Micro-Gardening: The Inner-City Solution

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have been recently extolling the merits of micro-gardening in a bid to encourage the urban poor to get more fresh food on the table.

The FAO defines a micro-garden as a small space such as a balcony, patio, rooftop or small yard that is cultivated using recycled containers or materials. This can include wooden boxes, old tyres and bins.

The FAO’s research has found that a well looked after micro garden of 11 square feet can produce up to 200 tomatoes a year, 36 heads of lettuce every 60 days, 10 cabbages every 90 days and 100 onions every 120 days.

Turning inner cities green by utilising small spaces and converting waste material into useful containers is at the forefront of the FAO’s vision of ensuring fresh food is on the table whilst securing world food supply for years to come.

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http://www.opb.org/artsandlife/article/npr-why-micro-gardening-could-go-big/