Low resource (money, time, space) gardening (windowsill, balcony, container, porch)

[w0nderer]

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Last edited Sun Jan 31, 2016, 06:49 PM - Edit history (4)

Some resources i've saved up on gardening in a windowsill/balcony low space environment
may sound ridiculous but fresh veggies to me at least isn't just a health booster (and cheap) but also a morale booster
not only the crisp fresh veggie but the feeling of 'i did this'/'i grew this'


http://www.gardenista.com/posts/66-square-feet
-- http://66squarefeet.blogspot.com/

http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/container-favorites/container-vegetables-article10003.html
self watering pot of the sort they mention can be made by putting a pot with few holes in the bottom inside a small bucket or container with rocks in the bottom and then a little water inside the outermost container.

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*hoping the ascii drawing comes through*

http://www.gardeners.com/how-to/urban-gardening-with-vegetables/5491.html

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/vegetables/growing-vegetables-in-containers/
nice list to the end about what containers and plants to use together Size wise

http://containergardening.about.com/od/vegetablesandherbs/a/ContainerVeggie.htm
(on this link the video seems to auto start(which annoys me), but the content of the page is decent)

http://www.diyncrafts.com/7137/food/35-easiest-container-pot-friendly-fruits-vegetables-herbs
really cool and with some inventiveness and diy i've modified some ideas to be built cheaply (problem is time, but this would be investment in self)

http://www.diyncrafts.com/4732/repurpose/25-foods-can-re-grow-kitchen-scraps
regrow from kitchen scraps (includes tomatoes, lemongras, lettuce, ginger and onions and hazel nuts)
small hazel trees (less than 6ft can still carry nuts and they are healthy and nutritious and contain oil (unusual in non animal food sources)) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

http://www.davidwolfe.com/stop-trashing-your-scraps-16-produce-items-to-re-grow-at-home/?c=pwf&vp=vgard
growing from left overs at home also HIGHLY recommended


http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/digin/your_space/windowsill.shtml
very simple intro, they say to buy container soil.... it's usually cheaper to mix the soil oneself from components
(if you don't have room to store 3 big sacks (peat moss, vermiculite and so on --see below squarefoot gardening or google)
see if neighbors are willing to get into it with you
go shareiesies with them, you might start a cool trend


http://www.harvesttotable.com/2010/01/windowsill_gardening_growing_v/
-- http://www.harvesttotable.com/2008/12/x/
-- http://www.harvesttotable.com/2008/12/dwarf_and_miniature_vegetables/
good hints on smaller versions (i'd add in try to look for classic (old / heirloom) plants in small plants
because usually you can rescue seeds and thus save on that

http://www.caleyskitchengarden.com/2013/06/9-plants-for-windowsill-vegetable-garden.html
Good small tricks

http://greatist.com/health/best-plants-to-grow-indoors
many sub-links to more information including growing mushrooms in a laundry basket

http://www.goveganic.net/article201.html
http://www.thekitchn.com/composting-without-a-garden-189247
http://lifeonthebalcony.com/composting-on-the-balcony-the-easy-way-to-environmental-virtue/
micro compost suitable for balcony usage or small space outdoors

http://lifeonthebalcony.com/how-to-turn-a-pallet-into-a-garden/
http://lifeonthebalcony.com/more-wildlife-pallet-garden-photos/
Pallet gardening

http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2010/06/how-you-can-make-gardening-cheap/
how to get free mulch or compost, containers and other frugal tricks


Price per sq foot of some veggies

http://www.cheapvegetablegardener.com/most-profitable-plants-in-your/

that list seems fairly accurate

even so i'll keep growing onions, cabbages (a few), spinach, garlic and a few others that are far down on the list
because it feels good to be able to make a soup out of 'all homegrown' every once in a while

from the same source
http://www.cheapvegetablegardener.com/how-to-start-a-winter-vegetable-garden/
with temperature tolerances (cold) important for those of us of in the north :-p

univ of maine on :: Bulletin #2761, Gardening in Small Spaces
https://umaine.edu/publications/2761e/
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Square foot gardening (Mel Bartholomew), i can recommend the book (amazon or used book store or library even better)
i've run 2x4 foot containers on a balcony and they covered a large amount of my veggie needs for 8 months of the year (cold winters)
4x4 or even 4x8 is what they recommend per person...one don't really need all the 'dedicated' stuff they recommend

i've used everything from oiled (flaxseed oil) recycled pallet wood (made into boxes) to "curbside rescue" dresser drawers, by way of 4 gallon+ mayo or similar restaurant buckets (ask nicely and usually you can have them cheap or for free and plastic bags (double layered them and filled them with soil), the calculations and system is pretty good

it contains mix lists (can't spell rece..recei..rese...aarrg mixlist!) for soil, and measurements plant-to-container-size

i got my 'square foot container' book from a used book store $2
used book stores and libraries rock