Home Farming on a Balcony

by Jasmine McBeath of the New Mexico Action Corps

Secret Garden. Senior Garden. Gardenshare. Waffle Planting. Plantscape. Food Forest. Hanging Garden. Hoop House. Mini-farm.Earth Therapy.

There appears to be wide range of names for a home farm. I hadn't heard of the idea until I looked into planting vegetables on our patio. I was following the GROW Methodby buying locally and seasonally when I thought, what could be more local than my backyard? That's when I stumbled upon the Home Farms 2012 project. The goal is to get 2,012 home farms registered to celebrate the New Mexico Centennial. According to the project website, a home farm is “any place a person grows some of their own food, inside or out.” It’s a great way to save natural resources since there’s no shipping, and you know your food is fresh and in season.

Everyone is invited to register, from relatively large farms which offer CSAs to backyard potted herb growers. Reading the descriptions of people’s home farms revealed a great deal of diversity even in backyard plots. We planted in plastic tubs on our apartment balcony, while others’ maintain sprawling yards that yield enough fruit and vegetables to feed the neighbors. With ten beds, a hoop house and the beginnings of an orchard, one family listed their home produce as asparagus, lettuce, peas, tomatoes, potatoes, herbs, raspberries, apples, pears, fig and pomegranate. 

Another man gained the nickname, “The Farmer” for growing more than 25 varieties in his front yard, including okra, apricots, rhubarb,and tomatillos.

I smiled at the community garden called, “The Plot Thickens” and was blown away by the family that sold their second car and turned their driveway into a garden. Other inspirational stories includeMandy’s Special Farm, a long-term residence for women with autism and Shabeta’s Healing Garden that teaches intensive classes ranging from workshops to year-long courses. The City of Albuquerque Open Space Traditions Garden relies on methods from the early Pueblans and Spanish to conserve water and cultivate native seeds. There’s definitely something to learn from their water conservation techniques including using, “ollas to wick water slowly, waffle gardens to contain spread of and prevent waste of water, and cobblestone mulches which moderate soil temperature as well as prevent evaporation of soil moisture.”

I read story after story of people, from kindergarteners to senior citizens, growing to help themselves and others. And I signed on. As of last weekend, I'm a home farmer. I visited Rehm's Nursery and learned what grows well in the fall. Luckily, the workers there were helpful, since I'm new to this. If we don't count a high school science experiment on green onions in salt versus sugar conditions, it's my first time growing vegetables. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
P.S. In case you want to plant now too, consider these cool-weather veggies: kale, lettuce, spinach, chard, kohlrabi, mustard greens, collard greens, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, beets, carrots, snow peas, spearmint and cilantro.

Yum! When's dinnertime?