APARTMENT GARDENS

Indoor Gardening

Growing vegetables and growing herbs in an apartment setting is not that much different than growing them anywhere else. Plants need food, water, and light in order to produce. If you are growing in an apartment, you are 100% in control of the situation. Space is your only limitation, and that is why you should start with something that will provide you with a great return from a very small footprint. My personal idea of a nice apartment garden is to grow a few specialty plants indoors, and a few seasonal plants on the deck or patio. In the winter this will almost certainly require the use of a cold frame to grow your cold hardy plants.

herbs

Growing herbs is very easy and very rewarding. A winter time indoor herb garden looks good, smells good and tastes great. A simple and attractive way to do it is to install an inexpensive under cabinet flourescent grow light, and place a small planter directly under the light. The grow light simply plugs in to an electrical outlet and is attached to the underside of the over the counter cabinet with two small screws(If the screws are an issue with your landlord, you can also attach it with double sided carpet tape which is availible at Wal-Mart, home centers and hardware stores). I stopped what I was doing about an hour ago and drove up to Wal-Mart to price planters and lights so I would know what I was talking about price wise. The 20 inch under counter grow light was $10.79 and a counter top grow box(24" x 9") was on sale for $6.49. You can buy a bag of potting soil for less than $4.00. A nice assortment of herb seeds can be found almost anywhere (Home Depot, Wal-Mart, any local Feed and Seed, ect.) but you will have a much better selection if you shop online. The seeds will only set you back about seven or eight dollars. You can start a really nice herb garden in your kitchen for under $30.00, and this includes the light, the planter, the potting soil and the seeds. If you enjoy cooking then this little project is a must do.

sprouts(broccoli,bean,cress,alfalfa,ect)

There are lots of good reasons to include sprouts in your diet. Make no mistake they are good for you and taste great, especially in a salad. The other neat thing about them is that while everything else seems to grow so slow, sprouts can be harvested in as little as three days. Seeds should be purchased from a reputable supplier. Purchase only seeds that are produced specifically for sprouting. Almost all garden supply houses offer sprouting kits, or you can make your own very low cost sprouter out of a wide mouth quart or half gallon jar, a piece of fiberglass screen(or tulle), and a rubber band.

Simply put 2 TBS of seed in the jar, place the screen over the top of the jar and secure it with a rubber band.

1. Fill the jar about a fourth of the way full and swirl the water around to rinse the seeds off.
2. Pour water out of the jar(do not remove screen from mouth of jar).
3. Fill jar halfway with water and allow to soak for eight hours.
4. Pour out water and set jar upside down on a trivet or dish drainer or anything that will allow the water to continue to drain off.
5. Do the following at least twice a day or as much as four times a day until sprouts are ready(about 2" long)

• Fill jar at least half full of water(more if needed to cover sprouts)
• Swirl gently and pour the water out
• Set jar upside down on trivet or dish drainer or whatever you have found that will allow all the water to drain

When sprouts are ready they may be moved to the refrigerator to slow or halt the growth until they are consumed. Do not place developing sprouts in complete darkness(most sprouts need some light to develop properly).

eggplant

This is actually a quite attractive plant and it comes in a wide variety. The "twinkle" from parks for instance is a plant that does very well in an apartment environment. It only grows to about 24" and matures in 70 to 80 days. They are described as being apartment and patio perfect. A single grow light shining down on a mature eggplant with several purple fruits hanging from it creates a strong focal point in a room(lets you brag about your green thumb without saying a word).

These are just a few ideas of which plants to include in your indoor garden. I would recommend that you go to an online supplier and see what they have to offer. They will show you so many goodies that you will almost certainly find something you like.

Growing outside(patio and porch) in winter

I just installed a cold frame in my garden to keep my salad greens going through the winter. It was built out of scrap materials that I found laying around my shop. If you are interested in "building your own", here is how I made mine. The four sides are made of 2 x 12's and it was built the same size as my old window frames. I attached the windows to the frame with some old hinges, and that is all there is to it. If you would prefer a much more attractive cold frame, there are many options open to you in the retail market. Your options for growing outside will be limited by your location. I live in Georgia where the winters are mild and the sunshine is abundant, this makes it easy for me to grow in a cold frame in the winter time. You will have to develop your own plan based on your location, the types of vegetables you want to grow and use your own creativity in overcoming adverse conditions

salad greens

Lettuce,Spinach,Radishes,Onions,etc.

Growing cold hardy vegetables in a cold frame is pretty straighforward if you follow a few simple guidelines.

1. Cold frame must be oriented to a southern exposure in order to receive maximum sunlight.
2. Choose plants which can withstand climate extremes in your area
3. Cold frame must be tall enough to contain the plants when they reach maturity
4. In the event of an extreme cold snap cold frame should be insulated with:
   • cover with straw
   • cover with a blanket
   • cover with snow
   • cover with anything that provides a barrier to the cold
5. Do not open cold frame when it is dark outside unless absolutely necessary

My cold frame has spinach in it. I plan to build another one for leaf lettuce and green onions. Whatever you decide to grow in your cold frame, if you follow seed supplier recomendations and provide your plants with just a little T.L.C., you will be rewarded both with fresh vegetables and no small amount of pride in having grown them yourself.

This page will be updated regularly, so be sure to check back.

Where to next?

1. Ask a question or leave a comment.
2. Go to the garden home page.
3. What to do if I am an apartment dweller?(you are here)
4. What can I do this winter to help with my spring planting?
5. I have a small garden spot, but no roto-tiller.
6. The last time I planted a garden I was disappointed with the results.
7. Go to Project365V.
8. Go to sitemap.
9. Visit the garden diary.