The Kitchen Garden

My obsession with food, and especially with fresh, organic, local food (what my roommate calls "hippie food") has naturally led to an interest in how my produce is grown. Portland is a fabulous city in which to be an urban gardener and I am inspired by city farmers every time I walk down the street. For months I've been dreaming wistfully of raised garden beds, compost bins, weeding, and dirty hands and knees. However, condo living renders some of those things impossible. You know, like the giant raised garden bed in the yard part.

But! Wait! Hope is not lost. I grew herbs quite successfully in pots outside my back door last summer and enjoyed the fruits of my labor in butter, salads, over fish, and in pasta dishes. I had planned to do the same sort of thing this year but came across several posts on various internet sites about urban gardening and container gardens. Turns out most vegetables grow just as well in pots as in the ground! Yes!

For the moment the kitchen garden is in the living room, sprouting little sprouts in little round peat starter thingies. I am starting beets, chives, parsley, radishes, and rainbow chard from seed. I'll probably add a few more things in the next week or so, and I plan on buying an already started tomato plant. I'm not really an expert at growing things (ask my house plants) but knowing that I can eat the end result is extra motivating.

I cannot wait to eat from my own teeny tiny kitchen garden!

For inspiration check out these sites: The Kitchn and Gardener to Farmer