Live in a small space and are looking for some strategies and ideas on how to best utilize it for growing your own urban garden? Check out this article about Basil Lee who takes advantage of his rooftop space in ways that might make you think differently about what’s capable.

From dirt filled gutters to container gardens to unusual trellises, he’s able to grow things like strawberries, peppers, sugar snap peas, dill, lettuce and much much more.

Check out the article

(Images: Landis Carey)

I have gained a new appreciation for mulch. I guess I never truly understood it so it was hard for me to stand up for the cause. I can now stand up.

What is mulch? It’s what lays on top. Lays on top of what? Lays on top of your garden bed, your pathway, a tree-well, playground…you get the idea. Why is it so great? Glad you asked.

• Moisture. It keeps moisture in the soil where the roots of your plants can use it. Otherwise it could just evaporate away!
• Warmth. Many types of mulch are dark, thus attracting light and keeping the soil warm and active for microorganism activity. Mulch is also a protective layer from the elements, keeping things stable, comfortable, and yes, warm.
• Habitat. Beneficial bugs and critters make homes in your mulch!
• Weeds. The little buggers will think twice about sprouting where there’s no room to do so!
• Decoration. Experienced gardeners will pay more notice to this. But experimenting with colors and textures and patterns and plants, mulch has great value in all visual garden creation.
• Nutrients. Depending on the mulch you use you can even add beneficial nutrients back into your soil. For example, having a high in nitrogen mulch would make some very happy veggie starts. As your mulch breaks down, the soil is replenished. Woody mulches are best for your woody plants.
• Erosion. Heavy rains can create many issues on your garden soil. Adding a mulch protective shell saves the home of your plants roots from being washed away. Or burnt away by the sun for that matter!

But “What to use as a mulch?” There are numerous options of what to use for your mulch. Most of which are free and organic! First off- compost :). But also, leaves, wood chips, newspaper, leaves, coffee grounds, straw, cardboard, pine cones. Once you understand the rules you can play the mulch game any way you’d like. The key is to get started right away.

The phrase to know here is “Fear no mulch.” The chances are is that no matter what you end up choosing you’ll more than likely be alright.

There is also the wonderful living mulch of Cover Crops! Great for use during the over season (winter). Cheers!

Compost and peat moss have long been well known collaborators in making a good garden bed. And although this may still be the case, I urge you to look for other alternatives if you care more about the earth than a quick fix for your garden.

The reasons are as follows: Peat extraction from the earth causes a tremendous amount of co2 to be released into the atmosphere. “Around half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide is emitted each year as a result of peat extraction from UK sites for horticultural use.” (source) And that’s just in the UK! “The destruction of peat bogs in Indonesia, partly to grow supposedly “green” bio-fuels, releases more carbon dioxide every year than all of India or Russia, and three times as much as Germany.” (source)

Another major reason is that peat-bogs are an ecosystem that is slowly being destroyed due to our harvesting. Many birds and wildlife live in these areas that after harvested turn into wastelands. This is causing a growing number of endangered species and turning these thriving locations into wastelands.

Peat moss is a non-renewable resource, and we know how we feel about those :)

Some alternatives: Leaf mould, when it’s old and falling apart, is a perfect alternatve, although do not use evergreen needles. Tree bark that has been shredded down. Look at your local urban gardener/farmer store for some peat-free alternatives, there are plenty of products out there.

Remember, peat is used to help aerate and retain moisture without need or worry of pesticides. It’s used to pot plants, as a mulch for garden beds, and to help seedlings grow. You can blend compost with many things to recreate these solutions

Who ever said you needed finish compost to do your gardening with? Surely not us here at Balconycompost.com! In fact we’d go as far as to say that concept is blasphemy. That’s right! Blasphemy. The most brilliant part about compost is that if it’s not done yet it will just keep on composting! Oh the wonders of nature.

So what are we getting at? If you’re still in your first few months of composting and perhaps don’t have any technically finished compost, aka humus, you can still do your gardening/re-potting/whatever. Of course it only makes sense (especially in potted plants) to use your most composted compost for it’s nutrients will be most readily available for your plants to dig their roots into.

Since we’re specializing in balconies and urban areas we are more concerned with how we utilize our compost in potted plants. To explain this in the best manner would be to utilize a drawing, (more…)