For a long time now I’ve been wanting to grow my own vegetables mainly because I want to see the taste difference between my own organic food vs. organic food from the markets vs. non-organic food from the markets. However, lately I have also been doing more and more research into how fragile our food supply industry is in the United States so I wanted to make sure I could grow my own food if I needed to. One of the challenges I face is I currently live in a condo which doesn’t have outdoor space, all I have to work with is a small balcony so this is my attempt to grow a garden with the limited space I have to work with.
Since my condo doesn’t get a lot of direct sunlight, I had to resort to using balcony wall planters which I setup a couple weeks ago. So far I have 5 but I plan to get a couple more and maybe even grow some potatoes in 5 gallon tool buckets. I also started growing some seeds inside the house which I will transport outside once they are ready.
It has been a little over two weeks now and this is what they look like so far.
Here is what the garlic looks like…
My onions took a little longer but they are now starting to sprout as well.
Once the spinach, lettuce and herbs from my indoor kit are large enough to transfer outside I will consolidate my onions and garlic so I have room for the greens. Since my wife is all about potatoes I am going to work on growing some potatoes next. I will do another post in the future once these are ready to harvest. I know t his garden isn’t very large, but even with a little space you can still grow your own food.
Derrick Chan
Latest posts by Derrick Chan (see all)
- Non-GMO vs Certified Organic - May 22, 2017
- How to make kombucha - May 10, 2017
- How to cut up a whole chicken - May 7, 2017
Hi, where can I get those planters 🙂 ?
Hi Felicia, you can get them on Amazon. Here is a link to this exact planter (http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Plastics-L2X6-TERRA-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B001TOQMTY?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage). This planter fits a 6″ rail, so make sure that is the width you need, I believe they also have other sizes though. Warning, if your rail (wall) gets hot, make sure you add some kind of insulation between the wall and the planter to prevent the soil from drying out too fast. Otherwise you will have to over water your plants during the summer to ensure they don’t dry out.