Just let me grow you some food already!

February 27, 2009 8:20 PM

What would you like to eat from my garden?

I live in a large building in the Chicagoland area. The condo association has recently decided that they want to create a vegetable garden.

I have to come up with a proposal of what I will be growing/how much space I will need. All vegetables will be put in a common area so the other tenants can take them for free.

I have asked various people in passing what kind of vegetables they would want, only to be met with responses that are then than enthused. Tomatoes are the one real response I have gotten.

I would just poll my neighbors, but the last poll we issued got very few responses.

So - let's say YOU were in my building, and taking into account the fact that I am in the Chicago climate, what would YOU want me to grow?

Thank you

posted by TheArpenter to grab bag (40 comments total)

I live much further north, and have managed to grow great jalapenos and cayenne peppers. I would like it if you would grow those, as well as green beans.
posted by fish tick at 8:23 PM on February 27

Peppers: bell, banana, different kinds of hot ones, etc.
posted by govtdrone at 8:25 PM on February 27

Collards, or kale, or chard. Squashes like zucchini. Mustard (greens + seeds + they will generally re-seed themselves). Bok choy. Tomatoes: heirloom ones or Lemon Boys or Sweet 100s.
posted by jet_silver at 8:29 PM on February 27 [1 favorite]

Peas and carrots, please! These are so yummy straight out of the garden...
posted by pammeke at 8:29 PM on February 27

... and thank you for growing things for others, it is a very sweet thing to do.
posted by jet_silver at 8:30 PM on February 27 [2 favorites]

if you can get enough heat/sun, basil is ridiculously easy to grow and who doesnt love fresh basil and need it all the time?

generally I think herbs would be highly welcome: thyme, rosemary etc.,
posted by supermedusa at 8:31 PM on February 27

Tomatoes, green peppers and beans are staples of a garden. I'd like to plant carrots, radishes and grapes too. They take up minimal space for maximum output.
posted by sanka at 8:32 PM on February 27

What about assorted herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, etc) and maybe some arugula?
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 8:39 PM on February 27

Brussels Sprouts--it is fun to look at and they taste delicious; cauliflower, basil and absolutely no zucchini--never, ever zucchini.
posted by rmhsinc at 8:39 PM on February 27 [1 favorite]

Green beans - you never remember to buy them and they are SO good fresh. Same with cucumbers: I never buy them but love them from my Dad's garden.
posted by bunnycup at 8:40 PM on February 27

Zucchini!
posted by rabbitrabbit at 8:41 PM on February 27

Greens (kale, chard, collard greens, etc). I could eat my weight in greens. Herbs for sure, very useful. Tomatoes. Lettuce.
posted by aka burlap at 8:44 PM on February 27

Asparagus.
posted by netbros at 8:51 PM on February 27 [1 favorite]

I would eat:
Basil & Tomatoes for pesto & caprese salads;
Mint for tea.
Chives look pretty when the purple flowers bloom, too.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:53 PM on February 27

And parsley.
posted by Dragonness at 9:04 PM on February 27

-Cucumbers (lemon cucumbers are a great prolific, heirloom variety that don't turn bitter if they're accidentally underwatered).
-Summer squash. Summer squash is prolific and easy to grow, you can make carb-free lasagna by slicing it thin and layering it with sauce and cheese, you can quick pickle it by also slicing thin with mandolin. Fry it, bake it, whatever. But I love it raw, thin, and quick pickled.
-Potatoes. They're great fresh, and they also store well for the fall and winter, and if you keep packing up the dirt higher around them they produce more and more potatoes.
-Eggplant. I started my eggplant late last year, forgot about it, continued to forget about it, and they still grew well. I don't personally love eggplant as you can probably tell, but it's a great staple, it's nice cooked in hot dishes, and there are some seriously beautiful varieties.

What I wouldn't grow:
-Winter squash. Takes a lot of room and each plant only makes about two to four fruit.
-Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, radishes can take up a lot of space if everybody in the building suddenly decides they do want those things.

