I have never gardened in my life and yet I feel a growing, nagging urge to start my own veggie garden. Of course, I don’t have room for a garden: I live in an apartment that doesn’t even have a fire escape* on which I can start a guerrilla garden. And the sunniest place indoors is in my bedroom, which is not really a good place for growing herbs or leafy greens. Plus I have a cat who likes to poke his face–and his paws–in places he doesn’t belong. I’m afraid of him digging up dirt and making a mess.
The lease on my apartment is up at the end of the month and I’ve been toying with the idea of moving into a new place where there would be room for some kind of garden: a balcony, a yard, a rooftop–or, hell, a fire escape. The trouble is finding that kind of an apartment in my neighborhood. While I don’t live in the greatest part of Staten Island, it’s been my home for the last year and I’ve grown fond of it. That and it’s super close to the Staten Island Ferry, which both Alex and I need to get to our jobs. Our commutes are already clocking in at 1 hour in each direction: I don’t want to move even farther away and increase our time on the road.
That got me thinking: How much would it cost to buy a house in this neighborhood? It would provide me with the land I’m lusting after and rid me of landlords who want to arbitrarily raise my rent. Perfect solution, right!? Except that I live and work in New York City: a single-family home in this neighborhood costs at least $300,000. And that’s for a dilapidated, run-down, pre-war construction–or a “fixer upper,” as the agents refer to it in listings. The good stuff costs more: $500,000 and above. That means I need to save up somewhere around $80,000 to offer as a down payment. And, astonishingly, I don’t have that kind of cash in my savings account.
So it looks like I’m not buying a house or condo any time soon. Instead, I’ve decided to move–for the last time in a long while, I hope–to a new apartment with a small terrace where I’ll start my garden. I’m planning on installing some raised planter boxes around the perimeter (for tomatoes, kale, cucumbers, Swiss chard, peas, etc.) and hanging flower boxes over the railings (for basil, mint, parsley, cilantro, etc.).
I’m also looking into composting my own food scraps. For years, I’ve been ferrying my food scraps from the freezer to the local farmer’s market. This was always for the benefit of reducing the amount of waste my partner and I produce. I’ve never seen any return on my investment. So if I can reduce my contribution to the landfill and get nutrient-rich compost for my garden in return, all the better! I’m looking into vermicomposting for its small footprint (most bins require a space less than 20″×20″) and the ability to compost indoors. (And who doesn’t want thousands of wriggly roommates!?) I was a little too excited to find a used Worm Factory 360 on craigslist, which I’ll be picking up this weekend before my move into my new place early next week.
I look forward to being able to pick sun-warmed tomatoes off the vine in my very own “backyard” garden. Assuming, of course, that I don’t kill everything in my garden and my vermicompost bin.
* It’s OK, it’s a small building. There’s no need for a fire escape.
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