Make a garden at home with little space【Family garden】

Making a homemade garden is a perfect option to entertain the little ones. Today we are going to see some ideas to make a garden at home with little space and how to use recycled materials to cultivate.

Making a home garden with children is a very positive activity for the whole family: they can have fun and be entertained while they learn; and we, the adults, can also take advantage of all the advantages of having a garden at home.

Where can you build a small home garden?

Although we have little space, there are several corners of the house where we can build a small garden.

If we have a terrace or a patio we can place a cultivation table. This is one of the most comfortable options, since it allows us to cultivate the home garden without having to bend down, but, as we will see, there are many other types of containers for the urban garden (also recycled containers that we can make ourselves).

In addition, we can use the window sill to place the pots and planters of the home garden, or set up an indoor flower pot in a well-lit area.

Balconies are also an ideal place to make a garden at home with little space. On the railings you can place supports for planters or planters and on the wall or facade we can mount a small vertical garden.

Ideas to make a garden at home with little space

Here are some ideas for gardens with little space that we have seen in different urban gardens or that you have been sending us through the blog or social networks.

Grow tables and planters are one of the most common options in small outdoor spaces, such as rooftops, backyards or small terraces.

If you’re into woodworking, you can use wooden slats to build a small raised bed garden like this:

Another option to make a vegetable garden with little space is the vegetable garden on the wall. There are many types of vertical gardens, such as growing panels made with geotextile mesh.

These modular containers have several grow bags or small independent bags where you can grow different species (a good entertainment also for those who have and know how to use a sewing machine, who can make a panel with grow bags like this at home):

Another example is the modular plastic vertical garden, with containers that are inserted into each other or into a support. With these structures it is possible to make a very versatile vertical garden at home, mixing colors or changing the size and distribution of our vertical garden thanks to the different combinations of containers or cultivation modules.

We can also use structures or modular growing boxes like these, in which we can grow small leafy vegetables or aromatic plants, even indoors.

Recycled materials to make a home garden

There are many types of materials that can be recycled to make a home garden. You don’t have to look far to find string, plastic bags, bottles, and other containers that can be recycled into planters.

An example is this mini vertical garden made with tin cans and hemp ropes.

Or these homemade self -watering pots made with plastic bottles that Sandra taught us on Canal Agrohuerto TV:

Old tires can also be reused as growing containers. Painting them is a good idea to give our urban garden even more color and, in addition, it is an activity that children will enjoy a lot.

Another idea to use recycled materials in the garden is to turn plastic bottles, drums and boxes into small pots.

Painting pots for the flowerpot is a way of reusing these containers and entertaining ourselves while we make our urban garden more beautiful and cheerful.

Another of the recycled materials that is most used in small orchards and urban gardens are wooden pallets.

If you have one at home or you can order it online, you can transform it into a small vertical garden.

Polystyrene boxes, big bags or geotextile bags (the typical thick and large bags used in department stores or grocery stores) can also be recycled as growing containers for home gardens.

If we have more space, we can make a very nice composition by combining several polystyrene boxes stacked at different heights:

If you want to recycle in the garden, one of the best ways is to make homemade compost to fertilize the plants. All are advantages: compost is one of the best organic fertilizers that exist, and, in addition, by making our own fertilizer we will save costs and we will give a new use to kitchen waste and crop residues.

In the article on how to make compost you have more details about this complete fertilizer for the garden, and also, if you decide to build a homemade compost bin, you can see what the steps are in the article how to make a compost bin with pallets step by step.

What can be planted in small spaces

The most «grateful» plants that can be planted in gardens with little space are the aromatic ones. There are several types of aromatic plants that we can grow at home, all very special and with different uses both in the kitchen and in the garden (many of them have very powerful scents capable of keeping pests away from the garden).

In addition, there are some vegetables that are easy to grow, such as carrots, lettuce or garlic, which will not cause too many problems in the family garden, since they require little care and are quite resistant. You have more details in the article « 7 garden plants for beginners «.

If you want to make a home garden with little light, there are some crops that do not require too much direct sun for their development, so they will be perfect for making a garden in an interior patio or other shaded areas (Find out what these plants are in the post Orchards with little sun).

How to take care of a garden at home

The first thing to make a garden at home is to prepare the seedbeds. Not all plants need it, and some can be sown directly into pots or large containers, but making seedbeds is very convenient since the seedlings, which are much more delicate in the early stages, are better controlled and cared for.

If you have already decided on any of the ideas above and you know what plants you are going to grow and what containers you are going to use for the urban garden, it is time to start the task!

If you decide to install a garden irrigation system at home, you will need to buy the drip lines and the timer (which must be connected to the faucet), but you can also choose to water manually with a watering can, a bottle or a hose.

In the articles » Planning the garden: 10 basic aspects to start growing at home » and » Orchard in a patio « you have the keys to start growing a home garden.

In addition, we have published hundreds of articles with more details on the substrate and its fertilization, irrigation, natural preparations against pests, or on the care of aromatic plants and typical orchard vegetables (use the search engine above to find the information you need). most interested).

If you have more ideas about recycled containers for the home garden or you want to send us a photo of a home garden with little space, do not hesitate to leave your contributions or upload your images in the comment thread below.

References

1. Bueno, M., 2002. The organic family garden. RBA Books.
2. Ecologists in Action, 2009. Small manual of cultivation on rooftops. Ed.: Ecologists in Action of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Social Work of the Caja de Canarias.
3. GRAMA Association – Action Group for the Environment, 2012. Garden Manual.
4. Madrid City Council, 2017. Ecological Urban Garden Course.