Not everyone has a large piece of land where they can carve out sections for every purpose they want. For folks who want to raise from vegetables on their own, this can be a problem – many urban lots are not well suited for this, and may have little to no space to raise vegetables. Because of this, many urban gardeners have found ways to garden with very little available space. If you are looking to do the same, here are some ideas for you:
Raised Garden Box
Boxes such as the ones pictured, from DMC Products, make it a lot easier to make use of what little available space you have, and work well if you don’t have any open ground, but merely a paved lot. The shelving underneath makes it a two-in-one, so you can store all of your gardening needs right there. An added bonus is that the raised planting box eliminates the need to spend hours on your knees or bent over, helping to save your back.
Balcony Box
Some folks in urban situations don’t have any ground space to work with, but that doesn’t mean that they are out of luck. Even having a small balcony can work, with a balcony box planter. These are essentially just the planting box part of the previous type, but cut down in size – often only big enough for six or eight plants. They’re meant to create a neat and tidy planter, but if you’re feeling like a slacker, you can just arrange plants in pot on the balcony for the same end result, although it won’t look as nice.
Window Box
Don’t even have a balcony? Well, as long as you’ve got windows, you’re still covered. These boxes do need a bit of care, though, as many plants may not be able to root properly in a shallow box. And trust us, they’ll need to be shallow – too much soil and water can bring the box down to earth, regardless of how well you think you have attached it.
Tiered or Multi-level Gardening
Urban environments are used to expanding vertically instead of horizontally, so why not use that idea in gardening as well? A number of ways of using small footprints for high yield have sprung up over the years. Tiered gardening is an old standard, but there have been some new twists on multi-level gardens. The structure at right, from Germany’s Urbanature, collapses and expands as needed, is mobile, and has a certain minimalist attraction. It can be used indoors or outdoors as well.
Vertical Gardening
Part of the micro-living trend that has sprung up in recent times is the idea of using every square foot, and vertical gardening fits right in. Some plants can tolerate this type of gardening better than others – herbs are your best bet. Vertical gardens are often easy to move as well, so you can bring it inside during the winter months to help it thrive year-round.
If you’re short on space, it doesn’t mean you have to skip out on the joys of gardening. Take a further look into these methods od raising crops and decide which ones are right for you and your situation.
