Plant A Clock Garden for Tiny Spaces

A Clock Salad Garden For Tiny Spaces

You might wish you could grow your own veggies but live in a condo, apartment or have a tiny lot. Well, your wish is granted. All you need is access to six hours of sunlight (a south-facing space is best), soil, seeds, water and patience!

Container Garden

Needed:

1 large pot - 20 inches in diameter and at least 12" tall. The bigger the better.

1 Pot saucer

1 large bag of potting soil - Miracle Grow Potting Soil is perfect

1 Small bag of compost or composted manure.

Rocks or Styrofoam peanuts

Seeds or seedling plants

Water

Place the rocks or Styrofoam into the bottom of the planter to about 3" deep. This is your drainage so the roots won't rot if you have a lot of rain. The Styrofoam is great because it's usually free and very light weight. Be sure you have real Styrofoam as there are biodegradable peanuts out there.

Fill your pot with a mix of 1/2 soil and 1/2 compost or composted manure to witching 2"from the top.

Plant your seeds or seedlings

Water well.

It's best to place the garden outside, but people have had luck by placing the little gardens next to a door wall or a large south-facing window. If your garden is inside turn 1/4 turn each day to insure they get even exposure to sunlight.

Berry Salad Garden

This little garden will give you enough veggies for salads or fresh berries for our cereal every few days,

Think of your pot as a clock. Plant strawberries at 12/3/6/9 clock numbers. Plant Parsley at 2/7, basil 4/10. Plant scallions or onions a few inches behind the herbs, and fill in-between with chives or garlic chives. Plant leaf lettuce , Swiss Chard and baby spinach seeds every few inches in a circle behind the chives. Add about ten radish seeds between the lettuce. Plant dill in the center. They are pretty and the greens are delicious in salads or with fish. Add a few nasturtiums inear the edge of the pot if you'd like some color and edible flowers.

You may wish to plant a tomato plant in another pot. It should be the same size as the salad pot, as tomatoes need room and lots of nourishment. Cherry or Grape Tomatoes are excellent for salads, or try a patio tomato variety and have slicing tomatoes too!

Harvest the larger leaves of the leaf lettuce, Swiss Chard and Spinach when they are about five inches long and new leaves will grow, so don't pull the plants out unless they are crowding each other out, then pull a few to give them more space. Radishes are ready to harves in about 25 days, so replant every other week to keep a steady supply. Snip bits from the onion tops for salads while the bulb is forming.

Herb Garden

Use the same method as your Berry Salad Garden only plant only parsley, basil (there are several varieties including purple and leaf basil), chives, oregano, lemon mint (excellent in salads or cold drinks) and dill. Fresh herbs are very tasty and excellent for your health. Herbs are very expensive when purchased in the grocery store, a small container of an ounce of fresh basil can cost up to four dollars, so this little garden will save you cash as well.

If you have only a small yard, plant these gardens directly into the ground or build a small raised bed if you soil is poor.