How to grow your own food in a small space cheap...

[Veganitaliana]

Ok, so you live in a small flat with no windows. Impossible to grow some food... nope. Dedicate one or two walls to growing climbing plants in pots. Paint the wall white to reflect as much light as possible. Install grow lights (relatively cheap in nursery shops-they don't consume much energy either) along the ceiling. Some plants that can easily be grown this way are tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, pole beans, passion fruit, strawberries, figs, citrus should be grown in espallier fashion, and even bananas and small papaya trees.

 

Growing your own food is the best way to assure quality. Good luck. Ciao

[DV]

Don't forget sprouting! We did it all winter when we lived in a less temperate zone.

[Veganitaliana]

Oh yeah, and I forgot melons too.

[Bigbwii]

Ok, so you live in a small flat with no windows. Impossible to grow some food... nope. Dedicate one or two walls to growing climbing plants in pots. Paint the wall white to reflect as much light as possible. Install grow lights (relatively cheap in nursery shops-they don't consume much energy either) along the ceiling. Some plants that can easily be grown this way are tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, pole beans, passion fruit, strawberries, figs, citrus should be grown in espallier fashion, and even bananas and small papaya trees.

 

Growing your own food is the best way to assure quality. Good luck. Ciao

 

Here's my test plants....I'm really surprised that these sprouted because everybody said they were not suppsed to in this area, but I planted a whole bunch with no thought or expertise, just to see what would happen and now I've got little shoots coming up everywhere, the plan is to re-plant some in pots and try to keep for next year.

 

I purposely planted the same things in different areas of the yard and in pots to see, what grew best so now I know what the good ares are and what certain plants like best, I had people offer advice but it was all personal to them, so I pretty much went solo on this!

 

Now I know for myself what I need to do.

 

Mango

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a84/Bigbwii/Ava029.jpg

 

Avocado

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a84/Bigbwii/Ava030.jpg

 

Honeydew

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a84/Bigbwii/Ava031.jpg

 

Oranges

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a84/Bigbwii/Ava032.jpg

[Guest]

You can always have a few hanging baskets inside the house. I've seen people grow tomatoes and peppers.

[Veganitaliana]

Good show Big!

 

You know the big tree types, like the mangoes and avocadoes can be grown like bonsaïs in pots quite nicely. You have to keep trimming the roots and the branches to keep them small. If you favour only a few of the lateral branches you'll still have a relatively good production of fruit because those branches are the most productive (that's what espallier fashion means). Bring the pots indoors during the winter and grow under lights, but gradually (start a couple of hours in the morning only and increase the time spent outdoors slowly) bring them back outdoors after all danger of spring frost has past for the summer.

 

Just make sure to dig up lots of the surrounding soil and don't disturb many of the roots when you transplant them into a pot (this is why I prefer to start seedlings directly in the pot). Continually add some well-rotted compost to the surface of the soil without digging it, but don't cover the trunk which needs to breathe. Water thoroughly, but don't keep the soil continually wet-it should dry out (but not to the point where the leaves droop) in between waterings. As for the pollinisation-some trees like apples need a partner, but others are self-fertile and all you need to do is touch the flowers with q-tips to spread the pollen. Voilà, you'll have some of your very own home-grown fruit in a few of years.

 

Of course, tomatoes and peppers grow much faster, but they're short lived in comparison to trees.

 

I love to see more green! Everyone, everywhere should be growing more plants!

 

Ciao

[Michelle]

I've got a balcony to grow stuff on, but aside from an aloe vera plant and some green onions, I haven't planted much yet.

 

Keep the ideas coming... this is helpful.