Mini Farming
Could you imagine if you never had to buy produce at the store again? Now that would save at least some time and money! Whether you live in the suburbs, in an apartment in a big city, or in a house in a small town, you probably shop for produce at your nearest grocer like most people.
Nowadays, with the price of food on the rise and high traces of pesticides and GMOs in food, more and more people are finding ways to garden at home with unique designs and creative ways to yield A LOT of food in very small spaces.
Let’s check out some unique and creative ways to incorporate gardening in your living space, no matter how small the space!
Raised Beds
Getting Dirty Just Got Fun!
Although…, raised beds might not be the appropriate “dirty talk” for the bedroom, keep in mind you can still make yourself and your partner very happy by saving money on food by growing your own!
Putting a raised garden bed in your front or back yard, or on the balcony, or front porch is a super simple low budget, and easy to maintain. Stuff as many vegetables as you want in a box to create a lush effect or spread them out for a more organized feel.
Section out the box with string to aid in planting. Add a trellis up one side for runners and vine-like plants to climb onto.
Making your own raised box takes a few, cheap materials to create. Just as easily, you can find many different kinds of raised bed kits fully assembled in-store or online that will do the job just as well.
Balcony Gardens
Living in an apartment can have its “ups and downs”, especially when you live on the top floor. Nevertheless, gardening in a high-rise apartment can have some great benefits like good light, fresh air, and pollinators!
If you like hanging out on your balcony then this will be the perfect place to harvest your fruits and veggies. Draping DYI bags off the rail, hanging up baskets, or simply putting pots and buckets on the balcony can have profound effects!
Most fruits and veggies require little depth in planting. So save those old one-gallon ice cream buckets, they could serve perfectly for things like strawberries or lettuce. An empty five-gallon bucket for a Roma Tomato plant or potatoes.
Every summer you’ll be the talk of the complex with your amazing garden that everyone can see from their apartment or the street.
Garden on the Wall
What do guarded humans, apartments, and houses all have in common?
Walls.
Certainly, some walls will not be ideal to put a plant on and growing plants on the wall might not sound ideal, but just like humans plants are stubborn and will grow under odd circumstances. A wall can actually be a perfect place to hang up gardening bags.
These are very similar to a railing bag. They are very easy to find online and even easier to make yourself.
Inside
Walls will have enough natural light from the windows and light in your room that will provide plenty of rays for those delicious plants to thrive. Plus, your air quality will be so amazing that your friends will want to start shopping at your house!
Outside
Your walls can be used by hanging old rain gutters up as planters for the produce you want to grow! So what if your neighbors might think you are crazy, when they see the results they’ll know they were crazy for not trying it first! If you have vinyl siding then this project is way simple. Just snap and hang in between the siding, skipping rows to ensure stability. Brick and other sidings will just have to screw or nail directly into the house. Or you can easily use the wall pockets on the exterior walls as well!
Mini Greenhouse
Pound for pound a greenhouse will always have a higher potential for the best yield due to the fact that it can produce its own ecosystem if conditions are right. Growing in a greenhouse gives the gardener more control over those conditions.
Controlling the air quality and temperature gives the plants better chances of survival at early stages and allows you, the grower, to get an early start on your garden. Greenhouses are also perfect for starting your plants from seed.
Learn to seed save and you begin saving on the following year’s crop as well! There are many different sizes and designs of greenhouses, many of which will work in various number of ways.
Finding the right size for your project and getting the right light source will be key to how lushes your little edible friends will grow up to be.
Keep in mind that most mini greenhouses do not come with a fan or any type of vent system so be sure to give the space good air circulation, otherwise, the plants will suffocate, possibly mold and, or die. And nobody wants that! Greenhouses are also great for growing year round and always create a wonderful ambiance no matter if it is on the porch or balcony or inside somewhere.
Considering how produce is grown on farms we might imagine vast fields of onions, tomato plants, corn, and pumpkins as far as the eye can see and you’d be right but what you might not know is that most fruits and vegetables require a small amount of space yet still have strong potential for large yields on an annual basis.
Growing fruits and vegetables that are better than what you find at the store comes down to understanding a few basics really; Dirt, Light, Water, and Air. Using organic soil enriched with fertilizer will help your plants thrive year around. Open, well-lit rooms are great places for your plants. Direct, specific lighting can enhance the quality and speed up the process of certain plants given the right circumstances.
Specific watering times and PH-balanced water will also bring out the best in your plants. Most learn the hard way that over-watering can kill your plants faster than dehydrating them. Air and humidity control is crucial for most living things to thrive. Low-circulated air for plants is like putting a bag over someone's head, not good! Poor air quality can also lead to mold in the dirt and on the plants. After fruiting bugs love stagnant water and air. Let them live and your food gets eaten by them!
Again, Not good!
