If you've got limited space but still want to learn to garden, this guide is for you! Let's jump into gardening in small spaces here and get started...

When I first started my garden journey way back in the way-backs (2014), I had a 500 sq ft basement apartment with 1 single window, surrounded by 5 story buildings blocking the view.

I grew basil, spinach, lettuce, and Swiss chard on that window sill and it kicked off my entire gardening journey.

Assuming you've got at least 1 window, and can get your hands on any plastic container, a bag of potting soil, a couple seeds, and some water... I've got great news for you - you can start a garden!

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window sill gardening planters in a window
My humble first garden in 2014
I had 1 single window in my crummy basement apartment

The rest is history!

Can You Grow Enough Food to Eat in an Apartment?

No, you definitely can't grow enough to provide all your food in an apartment.

That said, you absolutely can grow enough for daily salads, and lots of supplemental greens and veggies.

Got a porch, patio, or balcony? Great!
Check out what's possible in just a few square feet on an apartment patio:

plastic tote gardening organic patio small spaces lettuce peas kale
Two 20-gallon totes on an apartment patio
with Blumat drippers from a small reservoir

At 48" x 18" total, these two planters don't take up much space,
and grow salad greens all winter long in the desert!

Bonus points if you've got a roof over your porch / patio / balcony because you can hang planters from it!

This planter was hung with metal wire from the upstairs balcony above an apartment patio:

long planter hanging with wire from patio ceiling with cherry tomato sprouts

This works great, though I might now suggest cherry tomatoes as the crop for this.

That said, tomatoes can hang, and can even be grown upside-down, which is pretty dang sweet!



plants in planters on patio some hanging
Every patio should have at least some plants!

The best place to start a garden is the place where you are right now.

Don't wait until some hypothetical time in the future when you "have the space", if you want to become a gardener you'll find the space to make things grow.

Good luck, and happy gardening!

zucchini butternut squash tomatoes on small patio in plastic tote container gardening
Butternut squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and cowpeas growing on a tiny patio in 20 gallon plastic totes. Black reservoir in the back provides automatic gravity watering


P.S.: Be sure to check out Composting In Small Spaces, as it dovetails perfectly with this topic.

Happy gardening, y'all!