If you love gardening yet have no spare space to use, a small space garden is a solution. It is also perfect for those who live in spatially limited urban locations. Planning on starting your mini-garden? Read on!
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Budget-Friendly Mini-Garden Hacks
Living in the city is a major pain for plant enthusiasts. Sure, your apartment can handle a few plants here and there. But when it comes to real gardening, that’s a different story. Or is it?
The problem, sometimes is, we tend to overlook simple solutions that would work. Urban gardening is very much possible. A lot of people have tried it using ingenious hacks that are surprisingly commonsensical. And yes, the possibilities are plenty. You just need to use your imagination and of course, come up with a killer plan.
Be the Man with The Plan(ts)
You need to have a good plan to grow plants. Coming up with a plan for everything that you do is always better than having none. It is plain common sense. And if you wish to explore the possibilities of small space gardening, you need to think ahead. Plan everything.
This means you have to assess the available space that you have. Aside from this, you also need to consider the types of vegetation you fancy to grow in your place. Will these specific plants require bigger space when they mature? What type of growing space does this plant require? You know, these kinds of questions.
Planning also gives you hindsight on what materials could be maximized for urban gardening. Ingenuity is the key. The essence of guerilla agriculture is to create artificial growing areas where space is scarce or not available. Below are simple yet valuable hacks that will make your mini-gardening project successful.
Small Space Gardening: 8 Affordable Options
1. Give ‘Em the Boot!
Do you ever have those rubber rain boots lying somewhere in the house? Do not throw them yet. You can use them as improvised pots for your plants. The cool thing about these types of boots is they are small. This means they won’t take up much space in your apartment. You can place them in the window, the laundry area, or any place in your house.
Also, due to its narrow and horizontal built, rain boots can accommodate more soil space for the roots of plants to grow deep on. It is perfect for plants like tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, spinach, and other greens. You can also attach a string handle on its opening so you can hang them elsewhere.
2. Notes from the Gutter
Gutter gardens are genius options for urban gardeners. In fact, its popularity has been steadily growing among plant enthusiasts in the city. This type of gardening is done by attaching gutters to sun-kissed walls in your space. The idea is to create a gardening area that saves space.
Aside from this spatially sound option, gutter gardens also make your plants bug and animal-proof. Since gutters will be up from the ground, no pesky intruder can ever harm your vegetation. This particular position also eliminates the problem of soaking your plants with too much water. Amazing!
3. Cast Your Pallets
Another superb small space garden hack is the use of pallets. Pallets are usually found on garage sales and industrial waste dumps. This means you can get them cheap or even for nothing. Like what they, one man’s garbage is the other man’s treasure.
So how do you use it for small space gardening? Easy. You just set the pallet vertically. This way it can fir on tight spaces such as balconies and patios. Pallets are perfect for rosemary, basil, and other types of herbs. You can also plant cat grasses on this planter. Versatile, indeed.
4. Yes You Canning Jars
Wall-mounted plant racks are perfect for growing herbs and spices in limited spaces. You can make cheap yet efficient mounted racks from canning jars. This is perfect for those who wish to plant in areas without outdoor gardening options.
Canning jar gardens are better suited for outdoor spaces such as garage walls, fences, balconies, and patios. Apart from these outdoor spaces, a canning jar garden can also fir indoor areas like kitchens and living rooms. Microgreens and herbs are plants that can be grown in this type of urban garden.
5. Kitchen Soup Can for Your Soil
Canned soup. Everybody loves them. They are easy to prepare and taste good too. But we are not here to expound the virtues of instant soup. We’re here for the container that contains it. Soup cans are super cheap gardening materials for urban growers.
Soup cans are compact and easy to modify. You can put them anywhere and paint them in any color for aesthetic purposes. Aside from flowers, you can also grow various types of herbs and spices in soup cans. Tables, roofs, ceilings, poles, fences, or wherever, you also place them anywhere you want in the house. No hassle.
RELATED: Tips for Growing Food in Small Spaces
6. Airing Dirty Laundry Basket
If you got some old laundry baskets in your home, again, don’t discard them yet. You can make laundry basket planters for potatoes, carrots, and similar plants. Aside from being a nice growing container for your plants, it also comes in handy come harvest time.
Designed with holes around it, a laundry basket also works as a default strainer. You can use it to rinse dirt off your harvest. This saves you from the hassle of using a separate colander to clean up your produce during harvest season. Isn’t this cool?
7. Welcome Home Terrarium
Pardon that Metallica reference, but like any song from this great metal band, a terrarium is an epic small space garden option. If you think terrariums are expensive, then you need to remember the title of this article. In fact, you can make use of found materials to create a cheap terrarium.
Things like old spice bowls, fake plastic flowers, sand, and pebbles can be made into a decent DIY terrarium. This affordable planter will put flair to your small space garden without spending a lot of money. You just need to make sure that it is positioned in an area reached by natural lighting.
8. Got Some Balls?
Sometimes, it takes balls to start a small space garden. No really. We are talking about real balls. If you have some old basketballs just lying around the house, make them more useful. Deflate the ball, cut it in half using a knife, and you have an instant pot.
To make your ball pot more durable, you can paint the outer surface with marine epoxy. This will also make it more stable when you put soil in it. Attach strings into it so you can hang it in the window or the patio.
Check out this Small Space Garden Options vid by Dream Big Urban Farm:
As you can see, starting your small space garden operation is not that hard. All you need is a bit of imagination and resourcefulness. If there’s a will, there’s a way, right? Happy gardening!
Article Source:8 Inexpensive Options for Small Space Gardening
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