The Apartment Gardener (Day 1)

One of my many brilliant book ideas was to write a handbook on how to be an apartment gardener. I mean, there are tons and tons of books out there on how to plant actual gardens for people who have acres of land or even a small patch of dirt outside their front stoop. Us city dwellers who don't have a yard or even a half a yard, we are limited to small pots that can be placed on window sills. I am lucky enough to be blessed with a front porch (really, the roof with a railing) so I might be able to expand and get really big plant pots (I am already wondering if I might be able to grow a pumpkin out there in time for Halloween), but most don't have even that option. No one tells you how to grow plants in pots successfully. Even the directions on the seed packets are always hinting at the fact that one day you will have to take your potted plants and transfer them into the ground. Thus, the idea for the apartment gardener book was formed. Albeit, without the skill or knowledge to actually write it.

So, I set out on the mission to become an apartment gardener. I am going to grow a selection of plants, and let you know how it goes. I will try to figure out which plants thrive in pots, which do not, and which require the least amount of effort to grow. Since I am the worst gardener I ever met, personally, this will be a huge challenge; I am not confident any of the plants I have decided to plant will actually grow. We shall call this Attempt One.

Today I went out and bought some yellow bean seeds, as well as two varieties of basil. I could have just kept Attempt One at only beans, but I feel as though beans are a little on the elementary side, in the sense that it is the plant you grow in elementary school- you know, in those white paper cups with your name on them so you can keep track of how fast they grow and make a bar graph of the progress. It's how teachers incorporate gardening into math. Growing beans and being proud of being able to grow a bean is kind of like blowing the seeds of a dandelion on the ground and then taking credit for the weeds that spring up between the sidewalk cracks. Thus, I got the basil. Mainly, because I like basil but also because I think it is hardy enough that I won't kill it too easily, but also because it feels like a half set up from beans.

Here is a photo of my apartment garden (in the tiki room):


I will keep you updated on the status of how these plants grow (since watching plants grow is so much fun), and keep you posted if I add any more plants to my repertoire, or if I kill any off. If you, dear reader, have any advice on easy plants for an apartment dweller to grow without a yard, please let me know.