I have always lived in the suburbs but I will soon be moving to a small city apartment. I have found great ideas on Apartment Therapy to help me fit my life into a small space. But the part of my old life in the suburbs that I'll miss most is growing my own vegetables and keeping hens for fresh eggs.
Does anyone have suggestions for growing some of your own food in a compact apartment?
Thanks, Sally
P.S. I live in Australia, so I can't get many of the products people mention, but the ideas are still great and wonderfully creative.
This is great timing for this question, because although Sally is just about to begin her growing season down in Australia, we are in harvest time here and it's a good time for all of you with city gardens to share what you did this summer. What worked? What didn't? Did you garden for the first time this year? Did you try something new? Are you an old pro at apartment gardening?
Our efforts at gardening in an apartment with a tiny walkway stoop have been mostly restricted to herbs. Pots of basil, rosemary, sage, and mint are easy and decorative too. You can keep them down to small pots with regular pruning, or you can fill larger pots and get a big yield. We also love our lemongrass plant, although you practically need a lawnmower to keep it down once it gets going.
We tried small tomatoes one summer too and they were a hit. Look for tomato varieties that are small, with small fruit. You will still need at least a five-gallon container for a tomato plant, though. We like the bush varieties with thick stems that don't need to be staked.
Check out our Gardening Archive for more, including a three-step plan for starting your kitchen garden.
I have always been successful with tomatoes and all herbs growing in pots in my balcony.
view Anusha73's profile
I have heard so many good things about growing things on patios in an "earthbox" that i am going to try it out next spring. if you google it, you can find dyi versions and make one for a lot less than they charge for it.
view abigailm's profile
Not sure about the hens, but you can grow lots of stuff in containers. Container gardening rocks! Anything from herbs in yoghurt pots on a windowsill to big pots of potatoes and peas in a small yard, depending on the space you have. And you can still compost stuff. I've even read (on this site?) about people keeping hives on apartment rooves. But definitely herbs and tomatoes. Strawberries, peppers and chillies, amongst other things, will be perfectly happy in a window box. No slugs to deal with either, and you can have different kinds of soil in separate containers. You have to water stuff more, and avoid anything with long tap roots. If you can persuade someone you know to adopt your chickens you can still visit them and get some eggs. Good luck!
view tin_angel's profile
I don't know about NY, but in Montreal we have great community gardens!
Here they are relatively easy to get a space, but you have to help out (weed, water) regularly.
With a community garden plot, its like you are in the burbs!
view michael d bailey's profile
no comment on the hens, but i have a terrace garden in brooklyn that is thriving with heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, tons of basil, tarragon, mint and parsley. i will have pesto for the year! next year, i'm already planning lettuces and peppers and even more tomatoes. i bought a self-watering planter on line and it's been great. i don't have a green thumb but it because of this planter, it looks like i do. here's the link:
http://www.gardeners.com/Terrazza-Trough-planters/default/StandardCatalog.PotsPlanters_SelfWateringPlanters.16027.cpd
the herbs are in separate containers which allow me to move them in and out of the torrential rains we've had or place them more strategically in the sun.
depending on how big your outdoor space is you can grow a lot and because i am not a super gardener, i love that it's limited yet very useable and i've not become a slave to the garden, because it does require a lot of attention.
good luck. have fun.
view BB's profile
what about without a terrace/deck/etc. We actually have no outdoor space, just two large west facing windows. Is there anything I can grow inside?
view the aesthetic onion's profile
You ought to be able to at least grow herbs in your windows, if they get enough light - full-spectrum bulbs in a nearby light fixture will help too. For growing tomato plants in containers, make sure the variety you get is "determinate," which means it grows to a fixed, compact size, and doesn't just keep going. I've had good luck with the cherry tomato seeds from Franchi Sementi.
view SisterRae's profile
lettuces grow great in a wide square pot, so you can mimic the rows of a garden. pick the new growth for a daily salad. yum!
view wondrouspilgrim's profile
I have a great book called The Apartment Farmer by Duane Newcomb. It has a pretty extensive section on growing on windowsills. Maybe your library would have it? It's also pretty easy to get online.
view eat more lemons's profile
My brother's had great luck growing jalepeno peppers on his windowsill, along with the aforementioned tomatoes and herbs.
view Jim of ChewOnThat's profile
any other tips for strawberries? i found i have more herbs than i can possibly use or give away, and i'd like to start planning for next year for having other kinds of real food. (besides tomatoes)
view edgertor's profile
I live in an apartment with a small eight square metre balcony. This year I plan on growing peas, beans, herbs, lettuce, salad leaves, spring onions, garlic, raspberries, blueberries, carrots, sprouting brocolli, tomatoes and even potatoes.
You can see my plans on how to do all this here:
http://eightsquaremetres.blogspot.com/2009/03/balcony-garden-diagram-plan.html
view cheese's profile