Beginner's Guide to Apartment Gardening
How to Grow Herbs, Fruits, and Vegetables in a Limited Amount of Space
How to Grow Herbs, Fruits, and Vegetables in a Limited Amount of Space
You should be able to grow plants even if you live in a small flat. In addition to common houseplants, an apartment garden can support a variety of herbs, fruits, and vegetables. As you perfect your gardening talents, start with just a few containers. Access to sunlight and the sheer weight of your containers are all factors that must be considered. Here’s how to get your apartment garden going in the correct direction.
How to Grow a Vegetable Garden in Your Apartment with Ordinary Garden Soil
The Basics for an Apartment Gardener
While certain plants are more tolerant and hardy for novice gardeners than others, all plants have specific growing requirements that must be satisfied. Here are some things to think about while selecting plants for your apartment garden:
Sunlight
A complete day of sunlight is required for most fruiting and flowering plants. This equates to six to eight hours of direct sunlight every day. In an apartment, this can be difficult to come by—especially in a city where tall buildings might block the sun for at least part of the day. The ideal places to get full sun are balconies and rooftops. If you’re growing on a windowsill, you have two options: choose plants that require less sunlight, such as salad greens and herbs, or use a grow light to simulate the sun’s rays.
Soil
Water, oxygen, and nutrients are all provided by the soil to plants. Ordinary garden soil will clump in pots, limiting access to oxygen and preventing water from flowing through, so you won’t be able to utilize it for your apartment garden. As a result, a well-draining potting mix is required. Potting soil is light and fluffy, allowing oxygen and water to circulate efficiently to keep roots healthy. You won’t have to worry about introducing infections or pests into your flat because it’s reasonably sterile.
Water
Apartment gardening requires container plants for small area. So pick a location for your container garden that is close to a water source. Watering cans can be cumbersome to transport, especially if you have numerous containers to water multiple times a day. Consider obtaining a hose that can be hooked to a sink faucet if it works for your situation. When you need it, it’s handy, and when you don’t, it coils up.
Humidity
If you’re growing your plants on an indoor windowsill, you’ll probably need to add some extra humidity, especially if the heat is turned on. Spritzing the plants with a fine mist or placing them on a tray of water can assist.
Wind
Your pots may require additional protection if your plants will be exposed to heavy winds, such as on a rooftop or balcony. High winds can rip leaves and toss top-heavy pots over. As a result, construct a wind block, such as a screen or railing. A wind block can also be used to control sunlight for your outdoor garden. Alternatively, make sure your pots are large and heavy enough to hold the plants in place.
Weight
Containers full of soil are heavy to begin with, and their weight can treble if they are saturated with water. Make sure the weight won’t be too much for your apartment’s vegetable garden. Window boxes must be securely fastened to the windowsill. Check with your landlord or building board about weight restrictions if you’re planting on a balcony or rooftop. Utilize hanging baskets to minimize weight on your shelves!
Apartment Gardening Indoors | 10 Edible plants to grow in your apartment
Avocados
Herbs(mint, ginger, rosemary, and cilantro.)
Tomatoes
Microgreens
Garlic Greens
Green Beans
Lemons
Bell Peppers
Radishes
Salad Greens
1. Avocados
Avocado is all you need to plant an avocado. Save the large, round pit that is in the center of the avocado after you have finished eating it. Rinse the pit and suspend it over a glass of water with the bottom in the water and the tip above the water using four toothpicks inserted into the base of the pit.
Keep the water filled up and place the glass on a windowsill that receives plenty of light such as south facing windows. The plant will be ready to be placed into a container of soil after roots have emerged from the pit after a few weeks. Once the seed has been planted, place the pot in a sunny location and water it sparingly but frequently.
2. Herbs
Herbs are an excellent alternative to cultivate in your apartment because they don’t take up much space and many are aromatic. If you enjoy cooking with fresh herbs but find the high prices in the grocery store difficult to bear, basil, mint, cilantro, parsley, or even ginger are all excellent choices. A lot of herbs are simple to grow. Simply choose a sunny location and keep in mind to water frequently.
