|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Cuisine Noir often spotlights community gardens and outdoor farming in conversations about climate and food, but not everyone has space or access to a garden outside. Apartment and container gardening offer practical ways for food you can grow in your apartment.
Container gardeners like Timothy Hammond and Quincey Adams have been practicing this approach for years, showing how accessible food you can grow in your apartment can be with the right techniques.
Timothy Hammond: Big City Gardener
Hammond is an urban gardener in Houston, Texas. “I come from a long line of gardeners,” he says. “My mother and father garden, and my grandmother did, too. I’m Jamaican, and my parents often recounted growing up picking mangoes from trees, ginger from the yard, and food from the ground. It was their way of life, and it became mine because I didn’t choose gardening; it chose me.”
He shares early memories of helping his dad with perennial beds, of grandma’s backyard fruit trees in Florida, and of how gardening felt inevitable to him. “Everywhere we lived, there were gardens. I remember my mom’s pots filled with herbs and getting in trouble as a kid for picking her tomatoes and tossing them onto the neighbor’s roof to scare birds,” he reminisces. His family would take vacations to Jamaica, but Hammond says that his gardening memories stem from his grandmother’s house.
“My grandmother’s Florida backyard also had fruit trees, a small garden, and always something growing. I’ve always been around plants. Looking back, I was destined to garden.”
Getting Started: Lights
Hammond has extensive experience in container gardening, demonstrated on his Instagram page, where he grows plants in everything from small pots to red Solo cups. He offers tips on getting started.
“If you don’t have a balcony, you have to be realistic about what you can grow,” he explains. “Start by figuring out how much sunlight your space actually gets. If you have good windows and plenty of natural light, you can grow almost anything. But if your place is dim, you’ll need supplemental lighting. That can get expensive, though people often overspend because they’re chasing what they see on social media; you don’t have to do all that.”
Grow lights will probably cost at least $20, and from there, the price can go as high as you’re willing to spend. “But again, it really comes down to what you want to grow. That’s the first question you need to answer when you’re talking about growing indoors, and you have to be realistic about it,” Hammond reiterates.
He continues, “Plants need a specific light spectrum to grow. Outdoors, the sun provides the full spectrum automatically. Indoors, you have to recreate that, which is why mixed-spectrum lighting matters. You want both warm and cool lights; having one warm and one cool light allows the spectrums to blend and hit the plant evenly.”
With LED grow lights, Hammonds explains the setup varies depending on how much you spend. “Many LED strips use individual diodes in different colors: purple, white, blue, orange, sometimes red. That repeating pattern creates the full spectrum your plants need to grow well indoors.”
Understanding your available light is just as crucial as understanding equipment. “A window with four to five hours of direct, intense light is suitable for herbs and leafy greens. A window with eight to ten hours allows more experimentation with fruiting plants like tomatoes. If you have a balcony, that opens up even more options,” he shares.
Pots and Soil
All you need are a few pots, but nothing fancy. Any inexpensive pots from a hardware store, or even the Dollar Stores work. “For herbs, a one-gallon or smaller pot is sufficient,” Hammond says.
“Ensure you buy potting mix, not raised-bed soil, as it drains better and prevents waterlogging. Potting mix is typically peat- or coco-based with perlite for drainage. A bag should feel lighter than garden soil,” he instructs.
For seeds and soil, some Dollar stores carry them, making it affordable for food you can grow in your apartment. “Maybe $1.50; you don’t really need much to get started. If you’re starting from seed, a packet will cost you $2–$3. Add a bag of soil for about $10; it can usually fill seven to ten one-gallon pots.”
He adds, “And when it comes to herbs and leafy greens, you don’t even need pots that deep.” Hammond explains how lettuce has shallow roots, so a one-gallon pot only needs about six inches of soil. That means a $10 bag of soil could fill up 15 pots.
However, it’s essential to research what each plant needs to keep costs down. “If I’m growing larger herbs like rosemary or basil, I want to fill the pot to the lower rim, not the very top. When I do that, I can usually fill about seven to ten pots with one bag of potting soil.”
Hammond also collects pots from soil yards and nurseries. “They often have free pots, no strings attached,” he says. “There’s a soil yard near me with what I call a pot graveyard. After landscapers finish big installations for cities or large homes, they dump all their leftover containers there. You can find everything from one-gallon to ten-gallon pots, all for free, and the nursery actually wants people to take them.”
RELATED: Planting Power: How Black-Owned Seed Companies Are Growing More Than Food
Plant Care
Even when growing food in your apartment, issues like pests can arise. Hammond says it can be mitigated, as many pest problems stem from overwatering or unhealthy soil. “If your soil is organic and nutrient-rich, your plant will be strong and less likely to attract pests. For apartment growers, the best defense is to use good organic soil and water only when needed,” he advises.
If issues persist, use organic options such as neem oil or insecticidal soap. “Both can be sprayed directly on the plant and help keep pests in check,” Hammond says. “I have a video on my YouTube channel that walks through organic remedies you can make with things you already have at home. Spray leaves with dish soap, castile soap, or a pepper-and-garlic remedy. For the latter, soak peppers and garlic in water, mix with castile soap, and spray to naturally repel bugs.”
