Gardening was once limited to those living amongst sweeping hills and rural neighborhoods. But recently, urban gardening has been growing in popularity. After all, a lot of plants are adaptable and can thrive in the most surprising conditions. 

If you live in an apartment, there’s no reason why you can’t try your hand at gardening. Here are some helpful tips to get you started with your garden apartment.

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Identify the Best Spaces

Before you go out and buy supplies, take a look around to determine the best spaces for your garden. While there are house plants that thrive in dimly lit, humid areas— the bathroom, for example — most plants that turn into food need plenty of sun to grow and thrive.

Find a sunny window in your apartment. Think of a place where the light streams in, where you’d like to curl up for a nap. That’s the best place for indoor gardening. If you have a patio or balcony, you can also set up some plants there. However, if your balcony is in a shadowy corner, you might have better luck with the window indoors.

If you are struggling to find adequate light, you may want to consider a plant grow light.

Choose the Right Plants

While it’s possible to garden in an apartment, some plants will work better than others. Think of smaller fruit and vegetables that grow on small plants and vines. You might have to leave your dreams of a pumpkin patch for another day.

Here are some of the best plants to grow in your apartment garden:

  • Tomatoes – you can grow a variety of tomatoes for sauces and salads. Plant a collection of multi-colored tomatoes like this seed collection from My Seed Needs.
  • Greens – grow lettuce, spinach, or other leafy greens in a pot.
  • Potatoes – you can grow potatoes in a large dirt-filled pot on your patio.
  • Herbs – kitchen herbs like basil, mint, and chives are easy to grow indoors.
  • Strawberries – these berries are a delicious summer treat you can grow quickly and easily.
  • Peppers – from bell peppers to habaneros, these thrive in an apartment garden.

Depending on the space you have available, you can get inventive and experiment with a variety of different plants for your apartment garden.

Get Creative with Plant Holders

Terra cotta pots are great for creating apartment gardens, but they aren’t your only option. You can create a vertical garden using an old palette, mason jars hung in the window with macrame, or pots that are built to sit on a railing. There are also lots of great options for windowsill gardens.

The important thing to remember when choosing your plant holders is drainage. You want excess water to run out, preventing root rot that will ultimately kill your plants.

You can also find indoor grow kits that come with most everything you need to get started.

Be Careful with Pets

Whereas outdoor gardens often have to contend with pests, yours might have to deal with pets. Cats and dogs are drawn to plants. In some cases, consuming those plants can be toxic to your animal. In other cases, their activities can be damaging to your plants.

If you have bets, be mindful of where you put your plants and put measures in place to keep them separate.

Create a Watering Routine

Watering will be your biggest challenge with an apartment garden. Even if you set your plants on a balcony, there are no guarantees that they’ll get enough moisture. That’s because your plants can’t draw from the groundwater when things get a little dry.

Put your plants on a strict watering schedule to help them grow and thrive.

Consider a Community Garden

If the idea of having a garden in your apartment seems daunting, look outward. There are a lot of urban centers putting up community gardens in which you rent a plot, plant your vegetables, tend to them as you see fit, and harvest them. Other community gardens have everyone come together to maintain the garden in return for fresh produce.

There are plenty of options for gardening when you live in an apartment. Think outside the box and give it a try.