Gardening may generally be easier for people who have a large backyard space because it allows them the flexibility to grow.
But apartment dwellers aren’t shut out of the gardening game.
In fact, experts say there are a wide variety of options for things that can be grown on a postage-sized patio or a sunny window, including herbs, tomatoes and leafy greens, and the options don’t stop there.
Darren Butler, a Los Angeles-area consulting arborist, landscape expert and co-founder of gardening help website GardenZeus, said there are lots of options from fruiting plants to even trees.
Here’s a look at some of the varieties recommended from experts and how to grow them:
Let’s Get Lit
Whether growing indoors or outdoors, space can be negotiable, but light is definitely not.
Justin McKeever, a plant specialist at H&H Nursery in Lakewood, California, said that most fruiting plants need about six hours of light, whereas some broad-leaf herbs can do with three to four hours, so it’s important gardeners make sure their small spaces will provide that kind of lighting.
Kathy Moine, a certified nursery professional on the sales team at Green Thumb Nursery in Lake Forest, California, said growing in a window is an option, but gardeners will want to make sure that the light coming in through the window isn’t so harsh that it will fry plants. Windows that provide morning or late afternoon light exposure, or dappled light that’s filtered through a nearby tree, are better options.
Moine added that in the absence of a well-lit patio or windowsill, gardeners can also use full-spectrum LED grow lights, with options beginning in the $30 range.
“They can play with the spectrum and see what might make their plants grow a little bit better,” Moine said.
