Sustainable Building Forum

Growing your own food has a lot of health and environmental benefits. You can grow organic food at home and be satisfied that you know what you are eating. A lot of fuel is burnt in procing and transporting commercially grown vegies. The farmers also spray chemicals on crops and pollute the environment. Green house gases are saved because you don't have to run to the supermarket often to buy fresh green vegies.

I'm actually interested in growing my own food.  But I live in an apt. complex. Seems impossible to do in such a small place.  Do you have any advice on how I could proceed with such an adventure?

A great way to get started would be to look into if there are community gardens in your area. Many cities have them. A few places to try begin your search are http://acga.localharvest.org/, your local Agricultural Extension office, or your local Parks and Rec. Usually you can rent a small plot for a nominal fee. Community gardens are also a great way to go for novices because you can learn from other gardeners in the same location.

If you have a porch you may also be able to grow herbs, tomatoes, peppers, or strawberries in pots!

Good luck!

I live in apartment and during the summer I grow tomato plants by the front porch and grow several different herbs in pots.  We involve kids and make it a fun family project.  We save money on grocery and we eat great fresh organic food!  During the winter I have some herbs in pots inside the house by the kitchen window sill.

I put in a little 6 x 4 or so garden last summer and grew more tomatoes, parsely, and basil than we could eat. This year I want to move the tomatoes to a new area and use the whole patch for herbs and maybe something else-something easy to grow and "staple" like. Any suggestions? The patch gets sun all day.

Another option would be to plant in containers...pots and such, which you can put on porches, windowsills, even rooftops.  They save space, add greenery to your home, and allow you to grow some of your own food too.