Are you excited to grow your own food, but literally haven’t got a square inch of soil to your name? Have no fear! You can actually raise a number of plants in an apartment to still have a tasty harvest of your own.
Indoor Containers: With a sunny window, you can grow all sorts of herbs and leafy greens indoors for a year-round gardening experience. Smaller vegetables will also work, though you’ll have to experiment a bit to see what will produce for you. Little cherry tomatoes, miniature cucumbers or peppers can all grow fine. Perhaps even a small strawberry plant. The sections on container and windowsill gardening have more tips for this.
If your sunlight situation isn’t ideal, try a few extra lights. They don’t have to be fancy or expensive grow-lights, just a standard fluorescent light will do. Have it on a timer to give your plants around 14 hours of light for the best results.
You’ll have much fewer pests to deal with indoors, so you actually have a bit of an advantage over outdoor gardening that way. Keep your potted plants nicely watered, and that’s all there is to it.
Using the Balcony: If you don’t have a balcony, you will have to make do with just the indoor pots. But if you do have one, you can get loads of plants growing out in that little outdoor oasis. You’ll get natural sunlight and rainwater, as well as some additional space. Watch the water though. If your balcony has another one directly overhead, your plants may not get the soaking you think during a rain. And speaking of water, be courteous when watering. Run-off from your pots can end up dripping all over the balcony below you. You don’t want anyone complaining about your garden to the landlord.
One unique obstacle for urban apartment gardening is pollution. Balconies that look out over busy streets are fine for people-watching, but may be a poor spot to grow healthy food. The fumes from the cars below are most certainly going to end up being absorbed by your plants. In that case, you’re going to be better passing on that sunshine and sticking to indoor plants only.