The plots are about 7.5’ long, north to south, and 3’ wide.

Late start gardens work well by avoiding the unpredictable cold and rainy Chicago springs!

• For vegetables, consider planting mature seedlings: peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, zucchini.
• We can still do many things from seed, including basil and fast-growing herbs, early summer and fall radishes, fall lettuce, spinach, and greens, and fall peas can all thrive in this unusual planting year.

Consider Microgreens

Rick Bayless has an inspiring urban garden in the west loop (with a full-time gardener!) It produces micro-greens through 3.5 seasons for his restaurants, with a “seed then cut” approach. Check out this video from WTTW’s Chicago Tonight.

Inspiration from Rick Bayless: but remember, he’s got a full-time gardener!

Track the sunshine

These graphs show the direction of the sun on June 21 and later in fall, on October 1. The sun comes from the east, south, and west: it is often blocked by buildings to the west in the late afternoon. Maximize your sun by planting tall items — beans, tomatoes — to the north, so they don’t cast a shadow on your plants.

Have other thoughts, ideas, and inspiration for community garden planning? Share them with us in our EBGA Facebook Group.