Kitchen Gardening for the Flat-bound

I have had an interest in plants and gardening since I can remember. I was always begging my mom to let me start a vegetable patch in the garden and I loved helping my grandmother care for hers in the summer. Every spring my dad would take me to pick out some seeds to sprout indoors and I’d excitedly check on them everyday until they were big enough to plant outdoors. When we moved to the UK I desperately hoped I could get an allotment to tend but the ones nearest me had waiting lists of 7 and 8 years. This crushed me. But we had two rather sunny windowsills and a decently spacious balcony to make do with. The first year I planted two window boxes with frilly sweet peas. I loved the way the tendrils exploded across the balcony and how the sweet scent of the blooms perfumed the air while we soaked up the evening sun. The next year I got a few pots and started a herb garden for use in the kitchen and found it endlessly useful. This year I’m expanding a bit with a new small planter that has a trellis. As much as I love having beautifully scented flowers to cut and bring inside I love having an edible garden so that is my focus this year. It is just so rewarding to grow your own food. This year beans will go on the trellis (I got a gorgeous speckled variety that we can eat as a green bean and as a dried bean). In the window boxes will be nasturtium and calendula, along with another little pot of lavender. All pulling double-duty as edible flowers. I may have to find a spot for some sweet peas as well however, as we hand pollinated some last year and collected the seeds. I’m so curious to see how they turn out!

Obviously the main issue when it comes to gardening from your flat is space and the quality of sunlight. I’m super fortunate to have a fairly spacious balcony to work with, and fairly large window sills that get plenty of sun (when there is sun to be had that is). Factors such as no outdoors access, being basement level, or poor light conditions are a hamper but not necessarily a full-stop. They just require some creative solutions.

If you do not have outdoor spaces such as a balcony, you may want to focus on houseplants (though I’ll push you to consider an indoor herb garden!) I’m definitely not a houseplant person. I have a pair of cacti and had an asparagus fern for a bit but since so many are tropical plants I find their needs a bit too much for me to care for them well. But there are plenty of blogs such as Invincible Houseplants and The Houseplant Guru. If you have really limited space consider hanging baskets and indoor wall planters as well, these are fun ways to display plants that free up precious table or shelf space.

If you’re basement level (without patio access) or just do not have much natural light in your space, consider using grow lights. Some do not require you make space for large growing shelves and can be rather elegant. Some can be adhered under cabinets (herb garden, hello!) There are also grow-bulbs that can be placed into a regular table or pendant lamp of your choice, and small tabletop grow lamps as well.

For a long time I thought I had to wait to grow an edible garden (beyond herbs) for when I actually had a garden, but I have discovered many ways to maximise my balcony space, while still having enough space for my husband and I to be able to sit out there and enjoy it. It is fully recessed (west-facing however, so we get plenty of direct sun in the afternoon) and around 30ft/9m3. When we moved in there was a bamboo balcony screen attached to the railing but I have removed this to maximise the light and found it makes the space feel more open. Using the railing for window boxes and finding a compact planter with a trellis for growing climbing plants help to use limited floor space wisely. Finding ways to grow vertically is critical. Consider using hanging baskets to grow strawberries, cherry tomatoes, or even lettuce. Ladder stands

Another way to get outside in the garden is through volunteering. I maintain the gardens for a therapeutic residential home, but in my city there are several urban farming non-profits to volunteer through as well. Some work like allotment patches where you get control over what you plant in your patch. This is an option definitely worth exploring if you have very limited space in your flat or apartment.

Baby basil I started in February