Apartment Gardening
I would like to start a garden, but I live an apartment without a balcony. I do have very large bright sunny windows. Is it even possible? I have read about pot gardening. I know I can grow herbs. I have tried keeping indoor plants with mixed success. What can I realistically grow that is edible?
Try Tiny Tim cherry tomatoes. They're supposed to be very small - hence the name.
There are books on gardening for apartments, I don't have the names in my head right now... I have grown small garlic inside, depends on your light and your patience. Basil, dill and some other herbs might grow in your window. Potatoes may be grown if you have a large enough container to keep tossing dirt or straw on top as they rise... you can do that with a small grow light in a closet (be prepared for the inevitable governmental inspection from your hotspot though)
That inspection is only inevitable in the U.K., in the U.S. we have law's about the use of F.L.I.R. Gun's so hot spot all ya like.
If you get at least 6 hours a day I reccomend strawberry's you can harvest a nice load of fruit in a very small area. Strawberry's love to be crowded also and grow great in small containers. Perfect for apartments if ya get enough sun.
Actually I heard about a lady in the US who got raided because the cops spotted the hot spot of warming lamps for her guinea pigs. She was probably scared to death!
I saw some hanging pots in Menards yesterday with tomatoes growing in them. It looked like cherry tomatoes. So, if you could hang something, those might work. I had a few different kinds of peppers in pots last year, some poblano, some really tiny, super hot red ones, and regular bell peppers, IIRC.Originally Posted by SunnyD
Go for it. Get some seeds, start them, once they're going, put them into pots and see what happens. Maybe get some kind if tiered stand to set them on or rig up some kind of hooks.
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I think strawberries would be the best. They are so expensive to buy in the store, but if I did grow them I'd be afraid of only yielding a few. I'd get to eat a couple every month....but it is better than nothing. I already have the soil and small pots for when they are little. Maybe I'll try it.
I can't believe that all of this would grow in a window garden. I've heard of it, but never tried it. I guess it is one of those too good to be true fears.
You can grow a lot in a small space I have had good luck using 5 gal buckets with soil. in one pot i did five heads of lettuce. In the next Pot I did a tomato. In another pot I did a whole mess of radishes. Then in a strawberry pot I did a big mix of herbs mostly it was basil for pesto. If I had to do it over I would have done hanging tomatoes to free up space or hang squash which also do rely well upside down.. Also check out a book called square foot gardening. Instructibales is also a good resource.
I do not like work even when someone else does it.
- "The Lost Napoleon" Mark Twain
I am in a similar position. In a few weeks I will be moving in to an apartment with enough light to potentially grow something. I have plenty of dried herbs and spices so I was hoping to grow something more substantial. My problem is that I have roommates who have requested that whatever I grow looks decorative. I know strawberries would be just the thing but I have had terrible luck trying to grow them in the past.
Sweet potatoes have lovely vines and flowers, you would want a decent tub or pot so you'd get a few but you can trellis the vines whiles it's growing and it looks like a houseplant. You can also eat the stems and leaves. I've dried them and added them to stews and sauces, adds body and vitamins.
Rainbow chard is quite pretty, many varieties of beans can be lovely while growing. I have two japanese eggplants growing in small apartment sized pots now, they are decorative and produce small eggplants (enough to use in a stir fry or add to something every couple of weeks).. the flowers are a beautiful purple and the plant is nice.
Malibar spinach is an indoor/outdoor plant that is edible, it vines and is quite tasty and is pretty... you can grow it in a hanging pot or in a pot on the floor with a trellis. It's not a real spinach.
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