Want to learn how to grow food in small spaces? Below are five creative ways to still grow fruits, herbs, and veggies, even when you don’t have a lot of room.
When you have limited space it may feel like growing your own food isn’t an option. Sometimes a little creativity can go a long way for finding space you didn’t realize you had!
How to Grow Food in Small Spaces
These creative ways for growing in small spaces will get you started.
Grow Food in Hanging Planters
Take advantage of growing space off the ground with hanging planters. This is a great way to grow everything from salad greens to herbs and berries.
You can even buy upside down planters to allow you to grow plants like tomatoes. This opens up an entire world of vegetables you can grow in small spaces.
Container Gardening for Small Spaces
Planting fruits, vegetables, and herbs in pots is the perfect way to use up corners on your porch or patio or even in a room that gets a lot of sun during the day.
Areas that do not see more than foot traffic going one place to another are perfect candidates for potted plants.
Here’s more on vegetables you can grow in bags!
Grow Plants on the Walls
You can hang a lot of great plant hangers that allow you to take advantage of wall space where the sun hits for growing food.
TIP: If you don’t have the budget to purchase one, you can make your own by buying brackets to attach pots to the walls.
Get Creative with Containers
You can use landscape fabric to sew a bag that you can place inside a large trash can, then use it to grow potatoes. Keep adding soil as they grow until you reach the top.
Harvesting is as easy as dumping the trash can on to a tarp.
Plant in Window Boxes
If you are really limited on space, you can take advantage of old-style window boxes for growing food. This is a great place to grow things like salad greens, carrots and sweet strawberries.
When you get creative and look for little spaces you can grow something it adds up quickly leaving you with plenty of great places to grow your own food even when you don’t initially think you have room for it.
Best Food to Grow in Small Spaces
Fruits to Grow in Small Spaces
Now that you have some ideas about how to grow food in small spaces, here is a list of fruits that grow well in small spaces:
- Strawberries – these plants do great in hanging baskets and will keep growing all year long when kept indoors. Learn more here.
- Blueberries – best planted in larger pots. They love sun, so ideally place them outside or right in front of a window that gets at least 6 hours of direct sunlight.
- Lemons – meyer lemon trees do well in large pots indoors or on your patio. Make sure they get 8 – 12 hours of direct sunlight per day.
- Limes – similar to lemon trees, they do well in large pots indoors or out, as long as they have 8 – 12 hours of direct sunlight per day.
- Figs – these plants thrive in pots. They need 7 hours of sunlight per day and consistent watering. Learn more here.
- Pomegranates – you can grow a pomegranate tree in a large pot (10 gallon), just make sure they have 8 – 12 hours of direct sunlight per day, and bring them indoors if it’s below 40 degrees.
If you’re interested in learning how to grow fruit indoors, Better Homes & Gardens provides some great information on the topic.
Best Vegetables to Grow in Small Spaces
Many vegetables grow well in small spaces! Here are a few ideas:
- Cherry Tomatoes – the plant doesn’t get quite as large as larger types of tomatoes, and do well planted in a pot. Once you start harvesting your cherry tomatoes, you can use them in recipes, like creamy chicken and mushroom pasta!
- Herbs – many herbs do wonderfully inside, whether planted in a hanging pot, regular pot, or window box. Plant a variety of herbs from seeds and water regularly, then use the fresh herbs when cooking.
- Peppers – most types of pepper plants, such as jalapenos, bell peppers, and green chile, will do well in pots. The plants won’t get too large and are happy inside or on the patio.
- Leaf Lettuce – plant a variety of lettuce seeds in hanging baskets or pots. It only takes 45 days from planting to harvest!
- Cucumbers – a cucumber plant loves to climb, but will produce a lot of cucumbers if nurtured. Plant in the ground or in a pot and give it a trellis to climb so it doesn’t take up lots of space.
Keeping Bugs Away
Whether your plants are inside or outside, sometimes bugs can be a huge pain when you’re gardening. I use this DIY Insecticidal Plant Spray to naturally repel bugs that are attracted to plants.