Have any of y'all tried apartment gardening?

[Verity Darkwaters]

I know there are some where you use lights, but I have found some pages using pallets on their balcony. I really want to try this, because even if I ever get a house I am sure the HOA won't let me have a garden in my backyard. But, back to the topic on hand, most balconies have limited sun access, would this really work or would it be a waste of time. If y'all have tried it I would love to hear about it and see some pictures if you have any.

 

[amelia88]

When I was living in inner Tokyo, I did. All I had was a balcony, but it got a good amount of light (thankfully!), and I wanted to at least have some sort of level of greenery in the urban jungle! I mainly grew herbs though, and had a few potted flower plants as well for some color.

Now I'm further out in the suburbs so I actually have a yard, which is nice - but apartment gardening definitely is do-able!

 

[Verity Darkwaters]

Awesome, I am glad to see that someone has actually done it. I saw a lot of people do herbs. @amelia88 Did you just use pots or did you get creative with other items. I was thinking of using a pallet and creating my "salad garden." It is where you grow like tomatoes, lettuce, onions, etc. I can understand wanting some green in the urban areas though. I am from the country so moving to the city with limited green is just like "aah!"

 

[fuumarumota]

My mom lives in an apartment and she applies "vertical gardening". She managed to obtain lettuce, carrots and various herbs. She has a couple of windows where the sun enters for about 4 or 5 hours a day. She places her pots near that.

 

[Pat]

I have lived in an apartment in the past which did get good sunlight and I was able to grow a large assortment of plants. During the winter months I use grow lights for my house plants.

 

[Verity Darkwaters]

Awesome, I am happy to see that people are able to have small gardens in apartments. Mine doesn't get much light, so I am a tad worried about trying it. Plus, I would need to look into the plant lights a little more, because I have never tried them.

 

[Corzhens]

I had already posted in another thread that we have some plants when we were renting an apartment. Ginger is a good potted plant since it looks like a decorative plant. I remember that we also have red pepper that our neighbors were picking the ripe pepper. The ginger has no problem in staying indoors for a long time but the pepper needs sunning every 2 days inside the house.

 

[Verity Darkwaters]

@Corzhens Thank you for the that info. I never thought about growing ginger even though I use it a lot to make candies and for cooking/tea. I may have to look into that. That is too funny about your neighbors. They were excited for fresh veggies! I love red peppers. They have such good flavors. I may have to put those two on my list now.

 

[granjera]

Not an apartment, but I grew stuff on my driveway in pots. Even corn, just as a joke, and in return, I received three joke ears of corn. Peppers grew well in pots, too, though they were smaller than the ones growing in the ground. I have also successfully grew radishes on my driveway (northern exposure).

 

[Verity Darkwaters]

Oh nice @granjera! I thought about growing things in pots, but everyone says that pots do not give the plants enough room to grow. I will have to tell them otherwise. Thank you all for sharing by the way. I like the thought of people being able to grow their food even if they are in a cramped apartment. It is so rewarding and maybe it will inspire others to grow their own too!

 

[Vinaya]

I live dividing my time between my farm house and city home. I have plenty of area in my farm hose, however, in my city home I do not have large gardening space. Most of my gardening is one on pots and vase. On pots and vase, I can grow flowers such as marigold which can flower all through the year. I also grow rose, but rose needs bigger pots.

 

[remnant]

I come from Kenya where most people originate from rural areas. When they transition to the city, they express the farmer in them. I come from the countryside so I have never attempted apartment gardening. There is even a company in my capital Nairobi specializing in urban gardening which apartment gardens are part of. consultancy.

 

[claudine]

Last year, I tried to grow tomatoes indoors, but it didn't turn out good, the plant didn't bear any fruits I have more luck with sprouts, herbs and berries. Wild strawberries clearly like growing on a windowsill in my living room, they look very healthy