growing organic veggies in the city: can it be done?

disclosure: this post contains affiliate links and references to a product which I received in exchange for my opinions which are my own.

I dreamed of owning a house not so much for the house itself, but for the perks homeowners enjoy much easier than renters do: painting the walls, getting a dog, planting a garden.

The first two? Done. The latter? Spring is coming and it's a work in progress.

Of course, my home ownership dreams never included the city. Our "front yard" is comprised of concrete and marble steps while our "back yard" is a cement parking pad. Not very agricultural.

Still, thanks to the internet, I know it can be done. We've scoured Pinterest for urban/vertical gardening ideas. We've questioned more experienced friends in what we can plant, and where, and when. We've been given  a gift pack of 10 varieties of organic vegetable seeds from Vremi to get the ball rolling.

Right: the seeds garden pack is super convenient: 10 seed varieties and stick labels all in one small box!

Now, all that's left to do is act.

A country-dwelling friend who successfully grows produce (except when a storm causes a tree to fall on her garden—yikes!) went through all 10 non-GMO varieties with me (onion, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, cherry tomato, chili pepper, radish, carrot, red pepper and courgette (which she kindly informed without me having to ask is just another word for zucchini)) and helped us immensely by 1. Telling us which plants to start ahead of time (as it turns out, the seed packets also tell you this) and 2. diagramming the optimal way to grow these particular veggies in an urban setting.

We are eternally grateful.

The whole garden is a few months away, but I'm excited and since my friend said I could start the indoor seedlings (peppers, tomatoes, and onions) as early as February, I got to work this weekend!

While plastic is wasteful, I did like that the seeds were in mini ziplocs inside each packet for easy re-storage

The whole process was quick and easy. I picked up some soil and biodegradable containers from a local hardware store, and upcycled a cupcake container to hold the containers in. Planting took minutes, and it was so helpful that the kit included markers for each veggie—I just planted the seeds and stuck the markers right in. Easy!

Thanks to friends and the awesome gift pack, the easy part is done.

Now, onto the more daunting tasks. Like building the actual structure....and finding a remedy for my black thumb.