Container Gardening

I've been meaning to post another blog about what all we've been doing this summer to go "green", but life crises got in the way (again). All is not lost, however. We plan on attending a seminar on how to use solar power in the city this coming week, and a couple of weeks ago we attended the first annual St. Louis Sustainable Backyard Garden Tour. Organic veggies, bees, chickens and goats--all growing in peoples' backyards in an urban setting. It proves that it is possible to get in touch with nature and get away from processed food, one chicken at a time... But first, here are some photos of our own "sustainable garden" growing in containers on our very hot and very narrow balcony:

The tomato plant got off to a good start and has produced two Roma tomatoes already.

The pepper plant really took off after we planted some spaghetti squash next to it. Perhaps she was lonely?

The very first "hula hoop" pepper!

Our containers are not pretty or even store bought, but found plastic tubs, buckets and old styrofoam boxes.

Here's a happy hen we met on the sustainable tour in Webster Groves. Even though the chicken house was just mere yards away from a train track, the noise of the engines blaring past every few minutes didn't phase her and her feathered friends one bit.

These three gals were very happy eating blueberries from their master's hand... and lived in the city proper. We learned a lot about egg production and how entertaining raising poultry can be.

Having your own beehive would keep you in honey, but all those swarming bees make me a bit nervous.

Aquatic organic agriculture: crayfish being raised in a rain-fed backyard pond. Both pretty and productive.