Planting a Summer Garden in an Apartment

APARTMENT HOMESTEADING

No Land? No Problem!

Contrary to what you might think, you don’t actually need any land to make a garden. Container gardening has been on the rise not only in apartments, but traditional gardens are also seeing a shift as people are choosing to use containers rather than planting row vegetables. The startup cost is relatively low(I have been known to use the $3 5-gallon Home Depot buckets) and the amount you save in the grocery store is just astounding! In the summer of 2020, I didn’t have to buy a single tomato. If you’re worried that you may not have enough room even for a couple pots in your small space, take a look at community garden programs to get your plant-fix!

Pros of Containers

There are a lot of perks to container gardening besides JUST being small space friendly:

• Money Saver

  • Once you grow any of your own veg, you will never look at grocery store prices the same way. It is SO much cheaper to grow what you can. I go into that more here if you’re interested in the specifics.

• Easy to move around

  • This is ideal for cold climates if your plants are ever outside because it means that once winter rolls around you can actually bring your green babies inside. It is also much easier to move around if you have any mobility issues.

• Fewer problems with disease

  • Because you control what goes into the soil and OTHER plants have access to the soil(weeds, etc) you can keep your plant healthier much easier.

• Aesthetics

  • Potted plants can brighten up your kitchens, windows, and balconies.

• Mix and match soil types

  • Many plants grow in different types of soil (lavender likes sandy soil and tomatoes like rich soil), so you can have a much larger variety in your garden.

What Should You Plant?

There are ways to grow almost every vegetable and herb in containers, but the bottom line is don’t grow anything you don’t want to eat. These gardens grow a LOT more than you’d expect and if you don’t think you’ll eat something, you’ll end up with a lot of food waste.

With that out of the way, let’s talk 10 about high yield, easy maintenance plants!

1. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are the most popular garden starter because of their low maintenance and high yield. These plants are very unfussy and adjust fairly well to your weather. They don’t take up much space, they don’t need any added chemicals, they’re high in nutrients, they suffer from very few diseases, there are over 1,000 varieties, and there’s always a new tomato recipe to try out! If you’re starting from seed, the first week of March is your time to begin so you’re ready to harvest mid-summer.

More info about tom growing see this full article

Check out this great tomato recipe

2. Kale

If you eat any type of salad or power smoothies, I HIGHLY recommend growing kale this summer. Best planted in late winter/early spring, this plant will last you the entire summer season while still being okay with the occasional cold snap. It has one of the highest concentrations of vitamins and minerals of any vegetable, is extremely pest resistant, great for the bees if you have outdoor space, is self-seeding (will replant itself), is very attractive to the eye, and takes up almost no space. If you’re not a huge fan of kale, there’s a chance you just haven’t found the way you like to eat this incredibly versatile veg, which can be used for salads, smoothies, kale chips, and almost anywhere you’d use spinach in a dish.

Also can be used to make my famous Big Salad

3. Lettuce

Similar to kale, fresh lettuce is a GREAT addition to any summer salad you have. There’s no such thing as boring lettuce, only the wrong lettuce variety for you. It’s a very dependable crop that is best planted in the early spring, is known to actually be BETTER in a container/hanging basket, can be picked by leaf rather than by head, and is very easy to grow/care for overall.

4. Strawberries

Strawberries are one of the best known summer crops out there and are actually recommended as container plants because they’re know to spread too quickly throughout gardens. This plant is great for your blood pressure, can be used in a million different recipes, is a splurge purchase at a store, can whiten your teeth, reduce inflammation, and use a small space to grow.

Note: when strawberries are flowering either put them outside for pollination or hand-pollinate them to get it to fruit.

5. Beans

Beans are dependable and easy to grow with a summer high yield. Also known as a “bumper crop,” beans produce so much that you can preserve or can them to last you throughout the year. They take up very little space because they’re climbers, which means they tend to grow up and not out. Beans are packed with protein, great flavor, and a ton of nutrients. Best to start seeding late February/early March.

6. Cucumbers

While cucumbers can be known to use up a LOT of gardening space, an easy way to shrink that footprint is to grow them vertically without sacrificing yield. This cool, crisp plant is the perfect snack for the hot summer months. They’re fairly low maintenance once they’re in the ground, almost never needing additional fertilization. There are many varieties, but the most popular is the Lebanese Cucumber. This crop is great for snacking, salads, and nice summer cocktails. The best time to plant is early spring so you can make the most of the growing season.

7. Peppers

There are an incredible number of pepper varieties, suited for every pallet. Sweet, spicy, and everything in between makes them a great crop to best suit your eating habits. Peppers are rich in vitamins and each variety has their individual health benefits. Because peppers can attract so many pests, they are an ideal candidate for either companion planting or container planting. Peppers have an enormous yield and love the summer weather. Best to start seeds around late winter/early spring to make the most of the growing season.

8. Microgreens

Microgreens, also known as sprouts, may be the most space efficient crop you will EVER grow, known to be good to grow on a damp paper towel or a prepared Mason jar. These are essentially the sprouts/seedlings of edible herbs and vegetables. The nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from your microgreens will depend on the variety you choose to grow, but in general are just packed up to 5 times higher than their fully matured counterparts. Microgreens are the perfect addition to a salad, burger, sandwich, taco, etc and will definitely integrate into your everyday diet if you have them around. Can be grown at any time of the year because they are exclusively indoor grown. Why else might you like it? They take from only 1-4 weeks to be ready for harvest!

9. Mint

Herbs are always a great apartment addition, but mint doesn’t get enough spotlight. It’s basically unkillable(believe me I’ve tried), adapts to almost any light environment, and is highly recommended as a container plant. Besides it’s many uses in cocktails and various recipes, mint is the PERFECT apartment plant because they release an oil that acts as a neurotoxin to common flies. I had a fly problem in my apartment so I introduced a mint plant to my kitchen. Within a week the only flies I found were either dead or cowering at the furthest possible point in the house from this plant. They react most to peppermint, but spearmint(most common for cocktails) also does the job. It’s not fussy, has a year-long planting season if indoors, and makes a perfect cool addition to any summer recipe.

10. Herbs

Herbs can be the most valuable addition to your home, hands down. In my grocery store a cut packet of only one herb costs anywhere from $3-6. At my local garden center an entire potted plant costs me $4. That’s a one time cost that’s lower than the harvested market value for a single-use packet of herbs. Besides this, I would consider fresh herbs the easiest and fastest way to elevate any recipe whether that’s in garnish or incorporated in the actual dish. My personal recommendations would be for rosemary, thyme, and chives. What’s great about herbs is that you can customize your planting to best suit your diet. Many of these are also companion plants that can be plotted together and benefit from that group potting.

Note:

Make sure that you keep your pets away from plants that are potentially toxic to them. Always do your research that a plant is right for your space.

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Anything you want me to talk more about? Let me know below!