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Hi folks, I've got this strip of shallow dirt between my home and the sidewalk. I'm letting some wildflowers grow here for the time being, but there are big empty patches (not super visible here because of the angle). This side of the house is among the least sunny. What might be nice to plant here? (I've done plenty of vegetable gardening but no flower/landscape gardening, really)

Hi! I’m in NYC and just recently purchased planters for my front stoop, which is on the south side of the street.

The planters have these dimensions: 64” long x 21” tall x 15” deep (2 of these) 44” long x 21” tall x 15” deep (1 of these)

What is the best type of soil (or combination of compost and soil) for these planters? How can I figure out how many bags of soil are needed?

Hello all! I am pretty unexperienced with urban agriculture but I'm slowly learning and just got presented with an opportunity to help a friend start a garden in this space! They run a community restaurant downstairs and the idea would be for the garden to serve the restaurant as much as possible and to compost the waste from the restaurant for the garden. Besides basic introductory permaculture texts I'm a bit lost of where to start with planning this. Can anyone offer any advice or point me in the direction of any resources that could help? Appreciate it :)

EDIT: thank you everyone for your helpful comments!! much appreciated.

hi everyone! not sure where to post this besides r/gardening, so putting it here too.

i'm new to this sub and pretty new to gardening in general. looking for a bit of advice. the problems are of my own making and i'm not sure how to solve 'em.

OVERLY DETAILED BACKGROUND: i have two small balconies in my apartment, one in the front, one in the back. last summer i decided to try and do some container gardening. i'm a student in a big city and materials are quite expensive, so i ended up investing quite a lot into potting soil + raw materials to mix my own (the latter was somewhat successful but honestly not very economical in the end). because i was super anxious about balcony weight and also, again, trying to be as thrifty as possible, i used those "reusable cloth" bags you get from the grocery store (i'm in an area where single-use plastic bags are now banned) in place of fancy grow bags. after planting my starters i used a wood mulch to cover the soil. i used some rocks and a bit of cardboard at the the base of some bags to bulk them up.

ANYWAY i was a total newbie and made a ton of mistakes for every one success. SPECIFICALLY, i think i fumbled the landing. the first frost comes early where i am and i got overwhelmed, busy, etc, and as such didn't really pack anything up properly. all my grow bags are where they were in the fall. i left the plants (mostly annuals) in the bags, and some have rotted, while others dried out completely. this isn't bad necessarily; i left them out deliberately because i know insects can use the husks to overwinter...but i'm at a loss.

now that the insane academic year is over i feel capable of putting energy into the garden, but i feel so lost every time i look out the windows and see everything in disarray, and dread having to buy new soil. it was labour-intensive to acquire last year (i don't have a car and can't drive, so had to strap it to my bike. over many trips. and pray.) and cost a pretty penny, which isn't in the cards for me right now. the last frost was a few weeks ago and i haven't started anything. i have a few native perennials that seem to be sprouting again and that's exciting. i have some seeds from last year and from my school's seed library that i want to start ASAP too. yet i've heard conflicting reports on what to do. my usual gardening mentor packs up her container garden soil for the winter, which i obviously haven't. others told me that the soil will have been pretty much useless as it's been depleted. i know quite a bit about soil from an academic perspective (i've taken a class or two) but i just can't seem to apply any of it! the soil i bought was specifically for container gardening. the soil i mixed myself was pretty much a hack job but i used a lot of coconut coir to try and control moisture. it seemed to work fine.

now what? i'm not in a position to buy more soil. i'm really passionate about composting but the city collects ours and i don't have a home set up. i'm also not really in the position to start vermicomposting in my apartment. i have a liquid fertilizer (this one: "HydraGreen Plant Food." idk how to put links in reddit posts). i haven't used it on anything outside and i'm not sure if it would suffice to help make my soil healthy again. ideally i would have a real plot outside and could use the knowledge i do have (i love gardening youtube) to really love the soil long-term, with compost, vermicomposting, crop switching, etc.

