How To Garden When You Don’t Have Much Space

 

If you like the idea of growing your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs but your living arrangements don’t provide the acreage you need, there are other ways to grow big at home. Don’t let a lack of land or a preponderance of concrete keep you from indulging your farming fantasies. Here’s how to garden when you don’t have much space.

Soil and Grow Bag Gardening

You’ve got no backyard—or front yard, for that matter—because properties are small in your area and there’s cement everywhere. You’re out of luck, right? Wrong. Soil bag gardening lets you set up small to medium beds wherever you like. Pick up a few plastic bags of gardening soil and cut long slits into the back. Lay down the bag, cut out a large rectangle, and then plant your seeds, sprouts, or pre-grown plants in the dirt, watering them regularly. Ideal plants include cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, lettuce, squash, and other plants that don’t have deep roots. You can also buy canvas grow bags for containers you can use every year.

Hydroponics

Have a taste for fresh produce all year long? Hydroponics allow you to grow nutritious and delicious edibles in every season without soil because plants are suspended in a grow medium while you water and feed them with a nutrient solution in a nearby tank. Several hydroponics systems are available—from wick-based to nutrient film to ebb-and-flow to aeroponics systems—and you can choose the one that best suits the amount of space you have in your home. It’s best to start small with a lettuce, strawberry, tomato, or herbal garden grown with the wick system, but as you learn more, you might want to expand.

Hanging and Stacking

If you have a small backyard with a small porch and just enough space for a few plants before hitting a back fence or wall, put that vertical space to work. Attaching long planters and pots can create several tiers of greenery. Hanging shoe racks and similar organizers can serve as adorable collections of individual pocket gardens as well. Large planters and hanging pots can fit almost anywhere, hanging from windows, supports, or wood canopies. Look around! And, don’t forget there’s always the window sill gardening! 

Community Garden

If you’re an apartment- or condo-dweller and even your porch lacks room and sunlight, here’s how to garden when you don’t have much space. Look around and see if there’s a community garden in your area. Community gardens often seek volunteers and contributors to come and work the garden together. Some will let you pay a fee to cultivate your own patch and take home whatever you raise come harvest time. It’s not only a good way to get out, get some sun and fresh air, and save the earth, but also a great opportunity to make new friends, socialize, and celebrate. So get growing!