Patio Gardening-ways to grow crops on your porch or patio

You Don't Need 40 Acres

One of the fastest growing trends today is patio gardening. Don't just think about a garden as rows of plants that need to be dug and watered and weeded. Think in three dimensions and you can turn a little bit of patio, porch and yard space into a beautiful garden that will not only offer you the joy of growing and harvesting your own delicious fruit and veggies but will save you some money as well.

The benefits of container gardening

We have already mentioned that having a garden saves money on food. It also improves the quality of your health because you will be eating fresh, organically grown produce as well as getting a little healthy exercise from tending your plants. Another plus is that well tended garden areas also will increase the value of your home. It's truly a no-lose situation which will give you pleasure for years.

First you must consider where in the country you live as to what you can plant. Climate and weather will dictate the length of your growing season and what plants will grow best. A good source of information will be the Farmer's Almanac.

The next factor to consider is how much space you plan on using. As stated earlier you need to think in three dimensions. You are going to have some plants in pots either in your yard or on your patio or porch. Some of your fruits and vegetables will grow up trellises and onto arbors.

Beans and peas, squash and grapes will grow well when planted in large containers and then encouraged to run up onto the trellis or arbor. Morning Glory flowers will add beauty to trellis or porch columns while vanilla bean plants will climb the trellis and give off a wonderful scent as well.

Fruits such as strawberries grow really well from hanging planters while figs, apples and other dwarf fruit trees will do really well in large pots and will provide you with lots of fresh fruit. You can even grow pumpkins and bananas in your container garden.

Last to consider is a box or raised bed type of growing area. This is simply a spot in the yard that you will clear and level. Put wide boards down to create a boxed in space, fill with compost or potting soil and plant corn,parsnips,carrots and salad greens.There are literally hundreds of beautiful and delicious things to grow in your 3-D garden.

There are a lot of plants that will do well in containers.

Here is a partial list of suggestions:

• strawberries,alpine strawberries
• blueberries,raspberries
• dwarf fig
• dwarf apple, dwarf peach,apricot
• tangerine, lemon and orange dwarf varietals
• tomatoes
• beans,peas
• herbs
• onions,squash,peppers

For your raised bed box garden.

• corn, okra,
  
• carrots,potatoes,onions
• broccoli, cauliflower
• salad greens
• lettuce

Try these on trellises

• pole beans, peas
• grapes
• cucumbers
• zucchini
• morning glory(just cause it's so pretty)
• vanilla bean

Whatever you grow in your 3-D container garden will be both beautiful and delicious so now I just want to wish you happy gardening!