Planting in Confined Spaces

When I lived in a tiny 400 square foot apartment in Studio City, I'd keep a few pots of herbs growing at the front entrance of our small, 6-unit building. With the permission of my neighbors, of course.  What I didn't know then, was that I probably could have grown a whole lot more than just herbs, using the same, sunny spot on the concrete landing, and with a little more creative use of pots in vertical spaces. Thinking back, we could have grown seasonal chard, or spinach, or lettuce, just enough to share between us. But, then again,  the true love of edible gardening had not been born in me, yet.

Years later, I'm still trying to find more space efficient ways to grow food, even though I have a much bigger playing ground now.  I just enjoy demonstrating how simple it can be to use, for instance, a pot with a bag of soil, and some seeds, to grow food.

Here, I am experimenting with just that. As you can see, the seedlings have already taken, and with good enough drainage from the bag, the roots should have no problems sustaining the growing greens.

Step 1:  Choose your pot, placed in sunny location 

Step 2: Place some stones, or large pebbles at bottom of pot, to allow for drainage 

Step 3: Poke holes throughout bottom of your bag of soil.

Step 4:  Cut open top of the bag, and place into the pot, so it sits comfortably.

Step 5: Distribute a few seeds, planting according to directions on seed package.
Here, I placed Swiss Chard seeds about 2-3 inches apart, to avoid overcrowding.
Watch the seedlings grow within 7-10 days!