Urban agriculture is the practice of farming in cities and the areas around them (peri-urban). It is a centralized operation that includes animal husbandry, aquaculture, horticulture, and other ways to make fresh food or other agricultural products.
Urban farming is more than just a trend or a way to keep your harvest organized. People in cities can get fresh, locally grown food with urban agriculture. But urban agriculture can only be successful in cities if people have a positive view of urban farming and are willing to have urban farms in their neighborhoods.
The success of urban agriculture depends on how people who live nearby see it, and how people see it has a big impact on how they feel about farming near them. Urban growing systems can be easy to manage; here are eight simple and common approaches to urban farming.
Container Gardening
If you only have a small space, it makes sense to grow plants in containers, which will give you a good advantage. You will have better control over the soil and how much water is in it than a traditional gardener.
You may think you are limited to what you can grow in a container, but you can grow almost anything.
With containers, growing doesn’t require a lot of land to be dug up, and the soil and pests are easier to manage. Make special raised beds that you can add to the containers vertically as the other plants grow.
Vertical Gardening
“Vertical farming” refers to cultivating plants by stacking successive layers of plant material. This can be done by growing on shelves or pallets that have been changed to fit against walls or fences.
Vertical farms can be put in old mine shafts or other underground tunnels, buildings, or shipping containers. It is often used with other innovative methods like aquaponics or hydroponics in a controlled climate.
Vertical farming can make a square foot of space look a thousand times bigger because many plants don’t need much vertical space to grow.
Backyard Gardening
Backyard gardening is also a popular option for urban farming, with the right techniques for urban farming, you can have a full-fledged farm on as little as 1/4 of an acre or less. Backyard farms, also known as market gardens, are a great way to do urban farming.
You don’t even necessarily have to own the land to start. Most people don’t use their backyards and will be happy to let you grow food in their backyards if you give them a share of what you grow or the money you make.
Rooftop Gardening
Even though there isn’t much space in cities, farming can still be done there. This is where rooftops come in because it’s easy to grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs there.
The good thing about rooftop gardens is that they can help reduce the urban heat island and improve air quality. Aside from these, rooftop gardens can be used to improve the look of recreation centers.
Hydroponics
Hydroponics refers to any way to grow plants without soil. Instead, nutrients are put into the water that the plants are in or that is regularly washed over their roots. Gravel, perlite, or other materials can be added to give the plants more physical support.
Chemical fertilizers and organic matter can both be used in hydroponic systems. Since water is recycled and reused in hydroponics systems, less water is used to grow plants.
Aquaponics
Aquaponics is the practice of raising fish and other aquatic animals in cities. It uses a system that collects rainwater from the city and turns it into an autonomous recirculating system in tanks or fake fish ponds.
The water in the fish pond contains numerous minerals that can be used to grow crops effectively. That way, you will harvest your crops and still have a supply of protein.
Greenhouses
It entails the cultivation of plants in residential, commercial, and community greenhouses. Depending on what crops are being grown, they need quite some land to set up and will only be somewhat inconvenient for a neighborhood with small spaces.
Farmers can grow crops all year long in greenhouses because they give the plants a controlled environment in which they can be exposed to the exact conditions they need to grow.
Microgreen farming
Microgreens are small vegetable sprouts that are harvested when they are only a few days to a few weeks old. Microgreens can be grown from almost any vegetable, but sunflowers, pea shoots, and radishes are among the most popular.
Compared to traditional crops, microgreens can be harvested very quickly. Most types of microgreens will be ready to eat in 7 to 14 days.
Microgreens don’t take up much space and can be grown in a shipping container or a single room. Even though they are small, they are full of nutrients and are a popular choice for people who care about their health.