Ideas on urban agriculture

One can never truly compare city and country life. On the one side you have convenience, and on the other you have space. Yes, that is a very simplified statement, but you get the just of it. The one thing that a lot of city people miss out on is agriculture – keeping animals and growing your own food. This need not be the case. Depending on the space you have available, there are certain steps you can take to improve your urban ways.

Chickens

If you have a bigger backyard, you can keep chickens. You will need to build a chicken coop and keep it clean, but if you take care of your chickens, you’ll be able to enjoy delicious fresh eggs almost daily (depending on the season and how well they lay, etc.). If you have young children, chickens are also a great source of entertainment for them and can teach them valuable lessons about life.

Compost

Making your own compost can be rewarding and it’s not difficult to do. All you need is a bin, soil, newspaper, a drill (or something to make holes with) and food waste (not meat or processed food). Best of all, you can keep it in your home, just add water and soil every so often if it begins to smell. So, what you need to do is drill a few holes in the bin, add soil and shredded newspaper to the bottom and top it off with your food waste. Mix it a little every now and again, and in a couple of months, you’ll have beautiful, home-grown compost.

Vertical gardens

If space is an issue, you can always try vertical gardening. This is a, let’s say new gardening concept, although it’s been around for some time. It’s very simple, hang plants on top of each other on a wall or a vertical structure. Some people even use plastic two-litre cooldrink bottles tied together to form a type of ladder to hang from the roof or on a wall. Cut a gap in the top for the plant to grow in and make small holes in the bottom for the water to run through; fill the bottles up with soil and plant herbs or lettuces. Best of all, you only need to water the top one as the water will run through to the bottom.

Container gardening

Again if you have limited space (or if you hate digging or your soil is too hard), this is a great option. It’s simple; you only need pots (or any container really, drums or boxes also work) and soil. Just make sure your pots drain properly, or you might end up drowning the plants. This is a great idea if you want to plant bigger things or plants that need a lot of soil such as potatoes or mielies. All you need to do is put your container at a chosen location, fill it up with soil and plant your plants.

Image source: Garden Lovers