3 Tips for Gardening in Small Spaces

You don’t need a sprawling yard to enjoy gardening. Even if you’re in a small space, you can still get your hands in the dirt and grow beautiful flowers, veggies and herbs. Below are 3 tips on how to reap all of the rewards of gardening without massive flowerbeds or garden plots.

1. Hanging Gardens

If you live in an urban area and don’t have a lot of available gardening space, don’t count yourself out quite yet. Consider growing your plants and vegetables in a hanging garden. There are many ways to achieve this type of garden, so you can really get creative with this project.

The easiest way to achieve this type of garden is by purchasing a premade hanging planter from any gardening store. Be sure you have all of the proper gear to rig the planter correctly and avoid it falling and spilling your plants. You might also want to do some research and pick a planter that gives the plant you want to grow enough room. For example, you can’t expect to grow healthy carrots in a shallow planter!

Typically, these planters are perfect for flowers. In fact, it is probably a good idea to only plant flowers or low-maintenance plants in these hanging baskets, as they can be an annoyance to get to. If that doesn’t bother you, by all means, plant whatever you want!

Another thing you can do involves a little more DIY expertise to pull off. With an old piece of wood, a few mason jars and some brackets to hold everything in place, you’ll have a cute indoor herb garden right in your kitchen. You’ll want to hang it near a window so the herbs get a splash of sunlight, but otherwise all you have to do is hang it and use the herbs as you cook.

You can really get creative with your hanging gardens. Try using old junk from your attic or garage as a fun and unique planter. Add paint to give it character. There are endless things you can do to create a one-of-a-kind home garden.

2. Patio Gardens

If you do have an outdoor patio, try growing a few veggies in pots. Some great options of plants that you can grow are tomato and pepper plants. Some plants, like cucumbers and zucchini, tend to take up more space. If you want to grow these vegetables, you can train the vines to grow up a trellis or even the metal rails on your patio. However, you don’t want to plant too many of these vining veggies because they will get big, but they’ll look great weaving in and out of your patio.

You can also create a raised bed and place it on your patio. You will need to purchase wood planks in order to create a box big enough to garden in. Fill the box with soil and plant whatever veggies or flowers you’d like. The box can sit low to the ground, or you can add legs to the box and keep it at waist height to eliminate the need to tend to it on your hands and knees.

3. Maximize Small Spaces

You’d be surprised what you can grow in a tiny space. If you do have a plot of dirt outside–even if it’s a little strip near the side of your apartment building–you can turn it into a garden.

When it comes to gardening in small spaces, it’s all about the layout. You just have to learn to plant smart. For example, you can plant radishes next to your cucumbers because you’ll harvest the radishes first and then your cucumbers can take over that space. You can grow pole beans up corn stalks, onions between tomato plants and plant herbs around the edge of your garden rather than in bunches.

Of course, the spot will need some sunlight. Direct sunlight is great, but the heat does have some drawbacks for gardening. If you have at least five hours of sunlight, you should be set.

Whether you chose a raised bed or patio pots, you’ll be able to grow quite a bit in your small space. Each year you’ll learn which plants work well in your area and be able to improve the look of your flowers or boost your vegetable harvest.