As more and more people jump into the wonderful world of gardening, some might think that they cannot due to a lack of space. However, that is not the case, as gardening can be done in pretty much any household.

Creating a garden on your patio has tons of benefits, and is perfect on its own or in tandem with other outdoor and indoor gardens. Patio gardens can really help to spruce up the aesthetics of your patio. 

Further, the convenience of having all of your plants in one contained area that is right next to the home is great. In addition, having an outdoor garden means having to deal with pests, but when it is right next to the house the risk is lessened.

Many families have taken to planting vegetable gardens on their patios as well, which can open up a ton of possibilities. Having a vegetable garden right next to your house means that you can raise and harvest delicious food for use at home.

Plus there are so many vegetables to grow, and it is an immensely satisfying experience to grow and eat your own food.

Following is a basic guide to starting your own vegetable garden right on your own patio

How To Create Your Own Patio Vegetable Garden

Research, Research, Research!

The most important part of gardening is research, and it is imperative that you research every step of the way. What you grow and how you grow it will ultimately depend on your space, container, and climate. 

The first step is to consult with your family and decide what kinds of vegetables you would like to grow. 

From there simply hop online and see if they will work with your climate. If you are completely new to gardening, then I recommend picking out a handful of vegetables from the store to try before you dive straight in.

Choosing Your Vegetables

As previously mentioned, this step should be done with familial consensus. After all, you will all be eating the food that you grow, so you should try to pick some veggies that everyone can agree on. 

There are tons of options available for you to grow, including but not limited to spinach, onion, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and cucumbers. There are many popular vegetables that taste great on their own and even better in all of your favorite recipes.

Seeds Versus Starter Plants

Once you have selected your ideal veggies you will want to check and see if you should grow them from seeds or from starter plants. Growing from seeds will take longer and are more prone to failure than starter plants.

However they are usually cheaper and take less work before being planted. Started plants, on the other hand, have higher success rates as they are already past the initial growth stage. However they need to be purchased and maintained in advance.

Once you have selected how you are going to grow your plant,  you will need to start getting containers ready to house your plants.

Containers Versus Beds

You will have to decide whether to use containers or raised flower beds. What you use will depend on what vegetable you choose, and there are a few factors you will want to look for. 

The first thing to consider is root size and how large the roots will be. If the vegetable has a large root size, you will want to get it a larger container. Further, you will want to ensure that the plant has enough room to grow out, especially in the case of wider plants or plants with larger leaves.

If you are leaning towards larger plants, a raised flower bed might work well for you. Raised flower beds are large containers that allow you to plant multiple plants in a box and give them plenty of room to grow.

If you are leaning towards smaller plants you might consider smaller containers such as pots and buckets. Pots and buckets take up a lot less room and can be kept on the ground or on surfaces such as planting shelves. 

Companion Plants

Companion plants are plants that are grown close to your main plant that provides benefits to that plant. Planting companion plants near vegetables can help to improve flavor, deter pests, and even improve pollination.

Of course what the companion plant does depends on what it is and what vegetable you are growing. When researching vegetables consider checking to see if there are any companion plants for the veggie that you could grow at the same time.

Not to mention that companion plants in raised flower beds help to create a varied garden that looks fantastic and serves as a patio decoration as well as a garden.

How To Maximize Space

As your garden is housed entirely on your patio, maximizing space is very important. It becomes even more important as you advance in gardening and start growing more and more plants. As previously mentioned, your container will greatly play into how much space your garden takes up.

Be sure to plant as many plants as possible per flower bed without risking the growth of the plants. Further you can use shelving units to house potted plants maximizing space in that regard.

If possible, you can also use hanging baskets to have your plants on and above ground. Ideally, a combination of all of these techniques will help you to really maximize the space of your patio garden.

Vegetable Garden Soil

You might be tempted to use dirt from your yard to fill your containers, but this isn’t the best for container gardening. 

Look for bags of soil that are made specifically for growing vegetables in containers. Bacteria or fungus in your yard soil can damage young plants, but bagged soil will not have microbes in it.  

Bagged soil will also reduce weeds because there won’t be any weed spores in the mix that can grow and take over your flower beds or containers.

Patio gardens are full of convenience, as there is nothing like having freshly grown vegetables right next to your home. No matter what you decide to grow, there is something for everyone when it comes to vegetable gardening.

WHAT’S NEXT?

You may also enjoy these vegetable growing tips & ideas on A Crazy Family –

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