Prepping for disaster includes learning valuable skills that will help sustain you for years to come should the world forever be off kilter. You need to know how to grow food that will keep your family fed and healthy. In today’s world, gardening is a good idea in general. It keeps fresh fruits and veggies on your table when the prices at the grocery store are sky high and it ensures your food is safe to eat.
Don’t assume you can’t grow an abundant garden because you don’t have acres of land. You don’t even really need a garden plot to grow fruits and veggies that will be enough to keep your family happy and healthy.
Check out the 10 ways you can grow a garden by using the available space in the air! Forget what you know about traditional gardening and embrace the innovative vertical garden approach home owners and apartment dwellers all over the world are taking advantage of.
1-If you have a fence around your backyard, you have a way to garden. You will need a hammer and nails or a drill and a few screws. Collect old coffee cans, plastic or metal, butter containers or any other medium-size container that can be used as a pot. Poke or drill a few holes in the bottom of the container. Drill or nail the container to the fence. Start about 2 feet off the ground and go up the length of the fence. Make sure you leave enough space for each container to get plenty of sunshine. Add a layer of gravel to the pot, fill with soil and plant things like strawberries, lettuce, herbs, cucumbers and whatever tickles your fancy.
2-Create strawberry towers out of 6-inch PVC pipe. Buy 4 or 6 feet lengths of pipe. Drill 2-inch holes around the pipe with about 2 to 3 inches between the holes. Put an end cap on the bottom of the pipe. Fill with potting soil and plant strawberries in each of the holes.
3-If you have a small garden plot, you can still grow space hogging plants like cucumbers and melons by using trellises. The trellis will need to be somewhat sturdy to support the heavy fruit. As the plant starts to grow, put the vines over the trellis. This is not only a great way to save space, but also results in better looking produce because one side won’t be lying on the ground. You will also have to deal with less bugs eating your fruit.
4-Veggies like tomatoes and cucumbers can be grown by hanging them from the porch. You have probably seen those expensive containers in the hardware store that allow you to grow a single plant, upside down. However, you can use an old 2-liter soda bottle to do the same thing. Cut off the bottom, about 2 inches, fill the container with soil and plant either a seed or small plant start in the top. Use fishing line or rope threaded through the bottom to hang from your porch or patio.
5-Canvas shoe holders that you hang over the back of a door are perfect for growing an herb garden in. Fill each holder with dirt, plant your herbs and hang off the fence or nail it to the side of your house. You can use the plastic shoe holders, but they do not hold up as long.
6-If you have an outbuilding, use the south-facing side to hang containers on similar to how you would use your fence. You could also use the side of your house. However, this can be a little rough on your siding. Your best option would be to invest in a sheet of wood and drill the containers in place on the wood. Prop the wood against the side of the house and go from there. An old pallet will also work great for this.
7-Make your own wall out of some 2x4s and chicken wire. Build a frame, stretch the chicken wire across it and attach planters to the fencing with some heavy wire. You will need to keep the containers fairly lightweight. This is a great way to grow herbs and use any garden space for your veggies. You can use old water bottles, yogurt cups or whatever else you can find to grow plants in.
8-Use old 5-gallon buckets to grow tomatoes, cucumbers and just about anything. Make sure you drill a few holes in the bottoms of the buckets. Add a layer of gravel and fill with soil. The buckets can be moved around the yard or set up on your patio. If you are dealing with cool nights, the buckets are easy enough to put in the garage or even in the house overnight.
9-Old rain gutters are perfect for attaching to the side of the barn, shed or stuck on a pallet and propped against something sturdy. Fill the gutters with soil and plant shallow-rooted crops like peas, lettuce, herbs and strawberries. You can find old gutters for free at junkyards or put an ad in Craigslist volunteering to pick up somebody’s old gutters.
10-Collect all those old water bottles and give them the same treatment as the soda bottles in number four. Hang the bottles from an old clothesline or string a rope from one tree to another, just make sure the bottles get plenty of sun. You can either have the plant hang upside down or grow upright. This is also an excellent way to grow plants in front of a sunny window in the winter.
Never assume you cannot grow a garden because you don’t have space. Containers and using vertical space gives you the freedom to grow a garden even if you live in a tenth floor apartment. Get creative and look for ways to utilize the space around your home. You can paint your containers if you choose to make them look a little prettier.
