Gardening solutions for tiny places

Do you love to garden but have a home with a small yard or even perhaps live in an apartment? Have you felt that it just wasn’t possible for you to have your very own home grown edibles just a moment’s reach from your kitchen? Well let me tell you there are many options for making your space produce for you. I live in a place with a very small yard. I love gardening and I wasn’t willing to give it up. So I had to get creative and think of ways of how I could make my daydreams turn into reality. Here are few solutions worth trying.

Credit: By Jessica Reeder (P1060188) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Growing vegetables vertically on a trellis

To start growing vegetables on a trellis you will first need to decide whether you will purchase or build your trellis. You will soon find that you are not just limited to a basic upright design. You may decide that you want to use a pergola, tipi, or arch style. All are very pretty and a great way to add drama and charm to your garden.

Once you have your trellis you can place your structure in your desired location. Prepare the earth below like you would normally in a garden. Plant your seeds accordingly per the package instructions. Once the seedlings emerge and start to grow to reach the trellis you can begin to train your plants by weaving them in and out as they grow upward. Some plants like cucumbers and pumpkins will naturally cling to your trellis and need only minimal guidance. Others like tomatoes may need a small tie or clip to keep them in place as they climb.

Some fruit and vegetables that I have tried with success are indeterminate tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, peas, and beans. Some that I haven’t tried yet but look forward to adding to my garden landscape are melons and squash.

Growing your plants up a wall

My yard is surrounded by walls on all sides. This has given me the wonderful opportunity to put planter baskets right on my wall. So far I have only planted flowers in them but soon I will be trying new ways to get some vegetables up on there. I have seen pallets and shutters planted with beautiful overflowing salad greens. I think this is very cute but I want to try something more like a pocket or planter box style. I would like something that will keep my wall looking neat and clean.

Credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Wall_garden_%287566298702%29.jpg

Growing in planters, containers, and pots

Using containers allows you the ability to grow plants where otherwise you would not have been able to. They can also be moved if needed.  Container gardening is like having a bunch of mini gardens. A great idea is to have your pots sorted out in to different themes. One can be for your tomatoes, one for all your lettuce and salad greens, and yet another for your herbs.

If you love to cook like I do, having your herbs be mobile is a special treat. They can be brought inside when it gets too cold during the winter months so you can continually harvest from them. Another great way to use herbs is to plant them around the bottom of some of your climbing vines on the trellis. Here you could use annual or perennial herbs. I like to use perennial herbs because they are easy care and come back every year. Some that I have had luck with are marjoram, thyme, oregano, and chives. I live in zone 5a.

To start you first need to find the container you would like to plant in. Be creative. Here you can use fun bold colors or interesting unique objects to be potted up. You can use just about anything like old metal tubs, tires, boots, boxes, bowls, and handmade hypertufa pots. A great opportunity to recycle something. Whatever, if it holds dirt you can plant it. Just make sure it has drainage. If it doesn’t, make sure that you drill several holes in the bottom.

Fill your pot with potting mix made just for containers. Or you can make your own. A good mix will usually include peat moss, perlite or vermiculite, compost, and sand. Be sure to thoroughly soak your soil before planting. Continue by following the planting instructions on your seed packets. Or you can go to the nursery and buy starter plants to add to your pots. This will give you a nice head start on your veggie picking.

Make sure to check your pots daily for water to make sure that they do not dry out. Also be sure to fertilize them regularly.

Some of the more common crops that can be used for containers are beets, squash, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, beans, lettuce, broccoli, onion, peas, pepper, spinach, cabbage, chard, strawberries, and tomatoes.

Credit: By SuSanA Secretariat [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Growing vegetables in hanging baskets

Something you can see bringing rainbows of color throughout many neighborhoods are beautifully planted flowering hanging baskets. But have you ever thought of planting vegetables in your hanging basket? This is an easy solution for anyone to be able to grow a garden anywhere. Hanging baskets can be planted with almost anything you can plant in a regular container. Just remember these will pretty much need water every day and when it’s really hot possibly even twice a day. So they can be a little more work. But very rewarding!

I hope that you enjoyed these helpful tips and I wish you luck with whatever small space garden solutions you may use or come up with.

Happy gardening to you!