3. Tomatoes
You don’t need a vast backyard to grow tomatoes. Tomatoes can also be grown in a pot! Simply make sure to select a pot that is at least six inches wide, keep it in a warm location, and ensure that it receives at least twelve hours of light per day. Tomatoes love the warm weather and require a lot of sunlight.
4. Microgreens
Microgreens are super easy to take care of, are packed with micronutrients, and can be sprinkled onto almost any dish. Sprinkle the seeds onto a shallow dish of soil, keep the soil moist, and you’ll be eating the sprouts in no time.
5. Garlic Greens
Garlic greens are readily produced in a small, four-inch pot with three to four garlic cloves and have a flavour comparable to spring onions. Lightly water the pot and place it on a sunny windowsill.
6. Mushrooms
Normally, finding mushrooms growing in your residence would be undesirable. However, edible mushrooms add flavour to any recipe. Two of the simpler types of mushrooms you may cultivate at home in your indoor garden are shiitake and pearl oyster. The simplest option is to purchase mushroom growing kits from Amazon or a specialty food store because cultivating mushrooms from scratch can be a bit of work.
7. Lemons
Small lemon trees are not only attractive as houseplants but also smell wonderful and bear juicy fruits that are fantastic in salads or added to hot tea, among other uses. Citrus trees can be more difficult to care for, but as long as you give them adequate light (at least 8 to 12 hours of sunlight per day) and place them in a moist area, you should be good to go.
8. Bell Peppers
Bell peppers thrive in an indoor setting because they prefer a stable atmosphere. However, because they need almost two litres of soil, they do require a little bit more room. Therefore, you might not be able to cultivate bell peppers if you’re renting a studio apartment. A home with two bedrooms or more would be preferable.
9. Chili Peppers
Few things can match chili peppers if you enjoy giving your mouth the boot. As long as you can provide them with at least six hours of bright sunlight each day and don’t lower your thermostat below 70°F (21°C), you can grow chilis indoors. Even the seeds you remove from store-bought chilli can sprout them.
10. Salad Greens
Why spend money on lush greens that would wilt and perish in the refrigerator in a matter of days, like romaine lettuce or spinach? To produce your own leafy greens or salad greens in warm, moist soil, simply purchase starting kits. You’ll soon be eating freshly produced salad every day if you give the plant plenty of sunlight.
Spinach is one of the shallow rooted plants and can easily grow in pots. Utilize south facing windows with bright sunlight to enjoy spinach year round!
Growing vegetables indoors on your apartment balcony and Growing your Own Food and Fresh Herbs
As the saying goes, you are what you eat. You can go full swing into own food management once you begin growing veggies with apartment gardening.
Your vegetables will all be organic in addition to being extremely fresh. Fresh vegetables picked from your “balcony garden” are incomparable to anything else.
You must first obtain seeds and make sure they are designated as “sprouting seeds” in order to start growing sprouts. Buy sprouting seeds or ask friends for seed to start inexpensively.
Most fruits and vegetables found in stores are typically plucked before they are fully mature in order to be ready for sale. The taste may be severely diminished as a result. Additionally, the majority of the vegetables we purchase are laden with chemicals and pesticides that we definitely shouldn’t eat or give to our children.
But the flexibility to choose what you eat is one of the main benefits of growing your own vegetables.
10 things to consider starting your apartment balcony vegetable garden
1. Is it permitted in your building if you live in a condo? Check the rules for your building before getting started with apartment gardening. Some buildings only allow flowers or don’t allow any plants on balconies (vegetables may attract birds or vermin).
2. Is your balcony or rooftop strong enough to support the increased weight of soil-filled pots? Due to the weight of terra cotta and ceramic pots, you may need to utilize rice pots, plastic or fiberglass containers, or fabric grow bags with light soil mixes.
3. How will you supply water to your plants? It’s a long way to drag jugs of water if you’re growing on a rooftop! Consider using drip irrigation or pots that water themselves. You might also get a watering can that can be easily filled from the bathtub. Will your plants’ surplus water fall on your neighbours below? Be considerate and place saucers or trays under your plants to catch the excess water.
