Small Garden Ideas | Gardening in small places

I’m a lucky guy. Like many Americans, I have a modest suburban home, with a decent sized yard.  A yard big enough that a 15×30 patch in the back corner, separated by old railroad ties from my lawn, serves as a vegetable garden. We also have a few cherry and peach trees and a small patch next to the house populated with raspberry bushes. It’s not enough for self-sufficiency, but from June through October, we don’t buy many vegetables at the store, and if you have a garden, you already know that fresh picked to your table beats store produce every day of the week. And we always have extra to freeze or can at harvest time, though our modest plot isn’t big enough to get us through the cold months entirely.

But for millions of us, especially if we live in the city, in an apartment or a condo with a patio, or a home on a postage stamp sized lot-which is what even single family homes seem to all be built on these days, how do you supplement your purchased groceries with home grown? With a little creativity, it is possible.

Small Garden Ideas on a Budget

-If you live in an apartment, presumably you have at least one if not more windows that get a modicum of sun. Even with such a tiny space, you can grow fresh herbs, shown here in small teacups:

Many vegetables can be grown in window boxes. Carrots and radishes are good choices. Baby lettuce requires less sun than other varieties.

Remember not to use regular dirt, which is too dense for small containers. Potting soil mixes will hold the moisture longer and allow for easier rooting.

-If you have a patio, you can grow most any vegetable you want, just a smaller quantity, in a pot or other container.  Again, use potting soil rather than dirt, and make sure that whatever container you use has good drainage. Not a problem with wood and other porous materials, but clay, metal, plastic all need several holes punched in the bottom. A layer of gravel over a couple of sheets of newspaper will keep your expensive soil from draining away with the water.

For a good list of the size pot you need for various vegetables, go here: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1647.html , and scroll down to the bottom of the page.

-Finally, if you have a yard, but it’s too small for a full size garden, consider using raised garden beds.

All you need for a basic bed is wood, screws, and soil. Three 2×12’s, one cut in half, will give you a nice 4×8 box. Rot resistant woods like cedar and redwood will last longer, but don’t use pressure treated wood, the chemicals can leach out into the soil.  Do be aware that the soil in raised beds will warm faster, so you can plant a few weeks earlier, but in hot climates should avoid full sun in the height of summer.