City Gardener

Finally, after three years... my plant vines have grown and spread to be green wall that I had hoped for. I'm not sure it would have taken as long if the plants were in a more humid, sunny climate, et cetera. But given our indoor Minnesota location - even with a southwest exposure - the vines have needed that amount of time to climb the six feet from the base to the top rungs of the metal grid supporting them. The result has been worth the effort. And to be honest, I didn't have to wait three years to begin enjoying the green wall. The vines were already attractive when only half way up the trellis. A metal grid is filled with mix of Epipremnum aureum cultivar "Marble Queen", Epipremnum aureum aka golden pothos, and Philodendron Brasil . Architecture of the green wall The initial intent of the project was to grow a green wall, in an apartment, that could be moved around to be able to clean underneath, and also to provide a mobile room divider for our open-plan loft....

Today I was scheduled to volunteer at the University's greenhouse, my shift was to run from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. However, early this morning the University sent out a general notice to students and staff that there was a credible threat of gun violence made by a 42 year-old man, specifically targeting the University campuses. The suspect's name was known to them but was being withheld pending apprehension. In response, the University was closed, except for certain personnel, to be behind secure doors. Rats! Rather than lose a day of garden work, I took the opportunity to make pesto using the microgreens I've been sprouting in my apartment. Pea shoot microgreens I've been growing - well, really it is sprouting - microgreens for about a decade now. I'm not a huge fan, but I do produce a tray or two every couple of months. Each harvest is more than I can use so I’ve been converting most of the it into pesto. I particularly like fresh pesto for all sorts of dishes from ...

In a sunny corner of the apartment, we installed floor tiles to resist water damage. In order to help keep the floors clean, we chose rolling wire rack, the type used in many kitchens, to corral the plants into manageable areas of the apartment. The racks also provide the opportunity to act as temporary room dividers, for example they could be stationed around the dining area to create a more green and intimate space. Onto the shelves we placed 2x4 foot black plant trays to act as disaster pans in the event the irrigation fails to stop, or the tubing begins to leak. Tile floor for easy cleaning, overhead fan for air circulation Beneath the lowest shelf, another shelf was added to hold trays for irrigation equipment: Eventually, the concept was expanded to include a mobile floor pallet to hold large plants, too tall for the plant racks: The pallet, too, was adapted for lighting and irrigation, using the gap between the upper and lower slats as a crawl-space to house the equipment and sp...