{"id":4244,"date":"2009-03-01T18:36:01","date_gmt":"2009-03-02T00:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=4244"},"modified":"2009-03-01T18:36:01","modified_gmt":"2009-03-02T00:36:01","slug":"what-vegetables-can-urban-gardeners-grow-on-a-fire-escape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/what-vegetables-can-urban-gardeners-grow-on-a-fire-escape\/","title":{"rendered":"What Vegetables Can Urban Gardeners Grow on a Fire Escape?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n But what defines “urban” when it comes to farming, homesteading, gardening?<\/p>\n I previously blogged about well-known urban homesteaders, the Dervaes family in Pasadena, Calif.<\/a> The Dervaes are a fantastic model, though not the only one, for thriving as farmers within a highly populated area. The Dervaes work a 1\/5-acre piece of land.<\/p>\n I live in the center of St. Louis and am a novice expanding a garden on what is often referred to as a postage-stamp lot (my total property — house, garage and yard — is less than one-tenth of an acre).<\/p>\n Given that the dictionary definition of “urban” applies to anyone living in a populated area and, essentially, includes anyone not living in an outright rural\/farm area, then even home gardens in the suburbs could be considered urban.<\/p>\n But what about, say, New Yorkers, or Chicagoans, who live in apartment buildings and only have a fire escape for outdoor space to use for home gardening? They are of course considered urban in the ultimate sense, but can they tend to their own productive soils?<\/p>\n Yes. The solution is containers<\/strong>. And plenty of the ultra-urban dwellers of major cities around the world are putting pot and box planting to use.<\/p>\nUrban food growing is not a new concept, but in recent years it has, perhaps, enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. As people look for lifestyles that return to basics — local, reasonably self-reliant, organic — many are picking up a seed packet and a trowel.<\/h4>\n