How I'd grow greens:
-To feed a building I would go French style and plant salad/greens mixes for cutting and coming again.
posted by birdie birdington at 9:32 PM on February 27

In this situation, I'd strongly suggest that you focus on things that people can eat right off the plant with no further preparation (including washing).

Tomatoes, especially cherry and other small tomatoes--there are lots of fun yellow and orange varieties, too. Snow peas. Stringless snap peas. Green beans. Cukes.

Maybe berries? Can you grow cane berries in Chicago? Raspberries are heavenly --there are some varieties that fruit both in the spring (on old growth) and in the autumn (on new). They're kind of a long-term commitment, but oh, how delicious. Blueberries? Ooh, and if you've got a rock-solid arbor, grapes of course.

My guess is that root veggies like carrots won't be as appreciated because (a) people might not recognize that's what they are by the greens, and (b) if water isn't conveniently available, they'll have to lug dirty veggies home to their sinks. Also I think herbs are totally delicious but it takes a while for the perennial varieties to get big and established enough to withstand lots of folks grazing from them. I'm betting the basil would get raided often enough that it wouldn't be worth it, either.
posted by Sublimity at 9:34 PM on February 27

People don't know what they want because they aren't used to having a garden. Grow crops that are the most suitable for the land, will not require more labor than you're ready to take on, and will be relatively high-yield (so that it's easy for everyone to feel okay about taking some.)
posted by desuetude at 9:37 PM on February 27

Oh, and based on the tentative responses, expect people to be too shy to take food, rather than voraciously foraging for dinner. If you're not used to growing things, it's easy to consider plants to be super-delicate and easily "ruined." You'll have to help 'em out with the learning curve.
posted by desuetude at 9:39 PM on February 27

Herbs for sure and peppers are a great idea, too. All I can think about right now is basil and cilantro, om nom nom. And desuetude's advice is very good. People will probably take notice once it's already underway, and realize how cool a garden can be. THEN I bet you'll get requests!
posted by Neofelis at 9:46 PM on February 27

Strawberries might be popular; they are fun for kids to look under the leaves and find, and once people realize that ripe red garden-picked berries are 10 times as juicy, sweet and delicious as the ones from the supermarket they tend to be hooked for life.
posted by longsleeves at 10:12 PM on February 27

Wow- what a wonderful idea your association has come up with! I would be thinking of lettuces, green onions, carrots, garlic, and a variety of herbs (thyme, rosemary, tarragon, marjoram, cilantro, parsley, for example) right off the bat, because you can make salads, plus most of these vegetables/herbs are great for flavoring a host of other dishes. I want to live in your building!
posted by Piscean at 10:13 PM on February 27

Wow, and here I was thinking this was a loaded question...

Tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, peppers - all sound great!

Corn would be fun but I'm guessing you probably don't have enough space.
posted by karizma at 10:17 PM on February 27

Raspberry and blueberry bushes, hands down. In the fall, I'd grow pumpkins for the kids so they can enjoy seeing what a real pumpkin patch looks like.
posted by aquafortis at 10:58 PM on February 27

If you can pull it off, corn.

Otherwise, definitely tomatoes, basil, and other herb plants.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:57 PM on February 27

Strawberries, raspberries and delicious concord grapes thrive in your climate. Raspberries might take a bit more space than you have, but they're good. Strawberries like sunlight, if you've got it. If you have a fence, you can send the grapevines up the fence.

Tomatoes, all kinds of peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, spinach, asparagus, chives and carrots.

I'm sure people aren't thinking of herbs now, but they will adore you. They're really useful and soooo expensive to buy from the supermarket. Were I there, I would request rosemary and peppermint, which are tasty with meat. And of course, basil.

You are a supremely awesome neighbor for doing this.
posted by louche mustachio at 12:25 AM on February 28

Everything else and a few rows of a sturdy kind of single leaf lettuce that re-grows all season if you pick it in a nice way.
Favorite in my garden is otherwise flat leaf parsley (there's never enough). If the climate would help I'd do eggplant and plum tomatoes, but alas.
Zucchini are great if you don't have too many. We once drowned in them and they don't keep - start tasting bitter.
posted by Namlit at 1:02 AM on February 28

I live in Pilsen and my neighbors grow corn and tomatoes in their back "yards" and street planters. If all these people can manage awesome-looking corn in a tiny planter on an otherwise very unkempt Chicago street, you can do it in your garden. I vote corn.

