Top 4 Urban Gardening Tips and Tricks

raisedbedgarden

 

Create the Perfect Urban Garden This Year!

This time of year always makes us want to spend time in our garden.  The problem?  We live in an apartment with a very tiny outdoor space.  This year, we are using these 4 tips to create a beautiful garden in our small space.  Will you join us?

Make a Plan
You don’t have to have a degree in landscape architecture to create a guide that will help you design your space. “Before sketching out your ideas, decide how you will use the garden,” writes Burpee.com.  Do you want a private space for entertaining or a vegetable garden with a view? Next, pay attention to how the sun moves around your space-especially if you have one or two walls that enclose your patio.  “Take time to closely observe the amount of shade,” says landscape designer, Susan Cohan, APLD on the Burpee website.  “People often think they have a sunny garden when in fact there is a great deal of shade.”

 

Create a Container
Once you know the plan for your space,  you need to choose your containers.  While you can go to any garden supply store and pick up some nice pots and planters, really anything that holds soil can be used as a container–look at these creative ways to use dollar store finds from HGTV.com.  Another great option is to make a raised bed for your patio or deck. This is especially great if you are planning a vegetable garden.  “It offers perfect drainage, protection from pests, and easy access to crops,” suggests Sunset.com.  You can find DIY instructions for a 4- by 8-foot bed here–the perfect project for this weekend.

 

Grow Up
Automatically thinking “ground” when we say garden?  When you are working in a small space stop looking down and start looking up.  “Many crops can be easily trained to grow up poles, trellises, or even lattices attached to walls,” says Care2.com.  “Any kind of support that is sturdy enough to use string across it will work.” You may also want to try attaching small flower beds to a fence or wall–it adds a great design feature in addition to being a nice place for your plants to grow.   Plants that work best in a vertical garden include peas, cucumbers and peace lilies.

 

Pay Attention to Food & Water
“Plants in containers and with limited soil use up available nutrients more quickly, and shallower soil can’t hold as much water as the ground can,” writes Mother Earth News.  “Make sure to regularly supplement your soil with organic compost, kelp meal, bone meal or organic cottonseed meal to give plants the nutrients they need to thrive.”  It is important that plants get the water they need, but your containers must also drain well.  Put your finger in the soil about 1 inch–if it is moist, don’t water.

 

Talk to us:  What are you growing in your urban garden this summer?

 

image courtesy of flickr CC/normanack