City Farm

Mike, a cousin of a friend who had lived in my apartment the year before me, had grown a bountiful vegetable garden in the tiny strip of land that lies beside the building.  In a space no more than 5' wide and maybe 12' long, he had grown enough watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, onions, and herbs to feed his family and extra to share.  When I heard about this harvest, I wondered whether I should continue his work.  The advantages of growing your own food are personal (you know whether it contains pesticides or has been genetically modified and save money on produce) and universal (food is transported to one less person and your kitchen scraps can go in the soil instead of a landfill).  However, is it safe to eat something grown in the most populated area of the most populated city in central Georgia, or will the trash and emissions of 100,000 people impact my food so that it is more contaminated than what I can buy at Kroger?

Plants use their roots to absorb nutrients from the soil, but the plants can also absorb other, more sinister compounds.  For example, the Oct/Nov 2010 issue of Organic Gardening, aluminum, cadmium, chromium, rubber plasticizers, softeners, accelerators, and zinc are all listed as leachates of tires as they break down. The New York Times 1000 Gardening Questions and Answers provides another source of concern: advertisements.  Though newsprint is usually made with safe, soy-based inks, bright ink on shiny paper can often release dioxin, a carcinogenic poison.   Motor oil, animal waste, and storm runoff from roads and pesticide-loving neighbors can ruin your best efforts to grow healthy plants.  Therefore, 1000 Gardening Questions and Answers recommends a professional soil test and yearly home testing with a kit.

One solution to pollution is presented in the Dec/Jan 2010/2011 issue of Organic Gardening:  If you have only a small area for cultivation, and dubious soil, then use "A Layered Approach."  This involves building a 18" nutrient-rich stack to base the garden. As listed in the article:

1. Water the soil well.
2. Dust with bonemeal and bloodmeal, or b & b. (Wear a respiratory mask!)
3. Layer coarsely shredded newspaper, then more b & b.
4. Apply 4" of alfalfa hay (1 bale for a 4' by 8' area) and dust with more b & b.
5. Apply 8'' of bedding straw (1 bale for a 4' by 8' area), repeat b & b.
6. Apply 4" of compost (preferably homemade so you know what's in it), add b & b.
7. Finish with 1/2" mulch.  Keep plants moist.

For more information on layered gardening, read Esther Deans' Gardening Book.  This approach will also increase your yield because the soil will be so heavy with what plants crave.

When choosing plants, remember that Macon falls on the boundary between Zone 7 and 8 .  This is based on the lowest expected temperatures in the area, and is a guideline for choosing which plants will thrive best in the region.  Good winter crops are collards, kale, Brussel sprouts, and Swiss chard, according to Beth Trigg in "Ask Organic Gardening," Organic Gardening Oct/Nov 2010.

For local vegetables without all the work, visit the city market on the green at Poplar St & Third St, Saturday 9 am - 1 pm.  There's only two more chances before it shuts down for the winter!