And I would say no to zucchini unless you have 40 neighbors who all REALLY love zucchini.
posted by phunniemee at 1:10 AM on February 28

Loose leaf lettuce is nice, you can harvest a few leaves at a time or cut the whole head w/a pair of scissors and it'll grow back. Scallions are good, cucumbers are nice to have around. Chard is good, like the loose leaf lettuce.

If you're trying to keep it to the least space possible, as people have said, tomatoes, basil, other herbs are wonderful to have fresh.

Otherwise, I'd be looking into things that people can harvest a bit of without taking down the whole plant, as well as those things that you buy at a supermarket that you really only use some of at a time. Like beets. One beet at a time is pretty good for me. And then no more beets for a few weeks.

If you can swing offset space to dedicate to it, like maybe 12 x 12, if you put in three or four butternut squash plants you can probably get a squash for everyone in the fall.

Oh, and some flowers! Being able to cut a few flowers would be really nice for people--zinnias and cosmos are easy to get returns on, make good cut flowers, and don't need special handling.

I do a 10 x 20 bed that includes all of the above for myself and Mr. Llama. If I could get 20 by 20, I would. I throw away a lot.

My experience is don't bother with beans, stick to one variety of tomato (Celebrity was great for me last year), and plant a bunch of marigolds, all of which keeps down the bugs.

Unless you really want to geek out on this, in which case check out some cool kinds of kale, weird carrots, and make forcing your neighbors to appreciate the joy of kohlrabi part of the fun. Definitely the tomato/basil (lots-it takes lots to make pesto) and other herbs, though.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 3:28 AM on February 28

Thank you guys so much. All I could think of was tomatoes and carrots...which would not make for a very interesting garden.

I am not going to do fruit because my parents do fruit (raspberries and strawberries) and usually they have enough for an army, and I end up placing 4 large baskets full in the common area for everyone every year.

I am also not doing corn because we are in the suburbs, and everywhere around us is either a corn or soybean farm.

I never even considered herbs, so thanks! I don't know why I never thought of that!
posted by TheArpenter at 5:57 AM on February 28

Check out Pete's Patch
posted by Duke999R at 6:01 AM on February 28 [1 favorite]

I think that a salsa garden would be great - tomatoes, peppers, onions, cilantro. Have some heirloom tomatoes in the mix (but make sure they are high-yielding, some of the most famous ones, like Brandywine, don't produce much fruit).

Herbs are great, too, and many of them are perennials so they will only get bigger from year to year. Oregano, thyme, lemon thyme, BASIL, rosemary, lemongrass, sage, dill ... etc)

Peas and carrots are yummy, but labor-intensive to harvest and they pretty much produce all at once, meaning once you pick them then you're done for the season. At least with tomatoes and peppers you can continue to pick them over the whole summer.

Zucchini is great, because it's SO high-yielding and you will have lots for everyone in the complex.

Edible flowers, too - they serve a dual purpose! Nasturtiums, pansies, marigolds, violets, roses, etc. I especially like nasturtiums - they are great in salads.

Asparagus will take a 2-3 of years to produce, but it's pretty much the only perennial veggie.

Maybe some strawberries hung vertically in grow bags to save on space, too.
posted by Ostara at 7:26 AM on February 28

Also I think herbs are totally delicious but it takes a while for the perennial varieties to get big and established enough to withstand lots of folks grazing from them. I'm betting the basil would get raided often enough that it wouldn't be worth it, either.

Yeah, that depends on what you're planting. My Minneapolis garden features the oregano from outer space--it comes back every year and it takes a national guard unit with flamethrowers to keep it from taking over the world. Basil never gets very big up here, and starts to give up for me when the weather gets cool-ish (like upper 30s). Tarragon does really well, but when I show it to people, I'm surprised and disappointed at how few people know what it is and how to use it.

