Gardening in Small Spaces

By Traci P.

If you’ve noticed lately, there is a strong movement toward healthy local food – and many of us would like to have a stake in where our food comes from. Farmers markets and local food share and community garden organizations are becoming increasingly popular as news of food contamination and pesticide over-use threaten our health more and more.

This is a great time to think about growing your own vegetables, fruit, and herbs. And it’s easier than you might think! :)

One of the biggest deterrents to home gardening is the perceived lack of space. Or, the complicated soil preparation and maintenance. Or simply the amount of care it can take to grow something to ‘fruition’. True, traditional ‘plot’ gardens are quite a bit of work, and even though they can yield large amounts of vegetables, it’s being proven over and over that growing foods in smaller containers - and raised beds, even – can yield great results, for very minimal work. And for a beginning gardener, there’s no better way to 'get your hands dirty', than a few pots containing salad greens, tomatoes, or herbs.

What You’ll Need:

• Large Containers – you can purchase containers at a home improvement or garden store – or you can use containers you already have around the house... just about any vessel which can accommodate about 4-5 gallons of soil, and which has a few drain holes in the bottom will work.

• Soil – a prepared 'garden mix' or 'container potting soil' is best for outdoor, single season planting. Miracle Grow brand is great, because it has fertilizer already in it. (If you want to grow *Organic* vegetables, remember to look for organic soil, as well as seeds.)

• Garden trowel (small shovel), or large serving spoon

• Garden stakes (or sturdy sticks, gathered from your yard)

• String

• Small trellis'

Start with a few vegetables or herbs that you really like to eat. And start small. Don’t feel the need to plant everything at once – try with a few things, and enjoy what you get! The following are very easy to grow, require minimal effort, and will grow well in containers on a patio:

• Lettuce

• Spinach

• Kale

• Peas/Pea Pods

• Green Beans

• Tomatoes *

• Peppers *

• Basil

• Cilantro

• Mint

*Keep in mind that Tomatoes and Peppers are best purchased as plants that have already been started by a greenhouse or garden center. These vegetables need very specific growing conditions to get a healthy start, so typically they are not seeded directly into the garden/container. Look for plants that are “compact” or designed for container planting (ask someone at the greenhouse if you’re unsure). These plants will be very sturdy and may not grow very tall – but will still produce LOTS of vegetables!

Choosing Seeds:

• Vegetable seeds are available just about anywhere – but I like to purchase them from a garden center or nursery, as they tend to be better quality, and will produce better.

• When choosing seeds to plant, be sure that you pay attention to the time it takes to grow a seed into a mature plant that produces fruit/veggies. Growth time varies from vegetable to vegetable.

• When planting in small spaces like containers, it’s best to choose seeds whose plants will not grow more than 1.5 to 3ft. tall, or need much space to ‘spread’. Seed packets will have statistics on the back, as to their projected height, width, space, and water needs.

• When choosing peas, pea pods, and green beans, you can choose either ‘bush’ style, or ‘pole’ style. Bush style grow ‘wider’, and pole style grow taller. If you have room for your plants to grow ‘upward’, choose the climbing style, as this will offer you a great visual, as well as make harvesting much easier!

Preparing Your Containers:

• Choose a large, deep container that has several drain holes in the bottom. It’s very important that the soil can drain well, as it’s easier to add water to dry soil, than it is to remove excess moisture from muddy soil! And most plants will die quickly if sitting in soggy soil. L

• Next, choose a good potting soil or garden mix. Stay away from ‘top soil’ or anything that has a lot of clay in it. You want a light soil.

• Add a layer (about 2” deep) of either small pebbles or even packing peanuts to the bottom of the container. This will help with drainage.

• Next, fill the container to within about 2” of the top with your potting soil. Add enough water to moisten the soil, but be sure that it’s not ‘muddy’ - Just slightly damp all the way through.

Then it’s time to sow your seeds, or set your plants! Follow seed packet instructions for how deep and how far apart to sow your seeds.

Plants such as tomatoes and peppers are easily transplanted from their pots into the larger containers by first digging a hole about the size of the plant’s pot, in the center of the container, and then placing the plant in, and filling around the base with soil.

Each tomato or pepper plant should have its own container to grow in. Be careful not to crowd the plants.

Then water lightly, and set in a sunny spot. Ideally, your seeds and plants should get at least 8 hours of unobstructed sunlight per day, to grow healthy. Patio containers can be planted after the last threat of frost – usually about early to mid-May.

Now, just watch them grow! – And water when it doesn’t rain for several days – or if the soil gets really dry, or plants begin to wither. It will seem as though it takes a long time for them to get going – but once they do, you’ll be amazed at the constant change and progress you see!

Fertilize! – For the first several weeks, your plants will probably not need fertilizer, as most container soil comes with a good dose of fertilizer already included in the mix. Miracle Grow has lots of different fertilizer options. Just follow label instructions, and feed your plants about once every other week or so, especially after they’ve begun to produce ‘fruit’.

As They Get Bigger…

Lettuce, Spinach, Kale, and Other Greens:

• Some of the first veggies you’ll be able to pick – and do not require any special attention as they grow. Seed packets will give you the care instructions you need. You may begin harvesting your greens when they are just a couple of inches tall! :)

• Greens will produce for a relatively short amount of time. Usually just a few weeks.

• If you’d like to have a more continuous crop of greens, just have a couple of containers available to use, and plant each a couple of weeks apart. Then, when one container is finished, you can harvest from the next container, while you grow a new crop in the first one – and so on, and so on, through the growing season! I’ve successfully grown greens as late as October! :)

Basil, Cilantro, Mint, and Other Herbs:

• Grow similar to greens (above), however, you should be able to harvest for a bit longer.

Peas, Pea Pods, and Beans:

• Peas and beans love to climb, so if you choose a ‘pole’ or climbing variety, be sure to add a small trellis to your container, or place near a fence or pole that the plants can climb on!

Tomatoes and Peppers:

• Once the plants are about 6 to 8 inches tall, add a heavy-duty stake, or tomato cage around your plant, to help hold it up straight and sturdy, once it contains vegetables.

These are just some ideas to get you ‘growing’. Experiment and try new things, to see what works best for you!