Gardening In Tiny Spaces
You want organic veggies without having to pay the exorbitant prices you find at grocery stores and farmer's markets. Yet, you live in an apartment or in a community that doesn't allow outside gardening. Try container gardening, it's all done inside, or on a patio or balcony and can give you that fresh natural taste you're longing for.
Almost all vegetables and herbs can be grown in containers. Favorites include tomatoes and peppers, but other plants such as green beans, peas, and squashes can be grown in pots also.
The three key ingredients to a good vegetable crop are sunshine and dirt. By providing these things, the plant could care less if it is part of a hundred acre piece of land or if its world is 12 inches in diameter.
To begin, make a trip to your local garden store. Purchase several large containers; these can be plastic, terra cotta or stoneware. You will also need good growing medium, tell the staff member who waits on you what you are doing and they will recommend the proper soil mix for you.
You can go with either beginning from seed or purchase plants. Generally it is easier to go ahead and buy the started plants, as they adapt well to being repotted, and will give you a head start.
One or two tomato plants can provide you with fresh tomatoes all summer long. As can a couple of pots of peppers. Set these in front of a patio door or on a stand in front of a window. We try to keep a tomato and pepper plant in front of our patio door year round.
An entire herb garden can be grown in a single pot in your kitchen window. Plant any herb you normally buy at the store. Trim when needed.
Another pot of leaf lettuce will keep you in fresh greens year round. Another option for fresh greens is sprouts; they take up no more room than quart size canning jar and can be replenished as needed.
The possibilities are endless, grown peas and green beans in hanging baskets, not only will they love it; it makes the harvesting easier also. If you have a balcony, squash plants will attach themselves onto the railing, creating a lovely green effect and a number of fruits also.
Take advantage of all the windows in your home or apartment. Each one can give you the organic harvest you are looking for.
Another possibility for raising your own vegetables is finding out if your city or town has a 'community garden' space. These work out well for many who otherwise would have no space of their own.
