There is a Farmer in All of Us

Think you can't grow your own food because you live in a large city? Think again. Even in the largest and most densely populated urban areas, there are people all around you cultivating whatever outdoor space they have and when they don't have any outdoor space to speak of, creating their own! Necessity is, after all, the mother of invention and with some creativity, anyone can bring out their inner farmer.

Living in a larger city has its advantages such as easy access to cultural life and amenities like efficient public transportation; but it also has the disadvantage that space is often at a premium, with backyards being somewhat more scarce than in a smaller town or a rural setting. However, even in cities like New York and Baltimore where row houses often dominate the landscape of residential neighborhoods, homeowners and even renters do have some outdoor space to work with, albeit perhaps slightly narrower than what you might see elsewhere in the country and people do make the most of every inch of space available to them.

People working with the narrower yards of brownstones and other row houses will plan out their gardens carefully to maximize their use of space, often planting in neat, narrowly spaced rows - it is possible to plant things a little closer than the seed packets suggest without significantly impacting your yield, as any brownstone-dwelling farmer will gladly tell you. It's just a matter of studying the sunlight your yard receives and drawing up a game plan for your own home farm which takes full advantage of the space you have.

So what about those who live in apartment buildings or aren't fortunate to have access to a relatively spacious back yard for growing their own food? There are two things which are commonly done: one is to do container gardening on the roof. Admittedly, it does take some work to lug the soil and containers needed up to the roof of your home or building, but of course, the rewards are very worthwhile and there is the advantage that many common garden pests won't venture very far off the ground. You may still have to worry about squirrels, but rabbits aren't a problem when you garden in containers on your roof - and slugs and many common insect pests are of course no longer a concern; best of all, you can take in the view while you work in your rooftop farm!

Of course, there are also many people who don't even have rooftop access; even in these situations, there's no reason to repress your inner farmer. Window boxes both on outside and inside windowsills (often both) allow apartment dwellers to grow their own herbs, greens and other smaller vegetables. With some careful planning and the dedication necessary to turn over a little of your floor space in a sunnier spot, you can also grow larger crops such as bell peppers, cucumbers and even tomatoes in containers inside!

Space constraints and the lack of a large outdoor space at your home doesn't mean you can't garden; the only real limits are your ingenuity. If you're interested in growing your own food, you can and will find a way. There is a farmer in us all - and with a little creativity, you can let them out; you may be amazed at what you can grow even in a small space.