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"No matter where you are you can grow something to eat. Shift your thinking and you'd be surprised at the places your food can be grown! Window sill, fire escape and rooftop gardens have the same potential to provide impressive harvests as backyard gardens, greenhouses and community spaces."
~Greg Peterson
@Bearhouse What always worries me about this advice is that when you live in a big modern city, the air is full of a variety of pollutants. If I have a bay tree and a few lemon trees on my balcony, as I plan to, herbs and tomatoes and more, how much of those particles does my harvest contain?
@CommonMugwort That's a good point. You need to wash carefully and that should be enough. Even food in the supermarket can be covered on pollutants so the problem is not confined to urban crops. Large particles are removed by washing and plants have very good mechanisms of preventing the uptake of substances they don't need. Leaves are the most likely to pick up pollutants from the air. If you grow organically then you are reducing overall pollutants anyway.
@Bearhouse Thank you. That suggests I’m better off growing fruit than herbs. How organic they will be, especially if watered at least in part by urban rain I’m not sure
@CommonMugwort I think they would be fine, roots are outstanding filters. The only problem with leaves is the stomata tend to pick up particles. They don't get into the circulation of the plant, but are not going to be fully cleaned by washing. Perhaps if you grow herbs on the inside of the window then you can ensure their pollution free status. Tomatoes and other fruit will thrive in urban environments given enough sunshine.
@Bearhouse That’s very good to know. Thanks again