Micro-Gardening: How to Start Growing Plants in Tiny Spaces (2024)

Don’t have much space? That’s no reason not to grow at least some of your own food. Don’t let a lack of room stop you. You can grow your favorite vegetables or fruit, even in the tightest spaces.

Perhaps you want to grow your greens, peppers, or even potatoes. You can do this anywhere as long as you have a few tools and supplies.

Micro-gardening is easy and every bit as satisfying as if you were growing on a huge plot. After all, you are growing your own food. It’s not just about growing wheat grass for smoothies.

What is Micro Gardening?

You could be forgiven for thinking micro-gardening is just about micro greens on a kitchen window sill. That is a part of micro-gardening, but it is much broader than that. You can grow so much more in tiny spaces indoors or outside.

Micro-gardening is about growing vegetables, herbs, and fruit in limited spaces while creating a true garden.

Many of us live in apartments or houses with small backyards. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to grow our food. You may live in a shared space or have a shady piece of land that isn’t suitable for putting in gardens.

Micro-gardening is also for those with mobility issues who still love gardening and the joy of growing food. There is nothing like watching things grow and nourishing your family.

But micro-gardening isn’t just about growing food in a tiny spot. It’s also about making the process of gardening simple and less labor-intensive.

With some creativity, you can grow some of your favorite foods.

Benefits of Micro Gardening

Believe it or not, micro-gardening has many benefits over traditional gardening on a larger scale. You can:

• Extend the season for many edibles because you often grow inside where it’s warm or on balconies where the plants are protected from the elements.
• Control the conditions, including warmth, sunlight, and water.
• Limited pests compared to outside.
• Naturally maximize your food production because, with limited space, you will learn to grow what works for you with whatever method of micro-gardening you use.
• Spend less on setting up and a lot less money on the whole project.
• Improve access regardless of the weather if you grow indoors or on a balcony.
• Set everything up for any accessible needs you may have.
• Have fresh ingredients close at hand for your recipes, and who doesn’t want that?
• Spend less time and work gardening.

How to Set Up Micro-Gardening

You can set up micro-gardening in any space, no matter how small. You can start micro-gardening if you have a sunny window, a deck, a small balcony, or any area indoors where you can install grow lights.

There’s no need to spend a ton of cash getting things set up, either.

You can grow plants in repurposed plastic containers like the kind you get your deli meat in at the grocery store, takeout food containers, or repurposed plant pots. You can easily control sunlight, wind, and water if everything is on a kitchen windowsill or bench.

If you have access to a small yard, you can go even bigger—plant dwarf fruit trees and short-term crops underneath, either in the ground or in containers.

Container Options

Don’t feel like you need to go out there and buy a bunch of special tiny pots for your micro-garden.

Mini greenhouses and small hydroponic units that can sit on a bench or table are fantastic, and they can help you grow a ton of food. These will cost more than re-using existing equipment, but they pay off in ease of use and improved harvest.

You can also re-purpose buckets, ice cream containers, milk jugs, or anything similar. If you can put a growing medium in it, you can grow food. Think galvanized pots, tin cans, or window boxes.

If you have a small outside space, you could use old tires filled with soil. The beauty of tires is they are reasonably light to move around, they warm up in the sunlight, and you can stack them if you need depth, as is the case of growing things like potatoes.

Any space with a roof or overhead support, like a balcony, patio, or window area, can accommodate hanging baskets. Some plants thrive when planted in baskets, such as cherry tomatoes and strawberries.

Vertical Gardens

You can purchase vertical gardens or make them out of old rain spouting with holes cut at intervals from the bottom to the top. Fill this with growing medium, and you have a vertical garden with a footprint less than six inches in diameter.

This is particularly good for herbs and strawberries. You can also utilize vertical gardening by getting hold of some trellis and allowing plants to grow up or trail along it from buckets or pots.

You can buy hydroponic towers that take up less than three feet wide and can grow up to twenty or more plants in a vertical design. Or you can use pots that stack on top of each other.

There are lots of vertical growing options. For more, visit our guide.

Plants to Grow in Micro Gardens

Of course, you can’t grow just anything in a tiny space. Certain plants lend themselves better to micro-gardening.

Microgreens

Let’s look at micro greens first because this is either the first thing people think of when they hear the word micro gardening, or it’s something they want to start with.

The old meat containers washed well work perfectly for microgreens. Plant in seed-raising soil, potting mix, or get a specific microgreen medium. Follow the instructions for the seeds you buy. For beginners, try:

• Mizuna
• Kale
• Red cabbage
• Watercress
• Arugula
• Radish
• Peas
• Broccoli
• Herbs like basil or cilantro
• Amaranth

Greens

You can plant just about anything when using small pots, containers, or similar. But some greens prefer the conditions of small areas better than others. These include:

• Lettuce, especially for cut-and-come-again lettuce, where you take a few leaves and let the plant grow instead of cutting off the whole head.
• Kale
• Swiss chard
• Spinach

Herbs

• Basil
• Chives
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Rosemary
• Thyme

Fruits and Berries

See Also

10 No-Fail Vegetables for Beginners & One to Avoid — Gardening, Herbs, Plants, and Product Reviews

• Tomatoes, including cherry tomatoes as well as some larger varieties.
• Strawberries
• Lemon and lime, especially in containers on a small balcony.
• Blueberries

Vegetables

Root vegetables are excellent for micro-gardening, but try things that climb rather than spread too much. Provide the plants with depth rather than width, and give them sunlight and plenty of water. Try:

• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Garlic
• Peppers
• Lettuce
• Peas
• Beans

Micro-Gardening Kits

You may not be ready or confident to use items you already have, or maybe you just want something easy and already set up for you. There are kits available designed to be efficient and space-saving.

If you want to have some fun and provide your family with mushrooms for a while, you can buy mushroom growing kits that grow in the box or bag they arrive in. Just spray them with water a couple of times a day and place them near a window out of direct sunlight.

Tiny herb kits can use soil or be hydroponic. They’re perfect for small areas and usually fit under a tiny grow light.

Tips for Micro-Gardening

Growing in small spaces and containers can be hard on the plants, so use a quality potting mix or seed-raising soil. Feed the soil regularly with slow-release pellets or water-soluble food.

Utilize the space you have. Grow vertically, make an espalier, or use a trellis. Hanging baskets take up little space, and plants on window sills even less.

Water wisely. Remember, small containers dry out quickly and are also easy to overwater.

Use natural micro-climates. Sunny, sheltered areas on a balcony or deck, or sunny windowsills stay warm.

Rotate crops in containers and pots just like traditional outdoor gardening requires.

Choose a spot to start that is accessible and with the right light, whether that be a windowsill, balcony, deck, or outdoor space. Then, decide what you want to grow.

Choose your containers, pots, or spot in the ground based on your plant decisions. Microgreens need shallow trays, while potatoes need deeper containers, and herbs are pretty easygoing.

Fill the containers with the right growing medium. Seed-raising soil and potting mix both work for most plants. Don’t use soil from the garden, as you may bring in bugs, germs, or soil-borne diseases.

Don’t compact the growing medium too much in the containers. This stops the plants from being able to access nutrients, spread roots, and access water.

Compare what grows well and what doesn’t, and note the best spots for growing. You always want to be improving your gardening game, and tracking trends like this will make a huge difference.