Urban Planters - Small Garden Ideas

Small Garden Ideas Vegetable growing should be available to anyone even if you have have a very small urban garden or no garden at all. Small urban gardens can be just as productive as larger suburban spaces but the method of growing is very different. If you don’t have a patch of ground to dig up and plant your crops will need to use something else to grow in and this is where we enter the wonderful world of container gardens.

Kitchen garden container growing You can grow delicious fresh fruit and vegetables in almost any container providing it has holes for drainage and can hold enough soil or compost to feed the plant you want to grow. Growing vegetables in containers is also a fantastic way for beginners to give vegetable growing a go before tackling a larger space. Pots and planters can be used to create dramatic and interesting effects with the endless variations of size and colour of both the planters and the plants they contain.

The range of vegetable planter options is vast ranging from old tin cans which can be used  for compact salad crops, to metal or plastic buckets right up to more substantial timber raised beds or planters. It is the variation in container growing which makes it so great, I have seen wonderful gardens created from all sorts of kooky items like old chimney pots, wooden wine boxes and fruit crates and even a salad garden growing in an old suitcase!

Where to place an urban container garden As with any vegetable growing urban container gardens need to be placed in the sunniest spot you have available. Smaller planters are handy as they can be moved around to find the spot with the best growing conditions. Ideally you are looking for sunlight for a minimum of 6 hours per day but some crops like salads and other leafy greens can cope with less. If you have a shady site you may need to tailor the cops you want to grow.

Please see the table below to get a good idea of what might suit your garden best.

Remember that large pots filled with compost are very heavy and awkward to carry so work on where you want your bigger pots to be before you fill and plant to save strain on your back. If you do nee to move large and heavy pots there are clever inventions out there like our ‘Potlifter’ which makes shifting them much safer and easier.