra cotta pots!!! Life is good.

The first thing I'm going to do is build my planter boxes. I was totally inspired by Dave at Fancy Hands, who used found & recycled materials to build some really cool designy furniture at their office. I cornered Dave at a bar on Friday and coerced him into offering to help build my planters. I didn't ask! He offered! All I did was say I needed help... and a circular saw... and oh, would he like to come over my new place for dinner on July 1st? And maybe bring his saw?

So first I'll build the planters, and then I'll dig up the plants I currently have growing in the ground and move them to the new planters. Then I can worry about the rest of the move. As long as my transplanted plants are safe, I'll feel unstressed. Hopefully.

Comments

[rachel]

awesome!! :D

[Jay]

Just found your blog today and I am having a great time learning from your experiences! I am one month in to my own back yard / container style project and growing similar plants you started with so it's great to see your tips! I notice this was your last post.. How did the move go and how are the plants?! Is it an exciting jungle of farmy awesome? :)

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[Broomfield Xeriscape]

Congratulation, I think there are no more moving happenings, now you can plant any type of plants you want, try having some patio too, its a great hobby that helps to swipe boredom.