The idea of growing your own vegetables will appeal to many. Not only does it often work out cheaper, healthier (you know there are no strange chemicals in there) and more sustainable, but also you gain a sense of achievement when you pull out a carrot that you have grown and add it to your salad.
However, we do know that it is not always easy when you live in an apartment or have very little yard, like most students.
BUT as long as you can find a spot on a balcony, windowsill or even beside a window that gets at least five hours of sunlight a day and a few sturdy containers you can start growing!
Almost any vegetable that will grow in a normal garden can also do well in a container. Some vegetables that are particularly suited for containers are tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, lettuce, spinach, squash, radishes, and herbs.
For larger vegetables, you will find that five-gallon buckets will work best. For smaller vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower, smaller containers (one to two gallons) work better. Vegetables such as lettuce, spinach and even herbs will do best in smaller containers of approximately four to six inches deep. Make sure any container you use has several drain holes along the bottom edge and that you have a tray or something underneath to stop leakage.
Each vegetable will probably have preferred growing soil, which you can learn about online or in gardening books, but in general, a standard potting mix found at your garden store should be fine as long as it will hold adequate water (but not too much) and provide adequate nutrients.
Once you have the containers ready, you can either plant seeds or you can often buy seedlings from a garden store. Either way, ensure adequate space between seeds; no one likes over-crowding!
Now you have a container vegetable garden and with regular watering and feeding as recommended for the particular plant you should have fresh veggies soon!
There are plenty of websites out there that can help you out with small-style vegetable gardens. These are our picks:
