How to Garden in Small Spaces

It’s easy to grow your own food even when space is an issue. Whether you live in an apartment or townhouse and only have a tiny balcony or window-box for space, there are several great options available to you.

The most important consideration for growing anything successfully is light. Find a spot that gets plenty of sunlight - most often it’s in the southern part of your home. It will be the opposite for those in Australia or the southern hemisphere.

When it comes to small spaces and raised beds are out of question, invest in pots, containers or planters. Make sure they have plenty of drainage holes at the bottom (or drill them yourself) and place a dish underneath them to catch excess water that could run off after watering or rain, so your patio or balcony doesn’t get stained. 

Plant your containers with varieties that are perfect for containers and have words such as “dwarf”, “patio” or “baby” on them. Peppers, radishes, kale, lettuce, spinach, cherry tomatoes, determinate tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbages all grow really well in containers and grow bags too.

Don’t forget that you can easily grow trailing plants such as strawberries and nasturtiums,  in hanging baskets and use window-sill planters to grow a variety of herbs, edible flowers and salad greens too!

Maximize every bit of your growing space by incorporating edible plants along borders and pathways near your house as well.

When it comes to growing in containers, the larger the root system of your plant the bigger the container you’ll need. Leafy greens and herbs have a shallow root system and can get away with being grown in smaller pots.

Remember to amend your soil regularly with compost, earthworm castings or an organic fertilizer so plants can thrive and produce in their limited space.