right now i only have the consequences of my inaction. i should probably take out the old annuals, i know, but do i plant a cover crop? does that make sense considering my silly grow bags and all the mulch still there? i have three big perennials: lavender, yarrow, and butterfly weed. i also have a few much shallower planters i used for beans and radishes. i also have a lot of tiny pots of basil as well as four large coffee cans i punched drainage holes in and used for basil. i have the (rotted/dried) remains of two cabbages, three kales, one caulifower, one broccoli, and two bell pepper plants, each in separate bags. (i know this was a really dumb selection for container gardening....forgive me, lol). nothing really seems mouldy except one head of cabbage i was really stupid to leave and then never harvested. the bags themselves do not make direct contact with the wood of the balcony and the bags are intact (i cut drainage holes). i also have one big terracotta pot i planted sunflowers in with lettuce as cover. i know the bean soil is probably fine because it's nitrogen-fixing. the radish soil i also probably okay (?) as slugs got to it so there was very little actual growth. but what of the basil? it's dried out completely. and should i try and repot the perennials? i made a specific mix for the lavender, and the butterfly weed and yarrow seem to have some sprouts, so i've hesitated. i know the kale and cabbage are probably biannual... should i just leave them as-is?

ALSO, CRITICALLY: i tried to also grow cucumbers and tomatoes (definitely not going to repeat as i learned i do not get enough sun for them) but killed them accidentally as i think i sprayed too much of a homemade saline solution i was using to treat some mildew. is the cucumber and tomato soil ruined because of that? i tried to wash the leaves as best i could as soon as i saw signs of drying/wilt but i'm afraid i may have washed the salt into the soil. would test the pH but i'm not even sure if the salinity would really alter the pH because i don't think the concentration was THAT high... do i risk just planting again and seeing what happens? but also, the soil's already pretty depleted, right? should i just toss it all? :(

wow, this feels like a novel. any and all advice and ideas are welcomed. i can also go into even more detail if needed, haha. thank you so much in advance! :)

TL;DR: i left my container balcony gardens untouched after harvest. what do i do with the soil? i want to start it up again for the spring and summer but not sure how to prep it. i'm not really in the position to buy fresh container potting soil. i've struggled in the past to find accessible compost as well. also, some containers might have non-negligible salt content.

main questions:

-some containers have a possible salt content...can i save the soil? any way to test?

-do i use liquid fertilizer to replenish my perennials? (does it depend on the perennial?)

-do i leave the rotted cabbage and kale and hope they flower?

-what do i do with the rest of the containers with annuals and soil?

THANK YOU!

No, it's not only for antioxidants but a stress reliever while picking. Any other ways to make the fruits more bigger?

Newbie here! I'm trying my hand at container gardening for the second time. Two years ago I just did pots on our balcony and didn't have much space. This year I'm doing a seven foot raised garden bed in the yard. I've started cabbage and lettuce from seed inside and will be bringing them out soon. Are there any plants (or essential oils I can spray) that you know of that would repell raccoons and cats? I see cats all the time, but heard we have raccoons too. I'm not worried about them being in the yard. I just don't want them eating my veggies!

Hi! I am trying to grow radishes. They are starting to grow well. But I only planted them with about 3 inches of soil(my mistake, I am new at this!). What should I do? Hope they keep growing? Try and transfer them into more dirt? Thanks!

9a rural heirloom veg gardener, who just recently moved to an urban 6B region. My landlord is a family member, and I’m helping fix up the backyards which involves trimming the horribly overgrown hedge.

I lived on large properties before moving here where I could just have a massive compost pile in the corner of the lot. In this case, though I am working with a 15 x 30’ space . (5m x 6m) I have previously made a garden bed from ornamental bamboo I was battling. I’m considering something similar now. I was just wondering if anyone had any better ideas.

Hi, if more info is needed I’d be happy to share, but I figured I should try and keep this short. I have a lot of dirt from my patio garden that I need to get rid of. It’s not enough to fill a truck or anything but it’s defiantly too much to scatter at a park or something (if that would even be a proper way to dispose of used dirt). I’d say about 1-2 barrels worth. Ideally if it would be helpful to someone I’d like to donate it, but I wouldn’t really know where to start looking for something like that. Does anyone here have any ideas or tips on how to either donate or get rid of used garden dirt? I am currently based nearish Boise, Idaho if that helps.

Im trying (for the second time) to grow a virginia creeper on my balcony, last year it died... I fear that my pot might be too small. The spot does get a lot of sun (facing southwest). Any help is appreciated

I'm in Seattle, zone 8B/9A and have a balcony garden in containers. Current weather is lows in the low-mid 40s, highs in the high 50s-mid 60s, generally cloudy with some rainy days.

