Running
the length of my driveway is a slender strip of lawn, barely a meter wide.
Blessed with full sun, the grass and weeds grow fast, and because the space is
so narrow and blocked in by my neighbor’s fence, it’s miserable to mow. So, two
years ago, I lined up a row of raised beds along it and turned the unremarkable
plot into a luscious garden where this year I am growing
tomatoes,
eggplant,
Swiss chard, pole beans, and cucumbers.
اضافة اعلان
Vegetable gardens
are hardy things and do not need nearly as much space as even what I reclaimed.
Steps, a stoop, a balcony, a terrace, a roof deck, or even a windowsill will
do. With a few containers, some good soil and plenty of sunlight, a garden can
grow almost anywhere.
“You can go small,
small, small,” said Jessica Walliser, a founder of
SavvyGardening.com and the
author of “Container Gardening Complete: Creative Projects for Growing
Vegetables and Flowers in Small Spaces.” “That is one of the most amazing
things about modern vegetable gardening.”
With summer fast
approaching, now is the time to try out your green thumb on a tiny scale. Here
are some tips on how to do it.
Get the lay of the land
Ideally, you want to find a spot that gets six to eight hours of sunlight
a day. You can grow in shady spots, but the options will be limited. Leafy
greens, herbs, and some varieties of flowers, like impatiens and begonias, do
well in the shade. But if you want to grow an array of flowers or edibles like
tomatoes, cucumbers, or
strawberries, you are going to need sun, and lots of
it. (Morning light will be kinder to your crop than hot afternoon light, so
keep that in mind, too.)
If you plan to
garden on a rooftop or balcony, consider the weight capacity. A dozen 30cm
containers full of potting soil and water can add considerable strain to a
space that might not be designed to carry the load.
“What are your
plans for the space?” said Jibreel Cooper, community program manager for the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden. “If you want to keep it generally open, maybe you want
to look into hanging plants or trellising. Sweet peas and cucumbers can be
trellised and grow vertically. They take up less space.”
If you do not have
a large enough yard, don not be deterred; a window box makes a terrific spot to
grow herbs. Kris Bordessa, the author of “Attainable Sustainable: The Lost Art
of Self-Reliant Living,” once lined her driveway with large fabric planters,
reclaiming the hot asphalt slab. “It was an instant garden,” she said.
If a neighbor has
unused outdoor space, consider asking if they would let you cultivate it in
exchange for a share of the crop.
Get some containers
Once you know where you are growing, get some containers, aiming
for a pot 15–30cm deep. Many types of vessels will do, as long as they have
drainage holes in the bottom. (And if they do not, drill a few.)
Bordessa, who offers a video course about container
gardening, suggests scouring your home for items you already own, like empty
kitty-litter containers.
If your ground space is limited, look up. “Vertical
growing is your friend,” said Cassie Johnston, a master gardener who runs the
Instagram account
Growfully. With a trellis, tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers can
grow vertically up a wall. Consider hanging baskets suspended from a railing.
Another option: Plant your crop in a tower garden, which is essentially
containers stacked on top of each other. Or make the most of a wall by affixing
pocket planters to it.
Fill your containers with a mix of good quality
potting mix and compost. But first, check your local municipality to see if and
how you can get that compost for free.
Choose your crop
Look for plant breeds
designed for small spaces, like bush varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, and
peppers.
“Breeders have put a lot of effort into breeding
varieties that are dwarfed,” Walliser said, pointing to micro-dwarf varieties
of tomatoes like Tiny Tim and Red Robin, which have high yields despite their
diminutive stature. Tumbling Tom tomatoes, as the name suggests, cascade over a
hanging basket.
Curate your crop, too, planting items with similar
needs together.
“Don’t put lavender in the same pot as a begonia,”
Browne said. “One needs a lot of sun and drier conditions, and one likes moist
and shady conditions.”
Water your plants thoroughly, opting for long, deep
soaks a few times a week rather than a light daily sprinkle.
“People are very good at the splash-and-dash
method,” Walliser said. “That is not watering. Watering is standing there and
pouring enough water so at least 20 percent of the water that you pour in the
top comes out of the hole in the bottom.”
With your garden properly planted and watered, all that’s
left to do is enjoy your tiny harvest.
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