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| Our fish pepper plant growing outside of our apartment complex. |
I once had a roommate that was caught with the gardening "bug." Se wanted to grow things, so she decided to take a tomato from the refrigerator, remove the seeds, and plant them in paper cups. Later she found a larger container for them to grow in. All winter long, giant spindly plants began to grow. I remember them growing up towards the ceiling, but that’s all that happened. She was very disappointed. Because of the fact tomatoes need to be pollinated (and other factors,) her tomato seed experiment did not produce tomatoes.
The good news it is easy to grow your own food, even in apartments. If you are new to gardening and want to try, here are a few plants I have found are easy and tasty to grow!
BasilEven if you don’t have a full on herb garden, get this! I can’t imagine cooking without fresh basil. It can be grown indoors or outdoors, and is an amazing addition to dishes such as pizza, curries, and pasta. We usually buy ours at the supermarket (it has roots), but basil can also be grown using plants from a garden center. If you are very adventurous basil can also be grown from seed. (That is another post). Plant basil in a large container with good soil and water the soil every few days. To keep the basil plant from going to seed (which means no more basil will grow), make sure to pick the buds and youngest leaves first. This helps the basil plant to grow quickly. If taken care of properly, you can enjoy basil all year long!
* If you have a neighbor or friend who already has a basil plant growing, you can use this, to have an endless supply of basil.
Oregano, Rosemary, Parsley, Sage, and Chives These herbs are classic staples in any herb garden. They are easy to grow, either on a kitchen window sill, or outside if it is warm enough. Chives are hardy plants, and have beautiful purple flowers. If you are growing herbs year-round, find a sunny spot for them indoors, and water frequently.
Radishes and Lettuce These are fast and almost foolproof to grow. Radishes will be ready for harvest in as little as 3 weeks – two months. Plant radish and lettuce seeds in the spring and fall. (In the hot summer they will bolt and go to seed, meaning they will start to flower before you can really enjoy eating them.) Both radishes and lettuce are cool-weather plants, so they are prefect for growing indoors during the winter.
Ginger and Garlic Ginger and garlic may seem like odd things to grow, but they are easy, inexpensive and beautiful plants. Pick up a piece of ginger from the store (preferably organic) and cut the piece of ginger to there is one eye on each section. Then soak the ginger for 24 hours and then plant in a large, deep container. Another way of sprouting ginger is to place a large, uncut piece of ginger in a warm sunny window sill until it begins to sprout. Then plant the ginger. A similar method is used for garlic. Separate the garlic bulbs, and place in a sunny area of the house until they begin to sprout. Plant in a deep container with good soil and water when needed.
Peppers and Eggplant I think peppers and eggplants are beautiful plants, as well as functional. It you are tight on space, grow small varieties of pepper such as jalapeno, but if you have larger containers, (five gallon containers) try eggplant and red pepper varieties. Peppers and Eggplant are warm weather plants, and are great for growing the summer. The easiest way to get these plants started is to buy seedlings from a local garden center, and plant two weeks after the last frost, which is usually approximately May 15. (They can also be planted from seeds but it takes more planning.)
These are some of our favorite, easy plants to grow. Even in tiny apartments, we have been able to grow a bit of food, and we always feel good when we eat something from our container gardens. Try it!
Tips
– If garden containers are expensive, look at yard sales, Craigslist, the thrift store, or Ikea.
– If you want a fast growing vegetable, good choices are lettuce or radishes. (They can also be grown indoors next to a sunny window).
– Plants such as ginger and garlic make great indoor plants.
– If you want a fast growing vegetable, good choices are lettuce or radishes. (They can also be grown indoors next to a sunny window).
– Plants such as ginger and garlic make great indoor plants.
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