Tips for Home Gardening in Small Spaces

Nothing beats the smell of freshly cut flowers or the taste of home-grown herbs and veggies at mealtime. Growing your own garden at home is a fun and affordable way to have fresh produce on hand and to enjoy beautiful flowers that brighten your living space.

Maintaining a home garden is also great for stress relief. Lots of people enjoy working with their hands and feel more connected to nature when gardening.

If you would love to start a home garden but don’t think you have the space for it in your yard, don’t fret. The modern home trend of micro-gardening allows urban homeowners with limited space to develop their green thumb.

What’s Micro-Gardening?

Micro-gardening involves using containers to grow a variety of herbs and vegetables, either indoors or in small yards or patio spaces. While some micro-gardens can be quite complex systems, you can also keep it simple and get started growing your own mini home garden without purchasing a bunch of specialized planters or equipment

Here are a few tips to help get you started.

5 Tips for Micro-Gardening

1.   Start Small

One of the benefits of micro-gardening is it can be much less labour-intensive than setting up a regular garden. Why not embrace the simplicity and start off small?

Get started by growing a few herbs or flowers on your windowsill. Chives, basil or cilantro are great plants for beginners to try their hand at growing. There’s also no need to spend a bunch of money on planters, you can get started with things you already have around the house, such as mason jars or old take-out food containers.

2.   Try Growing a Variety of Plants

Once you’ve gotten started with your herb garden, branch out and try planting fruits or vegetables that are suited for growing in a small area. A few examples of vegetables that can thrive in tight spaces are lettuce and kale or root vegetable like potatoes, carrots and garlic.

3.   Use a Nutrient Rich Soil

Since they are growing in a small area, your plants will use up the nutrients in the soil fast. Make sure you start with a high-quality potting soil and then replenish it regularly with soil pellets or compost. You can also try growing nitrogen-fixing crops such as beans alongside your other plants to add nitrogen back into the soil.

4.   Get Creative with Your Planters

Have some fun with your planter selection. You can repurpose old items around your house to create unique planters, such as: buckets, baskets or worn-out tires.

Make the most out of your available space with hanging planters or wall-mounted planters or a trellis.

5.   Grow a Fruit Tree

Some small varieties of fruit trees, such as lemons or limes, can be grown in containers. These citrus trees are beautiful, and you’ll love being able to pick fresh fruit to use in your cooking or as a garnish in cold drinks during the summer. Just make sure to bring your citrus trees indoors for the winter months!

At Alquinn Homes, we bring together the latest trends in home design with our unique approach to building to create homes designed for living. We know that behind each home we build is a real person, and we want to ensure you get the most out of your home for many years to come.

Contact us at (780) 962-1046 to learn more about the Alquinn Way of building homes or browse our quick-possession home listings for Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Fort Saskatchewan and Morinville.