Living in a small apartment, or even in a city condo, doesn’t mean that you can’t grow some of your own fresh food. Container gardening, takes the best of both worlds, Fresh Country Produce, Big City Living!

To grow things in a container, you need compost, and a small amount of soil, (only about 10% of the total volume). Buy potting mix that has organic components and peat moss.

First thing you are going to need to do, is build some shelves under your south facing windows. Cheap, sturdy shelves, can be built using nothing more than cinderblocks with boards stretched across them. Lower shelves can hold supplies, while the top shelf is reserved for your precious plants.

Second, you need to find containers to garden in. These don’t need to be anything fancy. Milk cartons cut in half work great, so scavenge in your recycling bin, and see if your neighbors have any containers they are throwing away.

The Key to Container Gardening Is Layering!

Third, prepare the container, by wetting down some newspaper, and adding it to the bottom of the container. The newspaper provides an absorbent mat, to help protect any roots that get down that far, as well as providing lasting moisture release.

Then add a 2” Layer of good soil on top of the wet newspaper. This soil will provide a nutrient reservoir for your plants as they get deeper roots and begin to really grow.

Layers that should be in your container (starting from the bottom)

1. Wet Newspaper (3 Sheets)

2. Soil (2”)

3. Ripped Newspaper (1/2”)

4. Peat Moss (2”)

5. Compost Mulch (2”)

6. Sand (optional) (1”)

7. Potting Mix (2”)

Repeat steps 4-7 until the container is full.

Fourth, Cover the soil, with a new layer of ripped newspaper, and then add, 2” of Peat Moss, and 2” of Potting Mix. This layering effect allows the small container to replicate the environment found in the ground, in a much smaller space.

Fifth, on top of your potting mix, now is the time to add a half inch of sand if the plants require, then another layer of compost, peat moss, and then finally potting mix. Repeat as Necessary to fill pot Once the pot is full, scoop out some soil, and plant your seedlings!

Sixth, Enjoy the fruits of your labor! (or veggies)

Simple Tips for City Dwellers

Easy Fertilizer Recipe

Mix Together 2 ounces of Molasses 1/2 Cup hot water 2 ounces of Clear Ammonia 2 ounces of Apple Cider Vinegar

When they are well mixed, add to a gallon of water. You can then feed this to your plants daily as you water!

City Composting

Not all city dwellers have a way to compost kitchen left overs, There is a solution though! Put your leftovers into a blender with water, and blend it until there are no big chunks left. Your gardens can be watered directly with this, or a small five gallon bucket can become your indoor com-poster! If you are using the bucket make sure you strain out the water before adding it to your bucket, and keep lots of leaves, or grass clippings in it to maintain the smell.

Mulch Tips

Grass clipping, bark mulch (ground), Chopped leaves, all make great mulch. Don’t use foods that will rot, or attract insects, (no fruit rinds, etc)