With a little planning, you can cultivate a green thumb for fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs.
Fitting more plants into your diet can become even more enjoyable when you grow your own. Whether you’re living in a small apartment or a home with a yard, a garden is within your reach. Plus, it doesn’t take a lot of space to reap the rewards.
People often eat more fresh fruits and vegetables when they grow their own (because why would you let that work go to waste?). And gardening — even indoors — requires physical activity in the form of creating a green space, planting, weeding, watering and harvesting.
Here are a few basic tips to get you started.
- Pick a spot with good sunlight. Some veggies need six to eight hours of sunlight, while leafy greens can grow with less.
- Grow what you like to eat. There’s no point in growing eggplant if you can’t stand the taste!
- Pay attention to your soil. Good soil with good drainage is a must, and be sure you have a water source nearby. If you’re planting in containers, consider using a sterile, soilless mix, which is light and has some organic matter in it.
- Fertilize your plants. A slow-release vegetable garden fertilizer applied in the spring will provide nutrients throughout the growing season.
And remember, you always have the ease and convenience of picking up in-season fruits, veggies and herbs from your Publix produce department. You even can buy fresh potted herbs like basil and cilantro.
Apartment approaches
If you’re living in a small space, you still have options. Small containers can be
- placed on a balcony or patio
- hung from decorative rails (as long as you’re not creating a dangerous obstacle)
- grown vertically against a wall or
- placed in a window that gets a lot of sunlight.
If you’re a renter, check with your landlord before you hang anything from a wall or rail.
