Growing Your Food Garden in an Urban Setting

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When you live in an urban setting, you might be resigned to the idea that gardening isn’t an option for you. But that’s far from the truth and many gardening strategies cater to those living in the city and in small spaces. You just have to plan differently than someone who has an acre of wide-open space in the country – or a large suburban backyard to grow food in.

Your space is more contained, and may even have limited light if towering buildings don’t allow for much. In some instances, the city or building owners will allow limited space to be used for the community to grow food together. But you might want to grow an urban garden that’s reserved for you and your family.

Urban Setting Strategies

You might be growing food on your balcony, in your apartment, or on the roof of your building, depending on what’s allowed and what isn’t. You can use gardening strategies that don’t rely on ample plots of soil, such as hydroponic gardening, container gardening, vertical gardening, and more.

Vertical Gardening

Vertical gardening makes the most of your growing space because the plants are positioned upwards, rather than horizontally.

Hydroponic Gardening

Hydroponic gardening is when you’re growing food in nutrient-rich water.

Container Gardening

Some of the easiest crops to grow in containers within a cityscape are things like tomatoes, potatoes, beans, and peppers. Some leafy greens like lettuce will do well in pots where you have limited space, too. Remember that not only can you grow things in containers on the ground, but you can take up all available space to grow your food garden in.

Hanging Pots

Besides vertical containers, you can find hanging pots to grow things in. These are especially good if you live in a tall apartment building and have a small balcony to work with. Some hanging planters will grow the vegetables upside down, such as certain tomato planters.

You can also grow a garden inside as part of your room décor with the greenery it creates, so look for attractive planters and containers that work well in your space and use those to bring warmth and inviting nature to the room.

When you’re growing a garden in an urban area, consider making the most of your space by planting the most nutritional crops for the space, like microgreens, which can be grown fast and added to salads.