5 Ways to Grow Food in Small Spaces
If somebody says they grow their own food, you might assume they live on a farm. But you don’t need lots of land to grow food. Many fruits and vegetables can be grown for food in very limited space. Let’s talk about five different ways to grow food in small spaces.
1. The One-Pot Garden
That’s all it takes. One pot. You can plant anything you want, put it in the sun or under a lamp and you’re growing your own food. Depending on what you choose to plant, you could save yourself some money over buying it in a store, upgrade the nutrition or flavor profile, or grow something you can’t find fresh in your area. If it’s a pretty big pot, you could even grow a whole salad.
2. The Sunny Windowsill
Depending on which direction your home faces, you could have significant sunny window space for growing without having to install lights. Most plants need 8-10 hours of sun minimum, but some plants can make do with less. Temperature swings can also be hard on plants, so avoid drafty windowsills in the winter if you can. This is also a good option for temporary growing space to extend your growing season. Starting plants early in the spring, or bringing some inside in the fall can give you more growing time for extra harvests.
3. The Garden Closet
This option could work for anyone who has a closet. Literally any size house, apartment, RV, whatever. Build in some shelves, install some fluorescent lighting and you could have multiple square feet of growing space. Don’t try to grow tall or climbing plants, or plants that have deep roots. But you could easily grow herbs and salad greens year round. It wouldn’t even need much watering because the enclosed environment would keep in the moisture. In fact, you might need to consider adequate ventilation. For folks with more space available for mature plants, a garden closet could also make a great seed-starting area.
4. The Balcony Garden
Some of the best cherry tomato plants I’ve ever grown were in pots on the balcony of one of my first apartments. It wasn’t even a south-facing balcony! As long as the leaves can get some sun, balconies can be great growing spaces. Make sure to use deep enough containers for larger plants like tomatoes. You may also need a trellis or cage for climbing plants. One of my balcony tomato plants got so big it kept tipping over it’s pot. You can also build shelving or racks to hold multiple pots. Or add hanging pots to maximize your space. Make sure you don’t have any unsecured pots over the railing level. Nobody wants to be under a falling plant!
5. The Patio Garden
The last of the small space growing options would require access to some amount of ground-level space. But, if you can’t (or don’t want to) plant in the ground, you can still have a wonderful patio garden. There are a variety of garden towers on the internet, but individual pots or raised planters also work great. You might be able to get away with larger plants on a patio, as the weight of the soil is less of an issue. Maybe even a potato barrel or some peas, beans, or cucumbers climbing a trellis. The options are almost endless.
You Don’t Need Land to Grow Food
As you can see, there are lots of good options for growing your own food, even in limited spaces. Don’t let lack of space limit you! Just start growing. All it takes is one pot!
Want to get started growing your first garden? Check out our post – “5 Easy Steps to Your First Garden.“
Ready to set up your seed starting area and get going on one of these small space garden ideas? Grab the FREE Super Seedlings guide and get started today.
