A Vegetable Garden in a Small Space

A Vegetable Garden in a Small Space

Nowadays, vegetable gardens are all the rage. Even if you live in a small apartment, you can still have a garden. Besides your typical houseplants, you can cultivate certain fruits, herbs, and vegetables in your apartment garden. You can do this by creating your unique vegetable garden somewhere in your apartment, for example, on your patio. 

You are probably feeling skeptical right now. I mean, it’s just a tiny apartment, so how much can you grow? Probably just a bell pepper plant and some kitchen herbs? The amount of produce you get depends on factors, such as your setup and what you decide to plant.

Begin your garden with a few containers to improve your gardening skills. Once you start your garden, you won’t just be engaging in a hobby that gives more benefits than stress, but you’ll also be eating produce that’s a hundred percent organic.

Keep reading, and we’re going to give you all the essential information on starting apartment patio vegetable gardening, from planting to harvesting.

Before you pick the vegetables you want to plant, you have to answer the following questions:

What is the Climate of Your Country?

Before you decide on the type of vegetables to plant, or even where you’ll plant them, you have to know the climate you live in. Every region of the country has a specific variety of vegetables that thrive there. This is because of the differences in weather and seasons.

If you are in the north, peas, broccoli, and lettuce tend to grow well there. If you live in the south, though, peppers and eggplants will grow bountifully. Tomatoes tend to be a little more troublesome in the north.

Having a garden in dryer climates means that you have to pay special attention to the amount of moisture your plants receive. People in wet environments have the opposite issue; you need to make sure that your plants don’t get infected with mildew or other diseases.

What is the Best Location for Your Garden?

After you learn the climate you live in, the next step is to decide on the best location for your vegetable garden. Assuming you live in an apartment with little to no land to spare, you can still plant your vegetables and harvest your organic produce. All you need is a sunny patio and a few large containers or planting pots.

While you’re deciding on your garden’s location, be sure to consider the following factors:

 

Sun

Most vegetables require at least six hours of sunlight every day. If they don’t get enough sunlight, the plants will be stressed, and their fruits won’t ripen. A point to note is that some vegetables —such as lettuce, broccoli, and spinach— can survive with less than six hours of sunlight, so you can still plant them in spots that get shady in the evening.

Water

All vegetables need to be watered regularly. If they aren’t, they won’t fill out, and tomatoes — for example — will crack open if they’re suddenly hydrated after surviving without water. Rain is seasonal, which means you can’t make rain your primary or only source of water. If you can get it, a drip irrigation system is an advantage for your vegetable garden. The new designs are easy to install and are much cheaper than you would expect.

The drip irrigation system will reduce the amount you spend on the water since water goes directly to your plants’ roots, and a lot less water is lost to evaporation. You can also position your garden near a water faucet to make watering easier. This way, you won’t have to carry the watering can or hose too far before you can water the vegetables.

Soil

Soil is the last factor to consider when it comes to picking a location for your vegetable garden. Soil is essential for the growth of all plants, but doubly so for vegetables. This is because the quality of the soil your vegetables are planted in affects their taste.

Vegetables require a soil that’s rich in organic matter. This is a significant reason wines from the same type of grapes have different tastes. It’s also the reason some places produce hotter peppers than others.

As long as you can provide the necessities: sunlight, enough water, and good soil, you can start apartment patio vegetable gardening.

What is the Best Setup for Your Garden?

A small vegetable garden isn’t enough for subsistence farming, but it will be enough to grow tasty organic produce. Here are some ways of setting up your garden to maximize all the space you have.

 

Grow Your Vegetables in Raised Beds

Raised garden beds are an excellent way to maximize space in your apartment. Although to use them, you must have a level foundation to build them on. These beds have advantages over in-ground beds, such as better drainage and easier access. Raised garden beds also let the soil warm faster in the spring.

In-ground beds are great, but it can take a few years for the soil to become high-quality. Using a raised bed means that you can mix compost and good soil right from the beginning of your garden. You don’t even have to get a big bed, a bed as small as 5×5 feet will contain many vegetables.

Grow Your Vegetables Vertically

If you want to include vining vegetables such as cucumber, squash, peas, and pole beans, make sure to plant them alongside a trellis, netting, or a fence. Vertical gardening maximizes space, but it also draws interest and gives structure. Most vining vegetables in your apartment garden require only about a foot of space.

Trellises — or lattices — come in many different materials, styles, and shapes. If you would instead build yours by yourself, you can make it with bamboo poles secured on the top to give a teepee-like structure.

You can also grow shallow-rooted vegetables and herbs in green wall systems and wall-mounted planters. Grow Your Vegetables in Containers

If there isn’t enough space on your apartment patio to have your vegetable garden on the ground or there is no sunlight available in that particular spot, you can use containers.

When you’re choosing the vegetables to grow in pots, make sure you pick the dwarf or patio varieties of whatever plant you want. Shallow-rooted plants such as leeks, radishes, garlic, lettuce also thrive in pots.

Almost anything can be used as a container. This goes from metal buckets to fabric sacks, as long as there is an efficient drainage system. Keep in mind that plants in pots and containers need more water than plants on the ground. Remember to fertilize the containers during the growing season with organic fertilizers such as guano.

Design an Edible Landscape with Your Vegetables

Creating an edible landscape is an excellent solution for maximizing space in your front yard or on the patio. To make the landscape, mix ornamental herbs and vegetables with perennial plants or plant them in containers.

After you’ve answered the above questions, you can now decide the best vegetables to plant in your garden. Here are some things to do when picking vegetables to grow:

Prioritize Your Space

Since you’ll be cultivating a small garden, you will not have enough space to experiment with plants in case they fail. Prioritize your cultivation space by planting vegetables that you love and you know will thrive. Another factor to consider is whether or not the produce will taste good if it’s freshly picked.

Choose Plants With High Yield

Because you have limited space to cultivate your vegetables, make sure you pick plants that will give a high yield within a small area. Many herbs and vegetables have patio or dwarf varieties that you can plant in pots and containers.

Choose Vegetables That Keep Giving

Your vegetables will keep on feeding you all through the cultivation season, as long as you harvest them regularly. These vegetables keep on producing by growing new leaves whenever the outer leaves are cut off. Examples of vegetables like this are mesclun, collard greens, chard, escarole, loose-leaf lettuce, and kale.

Best Vegetable Choices for Apartment Gardens

The next thing is to know the best plant choices for your vegetable garden. Here are some plants you can cultivate in your vegetable garden:

Lettuce

This vegetable thrives in both raised garden beds and pots. They tend to grow better in cooler months, and you can start planting the seeds as early as March. “Tom Thumb” and “Little Gem” are small lettuce varieties that can produce leaves within eight weeks.

Scallions

Scallions are disease-resistant, and they also love the cooler months. If you want to harvest them around the middle of June, you should plant them between March and April. An excellent variety to cultivate is the “White Portugal.

Beets

Beets don’t take up a lot of space, and they are easy to cultivate. They tend to enjoy warmer months. Some suitable varieties are “Little Ball” and “Gladiator.”

Carrots

Carrots are perfect for apartment gardens, but they thrive in cooler climates. In warm temperatures, you can plant them in March, but it’s better to wait till May in cooler areas. Some suitable varieties for apartment gardening are “Gold Nugget” and “Lady Finger.”

Final Thoughts

You can have a vegetable garden no matter how small your apartment is. The key to making your apartment patio vegetable gardening project work is that it’s well taken care of and doesn’t get overgrown with weeds. Now, you can start your vegetable garden and eat fresh, organic produce right in your home!