Vertical Veg: growing food in containers in the city

Nigel Palmer shares how to make some amazing plant feeds using ingredients that can found  be found in many cities, including egg shells, fish waste and dandelions.  The recipes are easy to make , do not produce bad smells, and are very effective. 

Nigel is author of the excellent book, The Regenerative Grower's Guide to Garden Amendments. 

Woodchip makes an excellent mulch for fruit trees in containers - to suppress weeds and to help retain water. It can also be used to make homemade compost, to add structure to worm compost, and even to grow mushrooms.

It's a sustainable resource, a waste product of pruning trees and fallen branches. It can sometimes be found at low cost or even free. And it's often widely available in  urban areas (look out for tree surgeons!) - although it can take some scouting around to find a supply.

I chatted recently with woodchip expert, Ben Raskin. Ben is Head of Horticulture at the Soil Association, and author of the Woodchip Handbook. Our conversation focuses on the different ways to use woodchip in container growing.   

You can find a  written summary of main points on the Vertical Veg website.  

Rhonda Sherman, worm expert and author of The Worm Farmer's Handbook, shares her knowledge and tips on running wormeries in small spaces, including:

• Why worm compost makes a brilliant fertiliser. 
• The common pitfalls of setting up a wormery, including overfeeding.  
• What to feed worms - and what to avoid.
• The difference between leachate and worm tea.

For more information on wormeries check out Rhonda's excellent Composting website, as well as the wormery posts on Vertical Veg. 

Murhala Zigabe, founder of Briquette de Kivu, grows food in the city of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The DRC is a country deeply scarred by conflict and poverty. Amid the darkness of his country's recent history, Murhula is courageously working to create hope and meaning by supporting children and families to grow food at home.

Murhula shares his learning from the project, and his vision for growing in the future - including an exciting invitation he has had to attend the Paris Peace Forum. 

In this episode, we hear from Lewis, who lives on a boat on the River Lee in London. He grows grapes, chillies, squash, tomatoes, herbs and more in containers on the roof. Lewis is also founder of the Floating Growers Facebook Group and works at the excellent Orchard Project.

Listen to find out about Lewis's creative way to maintain soil fertility on the boat: a compact composting toilet! And how he is overcoming the other challenges he faces, including watering, heat, theft and, something that is probably unique to boat growers: low bridges.

We also hear how Lewis is planting a guerilla orchard along the river bank as he travels up and down. How cool is that?

Lewis finishes by sharing his vision for food growing in small spaces  - and how it can help play a role in climate breakdown by connecting more people to their food, nature and providing healthier food at lower cost.


Links

• Floating Growers: Facebook group for boat growers - ask questions, share learning
• Teeming with Microbes by Jeff Lowenfells - inspiring book on the role of micobes in the soil.
• The Holistic Orchard by Michael Phillips - not really a container growing book but an inspiring read if you are interested in growing fruit. 
• Garden Organic - website for good free advice on organic growing, and extensive range of fact sheets for paying members.