Lead & Gardening: Important Facts to Keep in Mind

Unfortunately, the soil in many areas has lead in it. While only elevated levels of lead (over 400 parts per million) are considered hazardous by the US Environmental Protection Agency, no amount of lead is safe for children. Lead can cause serious health problems, including brain damage, especially in small children.

As you make your gardening plans for this summer, please consider the following tips provided by the Healthy Homes Coalition:

How to Protect Your Family
• Always wash vegetables before eating.
• Wash hands after gardening.
• Don’t wear gardening shoes inside the home.
• Add lime to your soil to maintain soil pH levels above 6.5 to limit lead
availability to plants.
• Add organic matter to your soil to bind the lead.
• Don’t let your kids eat dirt.

For more information, view this "Gardening & Lead" Fact Sheet from the Healthy Homes Coalition.

Small-space gardening

If you have a small yard or a simply want to garden on a small scale, there are some great ways you can enjoy a delicious, compact and attractive garden.

You can take advantage of decks, patios, porches, and window boxes to grow fresh vegetables and herbs. Even hanging baskets will work for some plants.

Container garden "beds" can be made to fit your needs and space -- and your style. Barrels, wood crates or boxes, baskets, urns, clay or plastic pots, basins... all offer fun and attractive ways to set up your garden.


A few simple rules are that the containers must be large enough to meet plant spacing requirements, deep enough to develop roots (about 6-8 inches deep), and provide adequate drainage, which may involve drilling a few holes in the bottom.

Many vegetables can be grown in containers. Tomatoes, always a popular favorite, offer several varieties bred specifically for containers and hanging baskets. Of those special varieties, at Country Harvest Farm we sell Micro Tom, Maskotka, Tiny Tim and Tumbler tomatoes.

Other good container vegetable choices include carrots, radishes, spinach, lettuce, and all peppers. Herbs and edible flowers are excellent additions to the garden and your dinner table.

The key to container gardening is to be creative with your space, ask questions if needed, and experiment with your needs and tastes. With just a little bit of dirt and space, you can grow the vegetables, herbs and flowers your family loves.