by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Grow your own salads, fruit and vegetables, even if you don't have a garden
I know that I am in danger of repeating myself again with this article but it would appear that still far too many people seem to think that in order to grow fruit and vegetables they need a large garden plot or an allotment or two.
You do not have to have acres of land for a garden where to grow at least some food for yourself and your family, not even a ¼ of an acre. If you have it that is great but if you don't you can still grow some fresh food. There are many who grow an abundance of food in containers and in other ways. Lack of land should not be an obstacle.
As I have mentioned with regards to container gardening before there are even some market gardens in existence, in the USA, where the operator grows absolutely everything in plastic buckets. OK, yes, he does have some land where to put those buckets but that is neither here nor there.
A great way, when plot is missing, is vertical gardening and Mark Ridsdill Smith of Vertical Veg and his knowledge on this subject is second to none. If you can't grow horizontally grow vertically. You are only limited by your imagination.
When it comes to containers in which to grow your plants upcycling is the order of the day. There is no need to buy special containers and all that. Make friends with your local groundspeople in the local councils who often get trees in what I refer to as tree tubs or tree buckets and more-often-than-not those they then have to dispose off as waste. Many of those buckets make great planters, as that is what they are.
Catering establishments also are good to make friends with as they get oil, mayonnaise and such, in plastic buckets often, quite often of between one and five gallon in size. All that is needed is to drill some drainage hole into the bottom and you have planters (that's what those market gardens I mentioned use).
Container gardening has been a trend for some years already and is still gaining traction and many gardening equipment suppliers are catering more and more for this. Vertical gardening, especially for growing food, has not advanced that far as yet but it too is slowly gaining some traction.
So, if you haven't got a big garden, a big enough one, or almost none, you still can join the “grow your own” movement and grow at least some food for yourself and your family. If you can't go horizontal thing about vertical.
© 2019
