With home gardening becoming a trend, it’s difficult not to get jealous of people with spacious yards when you live in a tight apartment.
However, limited space doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t grow food. With creativity, you can kickstart your green dreams without moving any furniture.
Trust me, it’s easier than you think!
Start a Windowsill Garden!
A windowsill garden is just as it sounds. You grow veggies and plants right on the sills of your apartment’s windows. Sounds weird, right? But it works.
A garden on your window is a superb way to spruce up your room’s aesthetic and cut food costs. You can grow anything from herbs and spices to leafy greens!
What Do You Need For a Windowsill Garden?
First, you’ll need a window with a sill (obviously). But if you have an incredibly thin sill, consider placing a table, stand, or a bookshelf as a makeshift ledge.
The window should receive enough sunlight throughout the day. This factor is essential. Plants need at least seven to eight hours of sun to thrive, and vegetables are particularly sun-needy.
Select the plants you want to have in your window garden. Whether you prefer herbs, veggies, spices, or a combination, research what suits your area’s weather.
Lastly, you’ll need vegetable containers and nutrition-rich soil. Look for containers that can accommodate adult plant size to avoid stumping their growth and diminishing your harvest!
Consider Vertical Gardening
Vertical gardening is another fantastic idea for people living in tiny urban areas. But instead of using your windows, it utilizes the vertical space next to your apartment walls.
By growing plants upwards, you can conserve apartment space, improve air quality, and enjoy bountiful yields of edible plants. Three birds in one stone!
What Do You Need For a Vertical Garden?
You’ll need a vertical structure to start an upward-growing garden. Ideally, you’d want a wall that receives plenty of sun with enough width to fit five or more pots.
Installing a trellis is one of the most painless approaches to vertical gardening. You can also use decorative ones and give that wall space an extra sprucing up.
Alternatively, you may use a vertical plant pot rack. You can even make the vertical structure yourself and save yourself some bucks.
Select a variety of pot-friendly plants to hang in the trellis or rack. Depending on your space, you can plant medicinal plants, edible herbs, rooty veggies, and leafy greens!
Here’s a tip:
Leave enough space between your vegetable trellis or rack and the wall. This step improves the airflow and reduces the risk of the plants competing for nutrients and sunlight.
Apartment Gardening Maintenance 101
A successful gardener understands plant needs. So, here’s a quick guide to everything you need to consider when growing your food indoors.
Sunlight
The sun is your and your plants’ friend. Most fruity plants and vegetables need constant sunlight to grow healthy.
However, this necessity can be rare in an urban apartment with skyscrapers blocking the sun. If you live in a particularly shady area, you can try planting shade-tolerant veggies instead.
Water
Growing in containers, the vegetables will need plenty of water to thrive. Some plants will need multiple waterings every day.
If it works for your apartment plan, I’d recommend placing your garden near your kitchen. Alternatively, installing a drip irrigation system is a superb way to reduce the legwork of watering maintenance.
Soil
The soil is another vital consideration when farming veggies indoors. You want high-quality soil to sustain your plants in their containers.
A lightweight, nutrient-rich potting mix that retains moisture and drains well is ideal. Potting mixes of sand, peat moss, perlite, and amended with fertilizer lime should do the job.
The Best Plants to Grow Inside Apartments
There are plenty of hardy veggies that grow well despite the location. Herbs, for one, are known for surviving the tightest windowsills and spaces.
Alliums like garlic and green onions also make excellent apartment companions. They require minimal space and soil, which means less watering and maintenance.
Leafy greens like loose-leaf lettuce and spinach are your best options in a minimal-sun situation. These veggies have sparse roots. As such, you can freely plant them in cheap shallow containers.
Final Thoughts
As grocery prices continue to soar, having an alternate food source is a fantastic idea for everyone who wants to save some bucks.
The good news is you don’t even need actual ground space to start a vegetable garden. With enough space to grow, your favorite salad ingredients can thrive anywhere, even on your walls and windowsills.
So, what are you waiting for? Start your home-grown haven today and take a step further toward food security!
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.