Jesse’s Brooklyn Garden Begins!
I think I’m more excited about Jesse’s garden this year than my own. I’m always curious as to not only what he will plant but how he will plant it. He has very little space in his urban setting but it doesn’t stop him from thinking big.
Large cities are notorious for their dismissive views on recycling programs. I know this is true for Chicago and Jesse tells me that it is the same in NYC. Our “city” kids – one in Chicago, one in San Francisco and Jesse in NY have always found ways to recycle and be a little more responsible about these things than their respective cities generally care about. (One exception would be San Francisco.) Jesse likes to find recycled containers for his garden.
This past weekend Jesse spent some time assembling his garden. Using compostable egg crates rather than peat pots as containers for planting his seeds he was able to re-use what would have gone directly into the garbage. I’ve warned him that these can work well but need some holes in the bottom to aid root growth before transplanting. The egg-crate planters were placed into Jesse’s darkroom trays (yes, he’s a photographer too) to hold water for bottom watering and for ease of moving them around. The photos below show his seeds before they were pushed into the seed-starting mix.
Jesse also used recycled bits of cardboard to label his delicata, heirloom tomato, habañeros, sweet dumpling winter squash and pumpkin seeds. He has no idea what variety of tomatoes they are. They were labeled “heirloom tomatoes” at a local market and he described them as “delicious.” I like his adventuresome spirit.
As you can see below, Jesse is proactively recycling. He bought eggs so he’d have the crates which necessitated his having to find a (recycled) container for the eggs! And of course, those are old film containers holding his seeds. Atta boy, Jesse.
I’m sure we’ll hear from Jesse occasionally about his garden’s progress. I’d love to hear from others who are experimenting with “urban planting.”
seeds on seed-starting mix
seeds and seed containers
recycled garden
eggs new home
4 Responses to “Jesse’s Brooklyn Garden Begins!”
actually new york’s recycling is a bit better than chicago. there is at least a residential program (that still has much left to be desired). there is no commercial program… so i drag my cans to the market across the street. and then there is san francisco… where sarah (at work at least) is REQUIRED to compost, and plastic bags are banned. actually when she has a chance it’d be interesting to hear about her composting setup in a very urban (under the transamerica tower) setting.
all my aluminum cans go to people unknown to me who take the few bags that i leave in the alley to a private recycling center in order to get a couple of dollars (and you can get the cheapest beer maybe in the city in a store right across from the nearest recycling center).
my landlord (who lives underneath me) is an avid container gardener. when it gets warm, our large stupe will be 1/3 as spacious because it will be filled with containers of flowers and basil. i’ll make sure and send photos when that happens.
Can any type of metal be taken in for recycling? Of course, I am sure they can in one way or another, but will the recycling centers pay you for any kind of metal? Even like steel? I have a ton of stuff in my yard I would totally be willing to bring down to the closest recycling plant if I was certain they would give me $ in return.
I would check with local scrap metal dealers to see if they are willing to pay for what you might have. If you are simply looking to get rid of it I would talk with your community’s recycling manager to see what they will take. In my community individuals with trucks will take most scrap metal if you put the items out the night before your regular pick up.