If you live in an apartment or condo where you have limited outdoor space, you might think your dreams of producing your own home-grown veggies are just that – dreams. Now you can grow your own salad in your apartment!
However, the truth is, many of the fruits, vegetables, and herbs we love to eat can be grown quite successfully in small spaces. So as long as you have a balcony or patio where you have enough sunshine, and some space for pots and planters, you can definitely grow your own salad.
A visit to any garden center and a chat with one of their vegetable specialists will help you to identify all the different kinds of fruit and vegetables you can grow in a small space. Some crops can even grow inside your home, or in a window box. So, there’s really no space that is too small to grow something edible!
Let’s look at some of the best ideas for your small space garden, and tips to grow four salad superstars!
Vertical Gardens
Even with a balcony or patio, chances are you don’t have a lot of space to grow plants. Some plants can grow indoors, but most veggies do better outdoors. One of the best ways around this is to take your garden vertical!
Low-cost shelving and pots or planters that fit on them are one great way to maximize growing space. Or you could use pots that are designed to fit on your balcony railing. There are even trellis options with hanging pots, or you could just go straight to hanging pots.
Make sure that when you place your pots and planters on your shelving or trellis, all the plants get enough light, and none are crowded. Plants have different needs, but they all need light, air and space!
Even very small outdoor spaces can hold a surprising number of pots, planters and crops, so plan ahead and get the right stuff to make the most of your urban farm!
Growing Lettuce
Lettuce is one of the most versatile veggies out there. It’s great in salads, can be cooked, and is packed with vitamins and minerals like iron. Better yet, it’s surprisingly easy to grow! Lettuce is a great addition when you are looking to grow your own salad in your apartment.
In fact, if you buy “living lettuce” from the grocery store, once you’ve used the leaves, you can simply plant the roots and let it grow again. (You can use the same trick for some other vegetables, including green onions, bok choy and others.) This method helps speed up the process and is great for beginners.
Let’s assume that you’re not using that cheat though. Here are a few of the best tips to get a perfect lettuce crop.
Lettuce Details
- Plant your lettuce during the spring, so it has enough time to grow while it’s cooler.
- You can start germinating lettuce indoors, in seed trays, and transplant them when they’re an inch or more tall.
- If there’s frost in the forecast, make sure you bring your lettuce inside! It will not thrive if it’s exposed to extreme cold!
- Lettuce has shallow roots, so it doesn’t need very deep soil to grow – but you do need to make sure there’s enough drainage. Too much water is not good for your lettuce!
- Use high quality, nutrient rich potting soil.
- Give your lettuce room to grow. Different varieties need different amounts of space, so check your seed packages for specific spacing details.
- Water frequently, whenever you can feel that the soil is dry to about an inch deep.
- Lettuce likes full sun, but not if the weather is too hot. They will wilt in very hot temperatures, so when it’s going to be a scorcher, move your lettuce into the shade!
- Different lettuce types mature at different rates, so again, refer to the seed package for details.
- You can harvest lettuce plants (especially leaf varieties) without pulling out the roots. If you snip leaves off carefully as needed, the plants will keep growing all summer long!
Growing Arugula
If you love a little more zing in your salads, you might want to add a crop of arugula to your apartment garden when you grow your own salad in your apartment.
Arugula is peppery and delicious in salads, but can also be sauteed, or even used in pesto for a unique flavor. This leafy green is very healthy, and very easy to grow!
- Choose an arugula seed. There are several types of arugulas, so you might need to experiment to find your favorite!
- Plant your seeds in seed trays and allow to germinate. They only need to be planted about ¼” below the surface of the dirt.
- Let them grow until they are about ¾” tall, and then thin as directed on the seed package. Most arugula varieties need about 4 to 6” space to grow, so don’t crowd them!
- Arugula likes cooler temperatures, so start growing your crop in the spring. You can also grow arugula in the fall.
- Water lightly every few days, but make sure they are in a pot or planter that drains well. Most leafy veggies will not do well if overwatered!
- Harvest your arugula by cutting the leaves off and leaving the roots in the soil. With a little time, sun, and water, they’ll grow back, and you will have a whole new crop for your salads!
Growing Bush Beans
If you’ve got limited space to grow your own crops, bush beans are a great choice. Unlike pole beans, they don’t grow very tall, and they don’t need a trellis to grow on. As the name suggests, they grow in compact bushes, which don’t take up much space and will give you a good yield of beans. A great addition to any dinner when you grow your own salad in your apartment.
Most beans can be harvested when they are young and green, and eaten whole. Or you can let them mature and dry and have a crop of beans ready for chili and similar dishes. Be sure to research the variety you’re planting though – different beans are best for different things!
- Bush beans can be direct sown in relatively shallow soil, or you can germinate them the way we did in school – between damp sheets of paper towel, sprinkling a little more water on them every day or two. Once they sprout, you can transfer them to a pot or planter.