Most importantly, as a beginner, remember that making mistakes is entirely normal; view them as chances to learn and improve. “You have to fail before you can succeed at anything. Understand that you don’t really know gardening yet. Just because you watch someone’s video and they tell you to do this, that, and the other thing, doesn’t mean it will work for you every time. That person in the garden that looks perfect? They’ve probably been at it for a while.”
The key is to keep going. “You might kill plants or fall short of yields, and that’s okay,” Hammond assures. “Think of it like running; initially, your calves hurt, you get shin splints, you’re winded, and you’re sore the next day. But if you persist, you’ll eventually run a mile, then three, or even a half-marathon. Gardening is exactly the same; keep going and keep growing.”
Quincey Adams: Lilies and Tomatoes
Adams is a Coast Guard veteran who lived in apartments during her service. Over 20 years ago, she started container gardening as a hobby after her aunt introduced her EarthBOX, exploring early versions of food you can grow in your apartment.
“I just left the plants there because I didn’t have anyone to water them, and honestly, I didn’t really know what I was doing,” she says. “When I returned, the plants and tomatoes remained. I didn’t eat them because the plants were dead, but I realized it’s okay to mess up or step away. Not all plants are like that, but well-set containers are more resilient than you think. I thought, ‘Okay, I can do this.’”
Adams is in Fort Washington, Maryland, which she describes as a food desert. During the pandemic, she had a craving for cabbage, but trips to multiple stores proved fruitless. “I thought, ‘It’s fall! How do you not have cabbage?’ And I hadn’t always had a car. Grocery shopping on the bus, walking, and carrying everything in a backpack is a whole other experience. I had one of those little granny carts, and it was a struggle.”
Frustrated with the lack of availability, Adams started looking on Facebook for seed swaps in her local area. “I asked if anyone had been to the local seed swap, and a friend from school invited me to join her at one she was going to that weekend. That’s how I found my main gardening partner. Now, whenever I get new seeds, we swap, do garden projects together, and share advice,” she shares.
Adams recommends finding a garden community, especially for those who are beginning. “Finding a community is key. If you’re comfortable on Facebook, join groups like Black gardening groups, homesteading groups, sourdough groups, whatever interests you. Stick with it. Not every space will match your ideology, and sometimes you have to pick your battles or just leave.” You can also has check out her YouTube channel, Lilies and Tomatoes, where she showcases container gardening information and education.
Budget-Friendly Options
Adams has used repurposed items for container gardening, demonstrating how flexible food you can grow in your apartment can be. “I’ve used milk crates. You can usually find them at big-box stores like Walmart around back-to-school time, or you can ‘liberate’ them from the warehouse area,” she says.
“I’ve also used laundry baskets. For either, I line them with landscape fabric, a 50-foot roll from a big-box store, which works fine. This lets plant roots get air and water without washing the soil out or compressing it too much.”
She also used a cardboard box to grow tomatoes. “The cardboard lasts for a full growing season, holding the soil long enough for the plants to thrive. I sometimes use it to partially line containers as well. I’m also a cat owner, so I repurpose five-gallon litter containers; wash them out, and they work great for growing or composting.”
As far as composting goes, Adams is a fan if you can get it cheaply, but if it’s too expensive, it’s not always worth it. “I’m not a fan of excessive soil amendments; much is just marketing hype. Many mycorrhizal products and fertilizers aren’t worth it for container gardening. Use a basic fertilizer you trust. I avoid adding many amendments since I reuse soil often, composting old soil to refresh it. Soil life is essential.” She also advises against compressing the soil too tightly in the plant container, as the roots need air just like they need water.
In a container, there’s only so much it can maintain, so you’ll likely need some fertilizer. “I like foliar spray because I don’t want to add much to the soil. I also avoid putting fertilizer directly in the planting hole—especially in containers—because when you water, it just washes right out instead of staying available for the roots.”
Food You Can Grow in Your Apartment
Adams highlights the usefulness of simple tools, like red Solo cups, for getting started. “The cups are great for seed starting, like tomatoes or green onions. That’s the thing I tell everyone. Grow something that you’re going to use. You buy the green onions at the grocery store, cut off the bottom, put them in water, and see how they grow.” The veteran states that recognizing what a plant looks like during its growth is essential for assessing its development.
When experimenting with produce seeds, Adams stresses patience and realistic expectations. “Many grocery store fruits and vegetables aren’t designed for seed propagation,” she says.
“Fruits are often harvested before they’re fully ripe, so seeds may not be viable. Vegetables often don’t produce seeds at all. But if you have a particularly delicious tomato, save the seeds and give it a try; you never know unless you experiment. Just keep in mind: the seeds are the last part of the fruit to mature fully, so timing matters.”
Most importantly, Adams considers gardening a personal and calming activity. “I’ve really found that gardening has been a way for me to connect with myself; it’s peaceful and fulfilling,” she says, praising the garden community for its support and encouraging beginners to lean into gardening groups for guidance.
“Gardening can be costly, but you get out of it what you put in. If unsure, ask others. There are many gardening methods; your imagination is the limit.”
