Gardens For Small Apartments in San Antonio
Posted on April 26, 2007
Filed Under Apartment Living | 9 Comments
“Why can’t I grow tomatoes in San Antonio?”
No garden is complete without home grown tomatoes. But many Texan gardeners complain about how difficult it is to grow a nice crop. One common reason is that all the gardening books (and even the tag on the tomato plants) tell you to plant tomatoes in full sun. In many places of the United States this works, but if you live in Texas, full sun can actually burn your plants during the sweltering summer months. This is also true for other plants and herbs including bell peppers and basil.
It’s for this reason growing a vegetable garden in a controlled environment has its advantages. If you have a patio or balcony, potted vegetable plants work great because you can move them around and control the balance of sunlight and shade. (Keep in mind that for San Antonio, “full sun” may actually mean “partial sun”.) Make sure your indoor pots have a drain hole, and then use the recommended mixture of garden soil and plant fertilizer to ensure a healthy growth.
Many vegetables and just about any herb can be grown in a single pot. Some of the easiest vegetables to grow in apartment patio containers are; tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, pole beans and lettuce. If you want to include some fruit, strawberries, and even some fruit trees will grow well in a large pot on your patio.
“What if I have no room on my small apartment patio for all those pots?”
Lucky for you hanging upside down plants are all the rage! They take up no floor space and are easy to install as long as you a strong hook or pole to hang them on. You have probably seen the popular Topsy Turvy tomato planters advertised on TV. But a regular 5 gallon bucket works great too! Drill a 2-ich hole in the bucket, insert your seedling through the hole (upside down), and then fill the bucket with soil and fertilizer. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers grow really well upside down, as they are not as prone to damage from rodents and pests.
“What if my small apartment patio gets no sunlight?”
If your apartment is in San Antonio and you get no sunlight you may be a Texas rarity. However, anything is possible, and that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy fresh home grown vegetables anyway. Modern technology has made it possible to grow fresh herbs and vegetables all year round -rain or shine. Self-contained lighting and watering systems like the Areogarden may be the solution you are looking for. They take up minimal space and are practically fool proof. Just set the Areogarden on your kitchen counter, plug it in and watch the plants grow.
No matter what kind of space you currently live in or how uncooperative the weather may be in San Antonio, you can join the popular grass roots trend of growing your own organic fruits, herbs and vegetables. Not only is it economical (most of the time) but it’s generally a lot healthier and tastier too.
Watch the video related to small apartment living
A quick tour of my first apartment in Tokyo. This building is a serviced apartment and is very conveniently located. It’s expensive, though. I couldn’t live with myself if I stayed here for longer than I did, so I have moved. If you would like to know more about this place, the agency’s website is here: www.space-d.co.jp The staff were very friendly and accommodating and the whole process was extremely, extremely easy. I guess you get what you pay for (in some ways). This place came with …
Help answer the question about small apartment living
Need help… living in a small apartment where kitchen and closets are front of each other what to do forsmellbadly need a suggestion. just moved in to a new apartment which is small and near kitchen there is a closet right there so i am afraid the smell of different food get into the cloths… there is only one balcony at the end of the apartment and kitchen and clostets are in front ….
About Author
A.J Lentini is an avid amateur gardener. She has had some success with container gardening, upside down gardening, and hydroponic gardening with the Areogarden. April writes for http://San-antonio.apartmentguide.com
Comments
9 Responses to “Gardens For Small Apartments in San Antonio”
Leave a Reply
There are some great water based gloss paints to do the paint job, but stripping may be a problem unless you can open some windows to get ventilation. If you can get a waterbased stripper, that would be best. Hand sanding after removing the old paint would work. You will need some sort of scraper to remove the stripper and paint.
Go to Target and check out their chrome racks. Make sure you get the one withe zig-zag line running through it. A four shelf unit is around $40 or less.
The shelves adjust to whatever height you need. I use one and I have my photo albums on top with bookends.
My XM radio and Apple Hi-Fi on the next shelf.
My television on the next shelf.
And finally my DVR/Cable Box/DVD units on the bottom.
To hide the wires I just bundled them up along the post and held them there with zip ties (just make sure you clip the long ends off). You can't even see them. But if I need to check wires it is much easier.
Here are some of the advantages:
Cheap
You can by smaller units to hold books or DVDs.
My friend bought a flat screen and hung it on a wall, now they have a entertainment center down in their basement.
If you do the same in the future or move to a bigger house you can just use the shelves as storage in your garage or basement. No damage done.
i am not trying to insult you but……why would someone live in a small apartment , with no yard and in an unsafe neighborhood…….nots not LIFE!,…..move to where you can go and come with freedom and safety
Use the whole apartment!!
no roommate. it would be a bit arkward to share such a small space with a friend.
Ill assume the kitchen doesnt have a built in fan… but really you might have to just use a small plug in fan when cooking.. I'm not sure what you cook but it doesnt really stay in the clothes permanently- I guess also a plug in air freshener or candle smell in the clothes would be better then food.
I live in a 4 bedroom house and my water bill runs me about 48.00 a month and my aps bill is about 60.00 in the winter and 120.00 in the summer
Paint the walls white/very light as it will bounce the light around and make it appear bigger.
Try not to use large patterns on anything as they will make everyting around them look smaller.
If you can afford it, get a flat-screen TV as it will save space and be further away from the couch. Use smaller furniture as large pieces will increase the feeling of closeness.
Avoid clutter as much as possible and populate the place with clean, crisp lines with just a few brighter pieces to liven the place up. A good bright area rug on the floor may also help.
http://www.lakeside.com/details.asp?I=OZX&Ntt=orgnizers&N=36&Nao=0&R=550&product=Multicolored-Canvas-Organizers
I love this website, their stuff is inexpensive…this comes in primary or pastel colors. =)