- Beans grow best when they are planted from mid spring to early summer. They don’t like cold temperatures, so protect them from frost!
- Grow your beans in full sun too. Beans really love the heat, and they won’t do well if they’re hidden in a chilly corner!
- Beans are usually planted between 1 and 2 inches deep, and 2 to 3 inches apart.
- Water every couple of days, or when the soil feels dry. Don’t overwater, or your beans might rot.
- You can resow bean crops every 3 weeks, depending on the variety you’re planting.
- If you want to use your beans while they’re green, harvest frequently. Beans will stop flowering if you leave pods to mature!
Growing Tomatoes
Tomatoes are one of the most versatile veggies out there. So, it might be a shock to discover they’re not vegetables at all! Technically, they’re fruits – or berries, to be more precise.
But that doesn’t stop them from being absolutely delicious!
Enjoy tomatoes in your salads all summer long. Dry them in a low heat oven and preserve in oil for your own home-made sun-dried tomatoes or cook an enormous batch of your favorite pasta sauce and freeze to use all year round.
Tomatoes grow fairly easily in small urban gardens, and you don’t even need to buy seeds! Tomatoes will grow very well from overripe store-bought specimens. Simply squeeze the seeds where you want to grow them, and you should get a bumper crop! This also means you can get special varieties like cocktail or grape tomatoes without buying seeds! So many ways to add tomatoes when you grow your own salad in your apartment.
Tomato Details
- Choose the right variety. There are some tomato varieties known as “compact” that are made for growing in pots.
- If you live in a colder climate, you will probably need to start growing your tomatoes in seed trays inside your home. They don’t do well in cold weather, and you should start growing them in early spring to get a full crop.
- Tomatoes do best when they are first grown in smaller pots or seed trays in a sheltered, controlled environment, and then repotted when they are fairly tall and strong.
- Make sure you have a sunny spot reserved for your tomato plants. Tomatoes love sun, and while there are some varieties that can grow in semi shade, most do better with lots of light and warmth!
- Choose larger pots for your tomato plants. Even compact varieties like lots of space to spread out!
- Use high quality potting soil, and make sure your pots and containers drain very well.
- Plant the tomato plant a little extra below the surface of the soil. Tomatoes thrive when some of their stem is buried!
- Water liberally. Tomatoes are thirsty plants, and as long as your containers drain properly, you can give them a good drink every couple of days.
- Give them something to climb on. You don’t need a full trellis for compact plants, but they still like to have something to grow onto.
- Fertilize your tomatoes regularly with a product that’s made for tomatoes.
General Urban Gardening Tips
We’ve given you some tips for planting, growing, harvesting, and using four kinds of salad veggies, but there are many other crops you can grow on your balcony or patio.
Strawberries grow very well in pots and will give you beautiful white flowers early in the season and perfect, juicy red berries in midsummer. Strawberries grow well with beans and lettuce, so your maintenance will not drastically increase if you include them in your routine.
Many herbs grow very well in pots and planters. You can grow mint, chives, basil, and parsley. Green onions also grow fantastically well in pots. In fact, you can replant the root ends of store-bought onions and they’ll grow too. Simply snip off what you need, when you need it, and you will have perfect onions all summer long! Your apartment won’t only look great with an herb garden, it will smell amazing as well.
You don’t need much to start growing edible plants in a small space either, but you should probably invest in the following when you are looking to grow your own salad in your apartment.
Quick Setup
- Suitable pots and planters. Look for options with drainage holes but remember to put them on a tray if they’re growing on a surface that shouldn’t get wet or dirty.
- A small gardening set – a trowel, fork and shears aren’t essential, but they do make things a little easier!
- Seed trays if you plan to start growing your plants indoors. Or, if you have them, you can always use egg cartons instead!
- Good quality potting soil. This cannot be overstated. The better the soil, the better the results will be.
- Some kind of fertilizer. You can buy a commercial product, but there are also a variety of natural options. You will have to do more research to use those though, because different plants need different proportions.
- A watering can. Get a big one, because if you have several pots, you don’t want to be doing ten trips to the faucet every time you water your crops!
When you plant vegetables in an urban garden, you can expect to see a few more bees around. This is good news, because it means your flowers will be pollinated, and you’ll get more fruit and veggies for your efforts.
Climate and Critters
If your garden is on a ground level balcony or patio, you should also beware of squirrels, bunnies, and other urban foragers. Depending on where you live, there may be several kinds of critters that like salad just as much as you do! Choose raised planters if this is a concern. You can also use chicken wire to protect your plants from animals.
Some plants can handle a little colder, but most won’t survive frost. So, if you live in an area where there is frost and snow, pay close attention to the weather in the fall. You should either bring your plants in before cold weather hits, or make sure you harvest before your veggies freeze. You don’t want all of your work to go to waste when you grow your own salad in your apartment!