bed-stuy soil?

windowbox · August 2007

on a happier note, i want to ask all you bed-stuy gardeners if you find the soil in the backyards and community gardens to be healthy enough to grow food in. I've noticed a lot of tomatoes, etc. being grown in gardens around the bedford avenue area, and wondered whether soil was brought in, etc. i moved from the greenpoint area, where the soil is very polluted, but i've seen so many thriving gardens here.

queencallipygos · August 2007

I don't have advice about Bed Stuy as such, but two thoughts:

1. The Botanic Garden could probably give you suggestions and advice for how to figure out the state of your own back yard, and I know that their store has some soil testing kits for sale. It'd be a little bit of a hassle, but it'd be a way to know for certain exactly what the state of things in your specific yard is.

2. Container gardening. Lots of tomatoes can grow just fine in a big ol' bucket, as can certain varieties of cucumbers, carrots, salad greens, etc. Of course, the bigger the container you use, the more "full size" the plant, but there are some dwarf varieties of different vegetables that do okay in containers. And there are always herbs (I've actually got a decent-sized sage plant going nuts in a window box on the fourth floor).

anonymous · August 2007

We grow flowers in our backyard for cutting. We've struggled with the soil, it's compacted clay. When we started nothing was living in it, not even worms. We lightened it with many many many bags of composted manure and peat moss, that helped but we finally decided to use raised beds for our flowers and that's helped alot.
good luck

kevin_on_putnam · August 2007

above was I

windowbox · August 2007

i've seen a lot of raised beds, so that seems the way to go. my backyard is totally overgrown with weeds, so i'm hoping to get rid of them soon and plant some grass before the end of summer.

homeowner · August 2007

My folks lived in BS for thirty years and grew tomatos every summer in various yards throughout the nabe depending on where we lived at the time. One yard was very clay-y but surprisingly that was the house where roses did best. Other than that tomatos always thrived. I think the Greenpoint issue had a lot to do with the abundance of industrial waste that was generated in the nabe back when it was primarily maufacturing. Since BS has been a much more residential neighborhood historically you probably won't have an issue unless your particular home is on the site of a former gas station or dry cleaners.

windowbox · August 2007

thank you for that bit of history. part of me wonders how much of that industrial waste has seeped into other parts of Brooklyn, but i know that W-burg and G-pt are the worst. it's great to see so much stuff growing around here.

anonymous · August 2007

We did win the Greenest Block in Bk again!

tom · August 2007

My wife has slowly turned granola on me and has started her own indoor worm bin to create compost for our plants.

I was sceptical at first, but we've had it for a few weeks now and we've got some great compost and healthy plants.

But best of all, the apartment doesn't smell. Perhaps composting could help your soil?

boygabriel · August 2007

We live on Hall St (not in BS) but our regular backyard soil has been pretty good. This summer we've grown four big tomato plants, as well as herbs, peppers and lettuce.

The plants especially liked it when I put down organic mulch which helps keep the soil moist, and it decomposes and puts nutrients into the earth.

Mulch is our friend.

bed-stuy soil?

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