One of the nicest things about growing a home vegetable garden is that you can do it in fairly limited space. Sure, there are certain vegetables that are only worth growing in bulk, or which take up a lot of space and demand a great deal of care – but for the most part, you can grow a bountiful supply of herbs and vegetables at home, even if you just use the patio!
Flowers work beautifully in the garden, but if you’re growing veggies at home there are multiple benefits to doing so on your patio space – you maximize space, your vegetables are easily accessible, and you can even grow them decoratively!
So here are our 7 tips for growing patio vegetables.
1. Use Hanging Baskets
We mentioned maximizing space, and having a few hanging baskets of veggies and herbs on your patio is a great way to do this. Not to mention, they can be very attractive and ornamental! Better Herbs & Gardens notes a very attractive combination of basil and tomato in a hanging basket. It looks nice, and gives you the components to a delicious caprese salad!
2. Use A Drip Watering System
Watering throughout your patio can be a bit of a burden, particularly if you have planting containers at different heights, in different corners, etc. Installing an automatic drip watering system can save you some time and effort.
3. Vary Container Height
This is another great way to maximize space, and it’s fairly easy to do. For the ground level you can find a lot of small pots and containers. Meanwhile, at MySmartBuy you’ll find some larger planters that can stand above the rest, giving you a second tier of vegetables. It’s a great way to stagger your garden and give yourself twice the veggies!
4. Be Strategic With Scent
Specifically, keeping a basket or planter of your strongest scented herbs right outside a window can be a great move. Herbs are wonderful for eating and cooking, but they add a fresh and enjoyable smell to your patio space as well! Pinterest shows a number of tasteful examples of herb containers well-placed near the window.
5. Grow Up
Our third tip for maximizing space is to grow straight up out of containers. A number of popular vegetables require depth, and grow somewhat widely. But options like rosemary grow straight up, and you can even help vines from plants like tomatoes and cucumbers to grow upward.
6. Incorporate Some Colour
If you focus too much on greens, your patio can take on a somewhat overgrown, careless appearance, almost as if your vegetables are accidental! We’ve already mentioned tomatoes a couple of times, but consider other colourful options as well.
7. Incorporate Some Fruit
Finally, if you’re growing an edible patio garden, don’t be afraid to include some fruit! There are some options that are plenty easy enough, with strawberries probably being the most popular (and another great way to add some colour!). Mother Earth News has some helpful information on growing these fruits in your garden.