If you live in a city and want to start an apartment garden, but don’t have a lot of space to work with, there are several surprising techniques that can help.
First, choose plants that will thrive in your existing natural light conditions. Then, decide how you’ll grow them and what containers to use.
1. Use Vertical Planters
Surprising Apartment Gardening Techniques That Work Wonders
If you’re in a small space and love the idea of growing fruits, vegetables or herbs on a balcony or rooftop but are limited by space, vertical gardening may be the right solution for you. These techniques allow you to grow your favorite plants up in a planter or other structure that provides support while also providing visual appeal.
The key is to choose the right plant species for your space and location. If you’re planning to grow vegetables, you might want to consider vine-growing varieties that will thrive in the limited light conditions of a rooftop or terrace.
Similarly, if you’re looking for flower-growing options, consider selecting perennials and annuals that will bloom year-round in your area. A variety of English ivys, for example, are hardy in most light conditions and will provide a lush green backdrop to your home.
Other plant choices to keep in mind are climbing heirloom roses, which need training and regular care for a successful vertical display. Thunbergia, a fast-growing, warm-season annual, will cover a free-standing trellis in just two months for a living screen that adds color to your outdoor space.
Another option is to create a window box garden in a semi-shaded area. These window boxes contain a diverse mix of plants that are able to survive in lower sunlight levels, including colorful begonias and ivy.
For the best results, make sure your vertical garden has the proper soil and nutrient mixtures. Your vertical garden will likely need to be watered more often than an in-ground garden, so it’s a good idea to invest in a drip irrigation system.
2. Create a Window Garden
Surprising Apartment Gardening Techniques That Work Wonders
One of the best ways to keep your plants healthy in an apartment is by creating a window garden. These low-maintenance gardens don’t take up a lot of space and can grow an abundance of fresh vegetables, herbs, or flowers.
You can create a window garden in just about any room of your home, including your kitchen and living area. However, it’s important to consider how much sunlight your window gets and which plants will thrive in that space.
For example, basil is a good herb to grow in a windowsill garden because it does well in direct sunlight and requires minimal maintenance. You can also grow a variety of small root vegetables like carrots and radish, which are great for salads.
Once you have decided which plant varieties to use, select a container that is appropriate for the garden size and will allow the roots to breathe properly. Look for a container with good drainage, such as an open bottom or one with holes that let the water out easily.
Next, fill the container with a blend of potting mix and a slow-release fertilizer per the manufacturer’s instructions. Add about a 1-2-inch layer of soil and then plant the seeds or transplants you’ve chosen.
Then, water the seeds or transplants thoroughly and frequently. Once the plants are fully rooted, you can cut back on watering.
Adding a window garden to your apartment is a low-cost, easy, and rewarding way to make your space more beautiful, functional, and environmentally conscious. By growing a few pots of your favorite herbs or veggies, you’ll be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor every time you eat a delicious meal.
3. Use Potting Mix
Using a light, fluffy, and well-draining potting mix in pots helps ensure the roots of your plants are getting plenty of oxygen and water. This is especially important if your apartment has no garden or outdoor area, where ordinary soil may compact and limit oxygen flow.
Fortunately, there are a variety of potting mixes on the market, designed for specific purposes and with a wide range of uses. These include indoor potting mixes, fortified garden soils, and raised bed potting mixes.
The best potting mixes use sphagnum peat moss, which is inexpensive, lightweight, and water-retentive. It’s also easily found in nurseries and garden centers.
Vermiculite is another aerating ingredient that can be added to your mix, increasing pore space and allowing water to flow more easily. However, vermiculite may contain asbestos, so make sure you check the bag before you buy.
Perlite is another popular addition to potting mix that provides excellent drainage and helps with aeration. It has a neutral pH and is available from nurseries and garden centers.
In addition, worm castings are great for aerating and retaining moisture in the potting mix. They’re the waste products of farmed earthworms, which are rich in nutrients and beneficial microbes.
If you’re trying to save money on potting mix, use rocks or small, empty water bottles. These provide good drainage and are easy to move around your apartment’s plant containers.
It’s also a good idea to take your plants for a deep shower once or twice a month, to give their roots a drink and clean off the dust from their leaves. This is like a spa day for your plants and will keep them looking their best.
4. Plant in Containers
Planting in containers can make a huge difference to your apartment’s interior design. They’re great for sprucing up your kitchen windowsill with fresh herbs or even growing air-purifying tropical plants.
Unlike traditional garden beds, planting in containers doesn’t require much maintenance. But it does take a bit of time and attention to get it right. You should also consider the size and shape of your container and how many plants you want to grow in it.
For example, if you want to use a variety of hardy perennials, choose a container that offers enough root space for them all to grow. The container should also be large enough to allow them to grow as they mature, so you can enjoy them year after year without having to plant new ones every spring or fall.
Another surprising way to get started in apartment gardening is by growing your own microgreens. These are sprouts that can be grown in a small container, usually on the counter of a kitchen window.
If you’re looking to add some drama to your summer planters, try elephant ears (Colocasia spp.). These smoky-colored, fleshy foliage plants are easy to grow and will add texture and color to your containers.
Similarly, scarlet sage and flowering tobacco can be used to create a shady garden in your patio or porch, as long as the plants have fast-draining soil. You’ll find plenty of choices of these and other warm-weather annuals at your local garden center or seed catalog.
Herb gardens are a great place to start as they’re relatively easy to maintain and offer many benefits for apartment dwellers. They’re attractive, smell delicious, and can be harvested at anytime for fresh herbs for cooking. They’re also good for reducing carbon dioxide in the air and have other health benefits like anti-inflammatory properties, stress reduction, and antioxidants.
5. Add a Grow Light
If you’re new to apartment gardening then you might now know the utility of grow tents yet so this section will teach you all about growing tents; you can get your very own grow tents NZ at Indoor Grow.
If your apartment doesn’t have a lot of natural light or you’re simply looking for ways to bring the outdoors into your living space, adding a grow light can be a great way to boost the success of your garden. These supplemental lights give plants the extra light they need to thrive indoors, and also help overwintering outdoor pots sustain their growth until the next growing season.
A grow light can help a variety of plants, from houseplants and succulents to flowering and edible varieties. However, there are several things you should consider when choosing one.
For starters, look for a light that has a ‘full spectrum’ of light–meaning it contains multiple colors that are helpful to plants. These include blue and red light, which are important for producing chlorophyll and boosting root development in seeds and seedlings, as well as helping certain flowers and fruit-bearing plants produce more fruit or blossoms.
You may also want to consider LED grow lights, which are energy efficient, low heat output, and provide the ideal light spectrum for most plants. These are most commonly used by large-scale commercial growing operations, but they are available for home use as well.
The amount of light you need to grow plants depends on a variety of factors, including the type of plant, the amount of direct sunlight it receives, and the time of day. You’ll also need to consider your own personal set-up and the number of plants you plan to grow.
You can either use a grow light directly over your plants or place it on a stand that’s a few inches above the top of a grow tray or garden box. LED grow lights, especially ones that are rated for a high light output, do best when hung at least a foot above your plants.
