SAN ANTONIO — Managing the Muddy PAWS limited-space urban community vegetable garden at the Providence at Wall Street apartment complex in northwest San Antonio is “a lot more fun than it is work,” according to Margie Noonan, a Bexar County Master Gardener.

Noonan, a Texas AgriLife Extension Service technician-horticulture in San Antonio, coordinated with apartment management, residents and others to help build a 16-foot-by-28-foot, semi-enclosed community garden inside what previously was a trash compaction storage area.

With apartment owner and management support and funding, and Noonan, residents and the complex’s landscaping company providing vegetables, materials and sweat equity, they built four 4-by-8-foot raised, handicap-accessible garden beds.

Children's gardening activities are among the urban horticultural outreach and education opportunities provided by Texas AgriLife Extension Service and volunteers from the state's Master Gardener programs.
Texas AgriLife Extension Service photo

These now provide tomatoes, jalapenos, cucumbers, squash, bell peppers, strawberries and other produce for apartment residents. Wall baskets and other containers mounted on the interior garden walls produce a variety of herbs.

The garden was named Muddy PAWS in reference to the residents “getting a little muddy” working in the garden, plus the PAWS acronym for the apartment complex, said apartment leasing agent Marlene Ramirez, who initiated the project.

“It’s been a great experience and a lot of fun for people of all ages in our community,” she said. “It helps them understand sustainability and provides them with a new interest.”

According to David Rodriguez, AgriLife Extension horticulturist and Bexar County Master Gardener program coordinator, other urban gardening involvement in the county includes the Children’s Vegetable Garden Program in cooperation with the San Antonio Botanical Garden and several youth “teaching” gardens in area public elementary and middle schools.

“We’ve also seen a growing interest in the county about container gardening, mainly from people with limited space or wanting a more controlled environment for their plants,” Bexar County Master Gardener Don Hall said.

Some planter choices by Hall and other container gardeners include barrels, flower pots, window boxes, cut-off milk or bleach jugs, Styrofoam coolers, plastic storage boxes, plastic-lined baskets and large-diameter PVC pipe.

Economic downturn

Home vegetable gardens, small-acreage gardens, various types of limited-space gardens and community gardens represent resurgent or growing trends in urban horticulture, according to AgriLife Extension horticulturist Douglas Welsh, co-author of the Texas Master Gardener Handbook, a statewide guide for Master Gardener volunteers developed at Texas A&M University.

He said these trends are not like “the more indulgent, cocooning trend of a few years ago, but a smart and positive way to survive the economic downturn.”

He said that with urban landscapes becoming smaller and urban density becoming greater, choosing what to do with limited outdoor space has become even more important. This situation, along with other factors, has contributed to the development of square-foot, modular gardening and other types of limited-space gardening.

Welsh said an indication of the increased interest in gardening for self-sufficiency is the 200 percent to 300 percent increase in vegetable seed sales in nurseries, garden centers and feed stores throughout the state.

Daily lives

He said future urban gardening may continue to evolve to a point where horticulture is an integral part of people’s daily lives, with composting container, rainfall-capture systems and communities of gardeners producing fruits and vegetables for distribution through neighborhood markets and centers.

In response to these trends and community needs, AgriLife Extension and Texas Master Gardener volunteers are involved in numerous urban gardening and horticultural education-outreach activities throughout the state, Welsh said.

Some urban AgriLife Extension offices and Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Centers have demonstration gardens, where county residents can see how to plant and maintain a home or community garden.

“Austin is one of the Texas cities on the leading edge of the sustainability gardening trend,” said Daphne Richards, AgriLife Extension county agent for horticulture, Travis County. “We’ve seen many more urban residents becoming interested in growing at least some of their own food and in more organic or environmentally responsible home-gardening practices.”

A limited-space patio garden was among Texas AgriLife Extension Service exhibits at the Texas Experience pavilion during this year’s San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Texas AgriLife Extension Service photo

Richards said limited-space gardening also is popular in her area. She said that it’s easy to grow tomatoes, peppers and various herbs in containers, and that growing vegetables, herbs and plants in alternative containers such as ‘grow boxes’ — large plastic storage containers with drainage holes in the bottom — jibes with residents’ interest in recycling and the environment.

“The interest in community gardens also has grown throughout Travis County and there are even waiting lists for people wanting to become involved in community gardening,” she said.

In the Greater Houston area, Agri-Life Extension and Master Gardeners are involved in “cylinder gardening” at several urban elementary and middle schools, said Dr. Anthony Camerino, AgriLife Extension county agent for horticulture in Harris County.

“Currently, between 5,000 and 7,000 urban school kids participate in the program each semester,” Camerino said. “They grow vegetables and other plants in large open-ended cylindrical containers provided by Blue Bell Creameries.”

In Dallas, AgriLife Extension personnel have been providing support for the urban community co-op garden at the 12,000-member Friendship West Baptist Church.

“AgriLife Extension people have come here to present courses on food and nutrition and have done demonstrations on healthy cooking and eating,” said Danielle Ayers, minister for social justice at the church.

“It’s hard to find fresh fruits and vegetables in our area, so the garden gives our church members and others in our community access to them. We have about 300 co-op members. We harvest daily and sell our produce to church and community members every Sunday.

“People involved with the garden enjoy the social interaction and helping fill a need in their community.”