Urban Gardening
featuring NYC Rooftop Gardener
Valerie Block
The NYC Insiders Guide
for women who aren't kids
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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.
Forget shoes, shopping for gardening supplies
is so much more rewarding.
Over several years of gardening in New York City, my husband and I have discovered several local shops that offer a great selection of pots, soil, plants and other essentials at relatively good prices. Of course, New Yorkers will never have the breadth of choice that our suburban cohorts have, but we can find everything we need just fine.
Having a Home Depot across town is a big help. Every spring we make the trek to the 23rd St. store to pick up the basics. This year we got new window boxes (at about $10 a piece) and large, faux stone pots ($49 each) for our blueberry bushes.
Try Saiffee Hardware, in the East Village at 114 First Avenue and 7th St. to find cedar planters at some of the best prices around. It also carries a variety of fertilizers, soil and tools.
In the flower district, Jamali Garden Supplies at 149 W. 28th St, jam packed with everything from the hard to find but essential Hoffman Tomato Food to decorative items for entertaining outdoors, has even better prices. Directly across the street, a wholesaler sells cedar planters and other containers at deep discounts.
Whole Foods carries organic seeds for a variety of herbs and veggies.
For seedlings, the Union Square Green Market cannot be beat. The selection runs the gamut from basic basil to a wealth of heirloom tomato varieties, eggplant, lettuce and well, almost anything that you could think of growing.
While hitting the pavement has its benefits, some items are just easier to find online. In early spring, we log onto Tomatofest.com to buy our organic heirloom tomato seeds. The variety is endless and the seeds always produce strong plants.
Miller Nurseries, http://www.millernurseries.com, will ship fruit trees and bushes. We ordered our blueberry bushes from Miller, along with special fertilizer and a digital PH meter.
Serious gardeners looking to create an automated watering system can head to The Drip Store at http://dripirrigation.com/. The site carries a comprehensive selection of timers, tubing, valves, filters and more. It takes a mechanical mind to assemble such a system, but it’s worth it. No more early morning watering before work or calling in the neighbors when you’re on vacation!
A few favorite photos from our garden
Cherokee Tomatoes
A variety of our tomatoes and peppers.