My spring crops are peas/garlic/spinach/carrots/beets, all from seed. The peas and garlic were planted late last fall and are doing awesome - the peas are 4-5 feet tall and just started flowering and the garlic is quite vibrant. The spinach/carrots/beets were planted in mid March and have only barely sprouted, ~1-2 inches tall.

My impatience shows up because when I go to my grocery store and wander through the garden center, I see shelf after shelf of tomato, pepper, and basil plants which will be my summer crops. Part of me is getting annoyed at my spinach/carrots/beets for being so sluggish because I LOVE hot peppers and have never grown tomatoes before and I want to get going! While my more logical half is thinking that lows of 40-43 are too cold for tomatoes and peppers even if I had vacant pots for them (which I don't since they are currently occupied with the spring plants...). And that it's okay to aim for Memorial Day to harvest everything but the garlic and get my summer crops from a nursery, and late June to harvest the garlic.

Any advice for enjoying my spring crops without getting impatient about my eventual summer crops?

Apparently, my father grew some potatoes. I didn’t even know until a few minutes ago. Here is some pictures. What do you think?

Hi, I’m Howie! An enthusiast of urban green spaces and an anthropologist studying the personal touches that make each garden unique. I'd love to hear about what inspired you to start your garden and any stories you’d like to share about your gardening journey!

1. "What's the story behind the inception of your urban garden? We’d love to hear how your green space has grown with you!"
2. "What has been your most surprising success or happy accident in gardening in a limited space?"
3. "Are there any particular herbs, flowers, or plants that have a special significance for you, and why?"
4. "How have your urban gardening efforts connected you with others, whether online or in your local community?"
5. "Could you share a particular challenge you've encountered in urban gardening and the creative ways you've tackled it?"

Feel free to answer any of the questions that resonate with you. I'm excited to gain more insight into your urban gardening experiences—every snippet of your story is valuable. Thank you in advance for sharing!

I have a plant buying addiction and bought this eastern redbud last year and planted it along another side of my fence bordering my neighbor’s garage. I made a mistake planting it there so I moved it out along this fence line in front of the dwarf Korean lilac. I am not sold on this location though.

Do you think it would be better suited along the fence and in between the ivory silk lilac and the little gem southern magnolia? There is 14 feet between the trunks of those two trees and it says redbuds should grow to about 15-20 feet wide at maturity. The ivory silk lilac should also be about 20 feet wide at maturity and the magnolia only about 10-15 feet wide.

There is an alley behind this fence and the power lines run along there as well, but are at least 15 feet above the ground.

Any advice is appreciated! Thank you!

TLDR keep the eastern redbud where it is, move it in between the ivory silk lilac and the magnolia, or give it away to someone else and stop buying plants.

I'm a noob to gardening. So I guess of course I purchased some plants before our last frost day. I live in NWI, zone 6a. Now hardware stores like Menards, Lowe's, Home Depot, and the like have all those plants outside while they're for sale during this time of year, and does that mean they should be relatively hardened off already? Should I have them inside at night still, or just leave them outside in the areas of light that each plant says they should have? I also travel for a living, so I'd have to have my husband help out doing what needs to be done for the plants too. I have grow lights indoors on seedlings I started from seed, that definitely aren't ready to go out yet.

Also, how soon should these plants be put into the ground? Or could I keep them in their containers for a while yet?

I may actually just bring them inside, and put them under the grow lights I have set up. Which is actually on shelves in front of a south facing window too. I just checked the weather and it looks like it's going to storm on tuesday and wednesday. Ugh. I'm just mostly thinking out loud at this point I guess, haha.

Also, I purchased a ready to spray Neem oil. Is that OK to use on the recently purchased plants or should I wait?

Thanks for any help, there's so much conflicting advice online

Last year my dad and I built this 56ft long bed and I couldn't be happier about it! Pure joy to watch nature finally taking over🤗

I have a decent sized patio (8'x 30') for my condo in Chicago and I was hoping to add a few more pots and install a cable trellis system, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what would be best. Im on the 4th floor so it can get pretty cold up here so Im assuming I wont be able to use any of the perennials I like.

I thought perhaps morning glories would be nice but I see that they roughly bloom from august to September. I was hoping for some type of climbing rose and next season I could even start growing whatever it is inside in early March and then put them outside by mid to late April.