Growing Veggies in Small Spaces

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Growing your own food is very cool. It’s very “on trend,” as they say. Growing your own food gives you and your children a better appreciation not only for where the food comes from, but also how much work and preparation is involved. It’s something that, as a farm girl, I took for granted. Now, I make do with small spaces.

Having lived in apartments and condos for the last twenty-some years, I also can tell you I took the space for granted. Wide-open farm fields, the family vegetable garden that was blended into the 20-acre lot we grew potatoes on, the chance to grow 20 zucchini plants all spaced completely appropriately—all of that I took for granted. To have a farm now, even a small 2-acre space, would give me such a chance to grow and grow and grow. It’s a bit of a dream.

Balcony, porch, and window gardens—anything is possible

We have two small urban community garden plots, and I would guessitmate the area to be less than 200 square feet. We grow a lot in that space and are very thankful for it. In the scheme of things, however, not everyone has access to that much space, or even half that amount of space.

This past weekend I was at a horticultural trade show that reminded me growing your own vegetables is accessible to all—to those with a small balcony, patio, front porch, or even just a small window. Take the photo above, for example. On display at this trade show was a row of these decorative containers filled with both flowers and the prettiest chard. Swap out the flowers for a dwarf tomato and maybe some lettuce and you have an entire window box planter of veggies.

Tips for small spaces and tiny gardens

Here are some things to keep in mind when growing veggies in such small spaces:

– Give them plenty of light, especially tomatoes and fruit that need to ripen.

– The roots have access to less soil and less water. Keep an eye on how moist or dry the soil is. Moist is good. Bone dry is bad. You’ll find you may need to water more frequently.

– If veggies are planted along with flowers, make sure the flowers don’t crowd out the vegetables. It needs access to sun and water, too!

– Sometimes planting veggies in with flowers helps to camouflage them, hiding them from bad bugs.

– Be realistic with planting. A huge zucchini plant will have a hard time stuffed into a small window box, for example.

– Experiment! I find combos of veggies and flowers to have such lovely interminglings.

– Lastly, keep an open mind as to the meaning of success when it comes to veggie gardening in containers. You may have one Beefsteak tomato ready by July 4th, but at least you’re harvesting something–and it’s just within reach. That puts you ahead of most.

Meet Ellen Wells

When you’re raised on a farm, you can’t help but know a thing or two about gardening. Ellen Wells is our expert on edible gardening.…

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