On Tuesday I took a step toward fulfilling one of my
April goals of planting a container garden on my back patio. I've put a few herbs and a pepper plant back there before with limited success, except for the mint, which took over and was nice for tea, but you can only do so much with mint. This year I want fresh lettuce and herbs for salads, greens for smoothies and sautéing and maybe a few other more challenging vegetables. I did a little research on my own and quickly got overwhelmed. I just wanted someone to tell me where to start and how.
The Organic Gardener is a company started by
Jeanne Pinsof Nolan that helps families grow organic vegetable gardens throughout Chicago and the North Shore. They're also responsible for the
Edible Garden in Lincoln Park Zoo, the rooftop garden at
Uncommon Ground and many fruitful backyard and patio gardens.
Setting up the appointment with the Organic Gardener was easy. Sara from
The Organic Gardener, who works on the
Edible Garden in Lincoln Park Zoo and with Green City Market, came over, took a look at my space and helped me decide how and what to grow as well as how to maintain and harvest those vegetables. She gave me lists of choices and suggestions that would work for what I wanted to do within my sunshine and space parameters (roughly 6 hours in the AM and small). She also suggested retailers from whom to purchase the best supplies, seeds and plants...and she was patient while Sam threw toys and rice cakes on her and grabbed repeatedly for her phone and jacket.
So now I feel like I know what to do. And when I don't, Sara will be just an email away to lead me and hopefully my plants in the right direction.
The Organic Gardener will even help you plant and tend to your garden if that's the route you choose. I'm excited to get the rest of the process going. I'll keep you posted on the progress but for now, here's a look at baseline:
It can only get greener from here, right?
