Living in an apartment and gardening don’t really go together, but you can make it work, as we talked about in How to Homestead in an Apartment, and I know from experience. You won’t be able to have to same crop selection or the same yield that suburban backyard, or rural homesteaders get, but you can get started and gain valuable experience while increasing your health and saving money. Here are 4 tips I used to make gardening possible while living in an apartment.
Grow Bags
Space will be one of your major concerns, not just for growing, but also for storing. One way to reduce the amount of space needed to store some of the bulkiest garden supplies, pots, is to use grow bags instead. Grow bags can be cheap black plastic bags with drainage holes, or expensive fabric bags that help promote root health depending on your budget.
Perineal Crops
Another way to save space, growing space, is to grow crops that will only need to be planted once so that you are not wasting space with crops that you need to wait on for them to mature. Perineal greens, or even long lasting greens are a great way to reduce your grocery bill and increase your health in a small area. In most zones chard, kale, tree kale, and Okinawan spinach are great choices.
Grow Inside
To save space outside, grow what you can inside. Herbs like mint and oregano can easily be grown inside without any ill effect on your plants. With a little effort they can even add some aesthetic appeal to the inside.
Trellis
Growing vertical is one of the best ways to save space. Growing pole beans on a trellis can quadruple the yield for the same amount of ground. Malabar spinach can be grown on a trellis and provides plenty of greens for a small area. Tomatoes grown on a trellis will not only save space but keep the plant from being damaged when the fruit become large.
Small space is no reason not to start a garden. Even a small garden can provide large benefits to your health and save you money if you do it right.
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