Should I do a thread on growing vegetables in a small space? I feel like a lot of people are going to start growing their food now

Ok! Let's talk about growing your own food, even if you live in an apartment. If you have even just a patio that gets a little bit of sunshine during the day, you can grow some herbs and veggies. #VictoryGardens2020

A disclosure before getting started: I'm not an expert in plants! I've been gardening as a hobby since I was a teenager, so a lot of my knowledge comes from trial and error over the years. That also means my knowledge could be specific to growing in the Utah desert!

The first thing you need to do is figure out your local climate zone. This will give you an idea of the length of your growing season. If you're in the United States, the USDA Hardiness Zone Finder is handy for this: https://garden.org/nga/zipzone/ 

There are downsides to this map. For example, Tuscon and Seattle both are considered Zone 8 even though the plants that grow well in one won't grow well in another. This is just to give you an idea for when you can start planting outside.

Depending on where your house sits, you might have different microclimates for your garden. If your garden is on the south side of your house and gets some great sunshine, you can start planting a little earlier. If it's on the north side, the ground will be colder longer.

A good resource for Americans is your local universities! The @USDA partners with universities to provide research-based knowledge for community betterment, through extension programs.

In Utah, here's @USUAggies, with classes, info, even a Facebook group: https://extension.usu.edu/yardandgarden/index

My dogs are begging for attention so I'm going to take a quick break, then I'll be back to start talking plants more specifically!

All right, let's talk plants! I'll start with herbs, because those might easiest for growing in a pot on a small balcony. Start with some good potting soil, stuff that has fertilizer or compost mixed in. Dirt from the ground isn't great for pots, it won't provide enough nutrients

Next, choose the herbs you use a lot, and know how much they spread. Herbs like mint or chives should be in their own pot because they spread a lot! Other herbs can be grouped together in a good sized pot. I currently have rosemary, sage, and thyme together in a pot.

I don't have good luck growing herbs from seed, so I get seedlings. Good news: nurseries might be considered essential for providing food, especially if you have a farm supply store near you! Otherwise, try contacting your local farmer's market to see who has seedlings for sale.

If your herbs get bigger than what you can use fresh, cut the plants back and hang them from the stem in your pantry to dry. This also helps keep bugs out of your pantry! Once the leaves are dried out, you can take them off the stems and store it like you would store-bought herbs

Now let's talk fruit. Fruit takes longer to get something edible from than herbs or veggies, but it's also a little more difficult to grow in small spaces so this part won't take as long as the veggies will.

The easiest place for a new gardener to start is probably strawberries. They come out smaller than store-bought strawberries (little kids love this), but if you buy a seedling from a nursery, you should be able to get some berries the same year you plant them!

Other berries like raspberries and blueberries don't do great in pots, because they want acidic soil. They also can spread out of control if you don't maintain them every year. Source: the enormous raspberry patch that took years to fully clean out of my mom's back yard.

If you have vertical space and plenty of sun, you can plant apple and peach trees in pots! A whiskey barrel pot with holes drilled in the bottom is great for these. Talk with the nursery when you buy a fruit tree, because there are some varieties specifically bred to grow in pots

Fruit trees require maintenance though. You need to treat them annually with some pesticides; you'll get bugs that kill the tree. The birds will go after the fruit as it ripens. If you live in an area with hot summers, you'll need to watch to make sure the roots don't get burned

If you're in an area with weird winters or late frosts, you'll have to cover or move the tree around to make it so the frost doesn't kill the flowers.

On top of the maintenance, you probably won't get fruit from the tree the first year. Fruit trees are a lot of work!

This thread should have been a blog post but it's distracting me from a panic attack and cabin fever, and I already cut all my hair off, so sorry y'all