Urban Gardening
featuring NYC Rooftop Gardener
Valerie Block
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Valerie Block is a deputy managing editor for Crain’s New York Business, where she has worked since 1997. Ms. Block graduated from The City University of New York’s Baccalaureate Program with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism in 1994. Before entering journalism, Ms. Block was a singer and songwriter signed to Sony Music. She became an urban gardener in 2005, taking advantage of her new apartment with a large terrace space. Through trial and error, she has learned how to cultivate prolific crops. She began blogging on the subject at nycgardener.blogspot.com in 2007.
Planting tomatoes, peppers and herbs seems like the perfect spring pursuit – if you live in the suburbs. But even city dwellers can grow their own, with a little extra effort.

My husband and I have been urban gardening right smack in the middle of Manhattan for five years now, and I’m not talkin’ a few flower pots. Ever since we moved to an apartment with generous terrace space, we’ve spent each summer planting a veritable green forest out there, with several varieties of heirloom tomatoes, bell peppers of various hues, Japanese eggplants, Italian herbs, strawberries and more. It’s become a passion for us.





















Over the years we’ve learned how to keep the wind from knocking over our pots and how to get rid of pests like green hornworms. We've installed an automated watering system so we don't need to find a babysitter for our garden every time we spend a weekend away. Most important, we’ve become good at making vats of fresh tomato basil sauce, much of which we freeze so we can enjoy it all year long, and to treat our friends to plates of heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad, grilled baby eggplant and roasted peppers. We love entertaining friends using ingredients we didn’t even have to buy. (Have you seen the price of heirloom tomatoes in the green market? Our urban garden definitely pays for itself!)

But you don't have to have outdoor space to be an urban gardener. All you really need is a windowsill, some sunlight and a a touch of the green thumb. Last weekend, I took a walk to the Union Square Green Market where dozens of stands are already selling starter pots of herbs, lettuce, patio tomatoes and more. Anyone can pick up a couple of basil plants and pop them into a medium-sized planter and viola, an urban garden is born. At least it's a place to begin. Just having a few fresh leaves to drop into a salad or sauce can change a meal entirely. We keep a rosemary plant growing in our living room, and adding a few sprigs to chicken dishes or roasted vegetables is so much tastier than using store-bought dry stuff.
In fact, we may be doing a lot more indoor gardening this summer. Our building's exterior is being repointed and our terrace is currently a colossal mess. We’re crossing our fingers that the construction will be done by June, but if we don’t get our outdoor space back in time for planting, I'll be following my own advice….

Read Valerie's weekly gardening blog for great tips and advice.
Urban Gardening is Easier than You think
A few favorite photos from our garden
Cherokee Tomatoes
A variety of our tomatoes and peppers.
NORDSTROM.com