4. What plants should you raise on your balcony? The most important thing is to choose the proper plant for your location. Don’t squander room on something that isn’t likely to succeed. The most important consideration is the amount of sunlight.
Do you have a balcony that faces south and gets DIRECT sunlight all day? Cacti, many flowers, and most vegetables will thrive there if kept well-watered.
Look for a low-light plant like coleus, ferns, impatiens, hostas, or begonias if your balcony faces north or is shaded by nearby buildings for the most of the day.
Some greens, such as chard, spinach, and lettuce, may thrive with only a half-day of sunlight. Some herbs such as basil, are able to do so as well, which is fantastic for culinary purposes!
5. Is your balcony or terrace exposed to the elements? Be aware of any extreme conditions while practicing apartment gardening. The higher up you are, the more wind you are likely to have, and hot drying winds can quickly parch your plants. Get double-duty from a lattice or wire trellis that can block prevailing winds while providing support for climbing vines, too. It will also add a touch of privacy. Since wind is drying, you really have to stay on top of watering. Look into self-watering pots.
Some of your houseplants might enjoy a summer vacation outside. To avoid sun and wind burn on the leaves, gently introduce them to their new place.
6. How hot is your balcony or rooftop for gardening? Heat is usually a problem when the sun isn’t reflecting off the windows. The lettuce would just wilt. Consider a exotic tropical plant if heat is a problem! Alocasia, banana, or canna can create a jungle-like atmosphere in a room with just one pot. Succulents will flourish! Consider your balcony to be a small outdoor room. Add a table and chairs if there is room, then relax while sitting within the vegetation. A bubbling fountain or some wind chimes could assist offer a little bit of calming sound to the background noise if your setting is too noisy.
7. How big is your gardening space? We advise starting modest if it’s small. Although a newbie should start with a few pots, you can eventually consider vertical gardening. Get a sense of how much time you have for gardening so that you don’t overdo it. To define the space and distribute the load, arrange beds and larger containers along the perimeter. Use the available wall space to hang wall pockets and half-baskets.
8. Do you want to grow edible plants and vegetables in your apartment garden? Although you most likely won’t be able to produce enough food to satisfy all of your needs, some pole beans, a container of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and a few pepper plants will help you have a taste of summer. Place them in your areas of greatest brightness. Find out more about growing plants and vegetables in containers.
9. Do you have time to care for your plants? A little vegetable garden requires regular maintenance. A plant that is grown in a container for container gardening, as opposed to the ground, require more frequent watering.
Another justification for thinking about drip irrigation or self-watering containers is container gardening. To keep leggy plants in check and promote bushiness, fertilize, deadhead, and pinch them back. To keep the plants productive, make sure to harvest fruits and vegetables as soon as they are ready. In some circumstances, harvesting encourage plants grow more food for you to collect.
10. Do you have the budget? If you don’t want to spend a bunch, be careful not to just buy grow lights or plants that are already grown. While grow lights can be really helpful to grow fruits and vegetables and even many salad greens, utilize sunlight to minimize costs.
Try your luck at yard sales for pots. Buy seeds or request seed sharing from friends. Get nursery waste seed flats. You can use egg cartons to germinate seeds and lower costs
Convert coffee cans into adorable containers (poking holes in the bottom). Only high-quality potting soil is something you should really spend money on. Regular “dirt” is unclean and causes illness and issues. Take a course on how to prepare your own potting soil.
Apartment herb garden
Start a apartment herb garden with plants you already use or would ordinarily purchase at the supermarket. Nothing beats having a plant on the windowsill that you can clip a few leaves from to make salads and other dishes, according to VanZile, once you get used to cooking with fresh herbs. Additionally, if you utilise fresh herbs regularly rather than infrequently, you’ll be much more driven to care for them.
When starting out, choosing plants to grow vegetables is really important to a successful harvest. Start with the easiest plants which grow year round with less water supply. Once you succeed in your first harvest, you will soon enjoy eating and be eager to grow vegetables in your home.
Utilize south Facing windows as they will get the most light. Flowering plants and some salad greens from your vegetable garden require a lot of sun so south facing window spots will be great. Besides, Apartment gardening can be fun for the whole family. Have fun showing off your green thumb!
