For those of us that live in a big city, maybe in a condo or an apartment, there is not a whole lot of room for organic gardening. Sure, you can have a plant here or there residing on a windowsill or two, but the reality is that there just isn’t enough room to do much more than that. Urban living and gardens haven't mixed very well. But perhaps that is all about to change.
An experimental farming technique is sprouting up in some New York apartments. It’s called Window Farming, and it uses recycled materials to make a vertical hydroponic garden.
The prototype is made from hanging plastic bottles each containing a plant in front of a standard apartment window. When watered and fed, each drips nutrients onto the plants below. Vegetables such as tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and kale, among others, are thriving in this environment, and even in the middle of winter, a window farm like this will provide one fresh salad per day.
The goal of this project is to give everyone living in the concrete jungle a chance to grow vegetables, eat healthy and lower their own carbon footprint by traveling less to obtain quality fresh produce, while growing plants that eat up carbon dioxide and replenish it with oxygen.
A window farm like this has other possibilities too. If you are not the most gifted green thumb type of person, this would be a great idea for growing herbs. Herbs are easy to grow and give a little bit of zest when used with any food. Although we are accustomed to buying dried spices and herbs in bottles at the food store, there is nothing like preparing a dish when fresh herbs are used.
Not only is it better for the earth and for you, it’s easy, too! Find the types of herbs that will compliment your most favorite dishes. For instance, if you are love cooking Italian dishes, grow oregano because it goes well with all tomato-based Italian recipes. Meat dishes like roasts, stews and steaks would be perfectly complimented with such herbs as tarragon, marjoram and basil, and of course Mexican dishes can always be brightened up with a little bit of cilantro.
All of these herbs are easy to grow, add a little bit of oxygen to the environment, and will save you a little money by growing your own instead of buying your own. Window farming is an idea that reuses and recycles, gives back a little bit to the environment, and Because Action speaks louder than words, there is no better time than now to check this idea out and set up you own urban window farm.