One more bit regarding tomatoes--we've got a shorter growing season up here. I usually buy fully grown plants advertised as "patio tomatoes" to put in the ground in May--already a couple of feet tall, sometimes with flowers and tiny fruit on them already. They're already big and established, and you get more tomatoes out of them before the end of the season. The cost per plant is 5x or so what you pay for regular-sized garden shop plants, so you'd have to decide if that would fit into your plans or budget.
posted by gimonca at 7:33 AM on February 28 [1 favorite]

Also, I recently picked up a copy of Square Foot Gardening and it looks really great. It provides gardening plans and ideas about how much space things require and when to harvest and re-plant. I'm hoping it will help us make our own garden a little more successful. It might help you figure out how much space you'll need.
posted by amanda at 7:49 AM on February 28 [2 favorites]

the herbs can be mixed in the bed with the other stuff. they along with some plants really help keep down bugs.

my personal fave for out local community garden was when they grew cherry tomatoes. i'd walk by, spot some red, and eat it. yum! a lot would fall on the ground, where everyone else would let it waste. but as long as it wasn't split..

these have pretty much been mentioned, but i'm just adding a vote: bell peppers, spice peppers, tomatoes (also plum tomatoes), herbs, no-bug plants, lettuces (arugula is delicious, despite the mockery), snap peas, cucumbers, cilantro, asparagus, grapes (they smell HEAVENLY when ripening).

also, what's the address of this apartment? (: i would love it if i could have an apartment garden to work and eat.
posted by vaguelyweird at 8:06 AM on February 28

We've had good luck growing eggplants and spinach in the midwest. We also grow butternut squash every year and train them to wind along the edges of the yard so they don't take up too much space. We planted 4 butternut seeds and got 40 very large squashes total off of them. Each squash weighed around 3.5 lbs.
posted by pluckysparrow at 9:05 AM on February 28

I'd agree with tomatoes---there's nothing like a tomato right off the vine, when it's obvious that it's a fruit, not really a veggie! I'd also say, asparagus, which is expensive to buy.
Bless you for digging in the dirt and growing natural, delicious food!
posted by ragtimepiano at 10:23 AM on February 28

Think pizza--anything you need to make a fresh pizza (from the tomatos and herbs to the toppings) would be good.

And those little cherry or grape tomotes...YUM.

You're awesome. Wish we were neighbors!
posted by agentwills at 10:53 AM on February 28

Speaking from experience of volunteering at a community garden space, grow things that are prolific bearers and not "single use" vegetables. ie. tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, strawberries, and things like that rather than corn, brussel sprouts, carrots, or heads of lettuce. All it will take is one person having a barbecue who needs a dozen heads of corn to wipe out a lot of hard work and care when you could have used the space to grow things that will produce a lot more food for a longer period for a lot more people.

Things that were popular and produced a lot at the garden I went to: tomatoes, herbs of all kinds, peppers (I would do several varieties of hot and bell), eggplant, okra (this was in the South so maybe not that popular in Chicago), strawberries, beans / peas, and squash.

Plant basil all around the tomatoes, it will make the tomatoes more flavorful and the basil will provide cover to help keep water in the ground. Get several varieties of mint and plant them in big containers - people always loved have a selection of chocolate / pineapple / normal / purple mint and it grows so ridiculously fast it's impossible for people to kill it by over picking. Marigolds are a good idea because you can eat them and the smell repels pests.
posted by bradbane at 1:45 PM on February 28

Our CSA includes recipes most every week, giving people an idea about how to use the produce available that week.

That's a great idea because people have forgotten how to use certain vegetables, ones they don't see very often, and just really have no idea of what to do with them.

One of the fun things about having a garden is you can grow exactly those things you can't always find in a store, and try eating them.

But most people are going to need a nudge of some sort to give the new/different things a try. Having a delicious sounding recipe sitting there along with the vegetables is a great way to do that.
posted by flug at 2:53 PM on February 28