The trick is knowing how to maximize our own small-sized patio (or rooftop garden, windowsill, or balcony), picking the proper plants to grow, and tending to them in all the right ways. To bring you the best advice on urban gardening, we teamed up with Jenn Frymark, the chief greenhouse officer for Gotham Greens, a New York City-based local produce brand growing leafy greens and herbs in commercial-scale urban greenhouses. If you’ll be growing plants indoors, jade, spider plants, and pothos are a great place for beginner gardeners to start as they’re resilient, low maintenance, and thrive in both the city and the suburbs. All of these plants do well in low light environments but still thrive best by a window. And you only need to give them a little bit of water every week to ten days (except when your spider plant starts to get very leafy). The herbs will also need pruning and cutting. To harvest, snip the stem just above the point where two large leaves meet and make sure to pick the leaves regularly to encourage growth. Regular clipping encourages a more rounded plant but be sure to harvest only up to two-thirds of the plant so that it can continue producing. Harvest before the plant flowers. If you can’t, just pinch off the flowering portion. In addition to sowing herbs from seed, a cutting of most herbs will easily root when placed in water. Select a 4-inch section of an herb plant that has not yet flowered and roots will form within a week. Note that when gardening in the city, one of the biggest challenges can be soil quality. Cities don’t have a ton of arable land or fertile soil and tend to have high levels of metal due to years of industrial activities, poor land use, and vehicle exhaust. Before planting a garden in the ground outside, consider how the land has been used in the past as it may contain pesticides and herbicide, lead, or oil and other petroleum products. The best way to ensure your soil is safe is to check with your county or city planning department. You can usually obtain a soil test for free or at a low cost through your local county extension office.
