With the rising costs of food and people having less to spend, more and more of us are entertaining the idea of growing our own. However, not all of us are fortunate enough to live on a farm or have lots of acreage in the countryside.
Many of us look out of the window only to see the cement and brickwork jungle of the suburban or city spread.
I'm
Rick, the one grinning in the picture above, and this website is all about my attempts at container gardening to grow food from my tiny suburban patio garden in the South West of England.
I am determined to help and encourage other people living in towns or cities to turn the smallest of gardens, patio's or even window boxes, into abundant food-producing Eden's.
Whether it's to save money, an act of preparedness, or just a fabulous hobby, container gardening is a fantastic and flexible way of growing food for you and your family.
Growing your own food is such a great idea...
Immediate benefits:
- You save a LOT of money!
- Its a fantastic, rewarding and fun hobby
- Your food tastes SO much better, and is more nutritious and healthy
- You are less dependent on supermarkets
- Your living space is converted into a fantastic green Eden
- You know your food is not laced with chemicals and pesticides
- Youll enjoy a much healthier and calmer lifestyle, and be more in-touch with nature
- Its a wholesome, excellent and educational activity for the kids
Less considered benefits:
- You gain invaluable knowledge and life-skills
- Growing your own food dramatically reduces your carbon footprint
- Insurance - You are protected from potential food shortages or break-downs in the system
- Its safer! You know the history and origins of your food See this article
Why Containers?
Container gardening will open up opportunities to you, allowing you to grow food virtually anywhere with much greater control and flexibility, and with less disease and pest issues.
Essentially, all you need is some dirt, something to contain it in, some seeds, sunlight and water.
If you do it with some simple planning-ahead, for example, by combining container gardening with other methods such as vertical gardening, square foot gardening, raised bed gardening, and using hanging or wall-mounted containers, you should be able to utilise every inch of space available to you, and have your own flourishing Eden, enjoying an abundant crop of fresh healthy vegetables and fruits throughout the growing season.
No need for specialised equipment
With container gardening, you dont need to go out and buy expensive pots or containers, tools and equipment. Those old pots and pans you were going to throw out, that broken leaky kettle, those empty cola bottles, those lengths of scrap wood you were planning to throw out, even old compost bags all can be used as containers for growing food plants in.
That old bucket with the hole? - A perfect container for hanging up to accommodate your cascading tomato plants!
Low to Zero Budget?
If you are inventive or resourceful enough, then growing your own food, or even Urban Homesteading can be done on a very low budget. Obviously there are consumables that are needed, such as growing medium, seeds and feeds. Where these come from depends on your budget and your choices, but it should be noted that some things are not worth scrimping on, and could mean that all your efforts are in vain if your crop is virtually non-existent from say, using poor soil or seeds.
It doesn't pay to scrimp on buying seeds. For example, you might try saving them from supermarket-purchased fruit and vegetables, but most of these mass-produced plants come from F1 Hybrid seeds these days. Those seeds are designed to give a high-yielding crop once only. Any subsequent specimens grown from the resulting seeds, if they do actually grow, may provide an inferior and much smaller crop.
See my article on seeds here for more information.
This is a BIG website!
There are hundreds of useful and informational articles on gardening and the many subjects its covers in this website. Use the Google search box (upper right area on all pages of the site) to find exactly what you are looking for.
Enjoy!
Rick
This is an interactive website.
You can openly add your own comments and ideas to a page
wherever you see the above sign. No sign-ups or emails needed.
I'm also on twitter!
- Container Gardening - The answer to growing food in small spaces
- Container gardening for food is one of the greatest options available to those of us who do not have large gardens, or have access to areas where more traditional gardening can be achieved.
- About Me, And Why I Chose to Make This Website...
- This website is the ongoing story of how I am trying to grow my own food and become as self-sufficient as I can, with only my small urban patio garden to work with.
- Container Gardening For Food Blog
- This Container Gardening for Food blog is the ongoing log of my journey and challenge into growing my own food in a small space.
- The Global Gardening Blog
- Do you grow your own food? Tell others how you are doing by making an entry on the global gardening blog.
- Container Vegetable Gardening
- Grow your own food, and save a LOT of money! Container vegetable gardening is the practical solution for those of us who do not own a large garden
- Starting a Garden For Growing Food In Containers!
- When first starting a garden with container pots, a good place to start would be to start gathering the basic items you'll need from this list....
- Vegetable Garden Layout Ideas and Planning
- Here are some Ideas and sketches to consider for your vegetable garden layout ideas. Planning is everything! It will be a key factor in getting the maximum yields.
- Thoughts on Survival Gardening
- Survival gardening is something many of us might not have ever considered, but as each day passes, the world in general seems to be heading deeper into a tailspin.
- Buying Gardening Seeds - Not as simple as it sounds!
- Its easy to be seduced by the glossy pictures in the catalogues, but dont be too hasty to jump in and buy gardening seeds without at least reading this page!
- Growing vegetables in containers - which types grow well?
- For those of us growing vegetables in containers, below is a list of plants that will do particularly well in pots as long as they are given the right care.
- Raised Bed Gardening for food
- Raised bed gardening is a great idea if you have poor soil conditions, but think carefully before opting to install them if your soil is already of a high quality.
- Vertical Gardening
- Vertical gardening can be combined successfully with container gardening. Excellent if you do not have a large footprint area on the ground where you can grow things.
- Square Foot Gardening
- Square foot gardening is the name given to an intensive gardening method that employs specifically-sized raised growing plots that are a maximum of 4 feet wide by any chosen length
- My Vertical Hydroponic Growing Setup
- My vertical hydroponic growing setup has enabled me to grow abundant food in a tiny space
- Growing Herbs in Containers and Pots
- Growing herbs in containers, in general can be a wonderfully easy thing to do, and can be done both indoors and outside.
- Herbalism guide - growing and using your own herbs
- A herbalism guide to growing your own herbs and making them into herbal remedies in your own home.
- Garden Pests - Keep Your Guard Up!
- Garden pests are a fact of life, but I'm trying to deal with them in ways nature provided instead of using chemicals...
- Compost Containers
- Compost containers are open-bottom bins used for turning used organic waste, such kitchen scraps into a rich, fertile humus, otherwise known as compost.
- Sitemap of the Container Gardening For Food.com website
- Sitemap of the Container Gardening For Food.com website
- Show Off Your Garden Pictures Here!
- Time to show off your own garden pictures and stories about your food growing efforts
- Looking for Gardening Magazines? Get a FREE one Here!
- Looking for Gardening Magazines? Here's a FREE one! Container Gardening For Food - Get News, tips and ideas in this bi-monthly E-Zine. Subscribe here!
- Growing Lettuce is Quick and Simple
- Growing lettuce can be a simple and rewarding task, with fast results and a tasty fresh crop. Lettuces grow well in cooler climates and are particularly well suited to the UK.
- site search
- Search any paty of the Container Gardening For Food website here
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