Urban Gardening For Dummies

Learn to:

• Make the most of limited space with vertical growing tips, rooftop gardens, and more
• Add beauty and color to your landscape with annuals, perennials, and bulbs
• Grow the freshest, healthiest produce possible

The easy way to succeed at urban gardening

A townhouse yard, a balcony, a south-facing window even a small inner-city apartment can be a suitable location to grow some yummy edibles, develop a colorful flower garden, or create an outdoor room. Urban Gardening For Dummies helps you make the most of what you have through the use of proven small-space gardening techniques that allow gardeners to maximize their use of urban spaces.

Urban Gardening 101

— get an overview of urban gardening, including soil preparation, planting, choosing urban-friendly plants (including edibles), and plant placement

Dig in

— discover everything you need to know about soil, from analyzing soil types and understanding soil pH to how you can build good soil with manure, organic fertilizers, and compost

Get a green thumb

— find the lowdown on the urban microclimate, local weather patterns, and how you can actually influence weather conditions at micro-levels to benefit the health of your urban garden

Oh, the places you'll grow

— get creative with container gardening and find funky and functional ways to garden on building rooftops, balconies, and with vertical growing strategies

Open the book and find:

• The many benefits of urban gardening
• Tips on planting annual plants and veggies, trees and shrubs, and perennial flowers
• The 4-1-1 on community gardening and urban farming
• How to create an outdoor room
• The scoop on using fertilizers
• Techniques for container and vertical gardening
• Composting tips and soil growing
• Tricks for keeping weeds and pests at bay