Indoor vertical gardening? (Seattle: apartments, renting, neighborhood)

[sundreamer66]

With food prices spiking daily, and the threat of a big quake on our shoulders, I don't think that community gardens are enough to provide food security for even a very small neighborhood. And let's face it, in an emergency outdoor gardens are going to be picked fairly quickly.

That's where individual apartments, or apartment buildings, can use indoor vertical gardens to pick up the slack - for every day, and in an emergency.

I'd like to volunteer with a Seattle nonprofit teaching and/or supporting indoor vertical gardening, particularly for the low-income population which, excepting the tech sector, looks to be pretty much everybody else. I've contacted the Seattle Permaculture Guild hoping they have connections, but it's always worthwhile tapping the collective wisdom of CD to see if any of y'all are into this?

Thank you for all/any responses.

[homesinseattle]

Have you called Seattle Tilth? I bet they would have some good ideas, here is the link: Welcome to Tilth Alliance! — Tilth Alliance

[TrueTimbers]

1.Without power indoor gardens die quickly, so IMHO forget the earthquake fantasy.
2. Indoor gardens create a lot of humidity, and can quickly cause mold problems, destroying the building, you likely do not own.!

Yes one can grow quite a bit vertically,. I produced 20 lb of lettuce a week in an 8 foot by 8 foot by 8 foot room.

With the latest technology, I still was close to 3000 watts worth of bulbs burning for 12 hours a day.

Can not compete with outdoor other than winter.

Pot forums have some very experienced growers and one can learn proper ventilation to reduce mold problems in buildings with grow tents and what not.

Good luck, I support anything that gets urban people involved in where their food comes from!

[flyingsaucermom]

Are you a gardener? I've been a casual community patch gardener for better part of a decade. Gardening, as most people have the time and interest for, is simply not going to cut it in everyday life or an emergency. I'm always surprised how many resources it takes to garden... renting the patch, building up soil with various amendments, seeds and starts, mulching and fertilizing.. and that's *before* the diseases, bugs and critters.. each of which require individual treatments.

I'm not saying gardening is ever a bad idea (I love it!). It's just the realities that many good Earthy types gloss over.

I would certainly NEVER depend on my garden patch in an emergency. And neither you or anybody else should either.

I have a month's worth of dried and canned food stored in my garage. I rotate bins every 1, 3, 6, 12 months. 1 month bin is mostly bread and tortillas, 3 month bin has things like crackers of various sorts, milk, chocolate, cereal. 6 month bin has oatmeal, more cereals, mac and cheese... 12 month bin has all the cans... beans, corn, peas, fruit and several canned meals like soups and pastas.

I try to use up what I can, but I also enjoy gifting extra items in my community groups.

I encourage EVERYONE to have at least a 10 day supply of food and water (we have three 55 gallon bins of treated water that supposedly last 5 years... still really hope I never have to drink it!). I have conducted interviews with emergency preparation professionals and they say, really, a full two weeks for a regional disaster like an earthquake. Keep in mind that you do live in the US. I have faith in our government to come to our aide.. maybe not immediately, but definitely within a month.