Every Small Garden - self-sustaining ways to grow your own food

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Anyone can grow vegetables and fruits at home. Growing plants in bottles is very easy. A number of examples are given. Different sizes and forms of bottles can be used. Setting up a series of bottle towers, one can even have a vertical kitchen garden in the smallest space, on a patio or a balcony, against a wall or a trellis. With some imagination, everyone can set up her or his own little garden with recycled bottles, thus combating hunger, malnutrition and environmental pollution.





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View Step 2
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Step by step guide for making a Hanging bottle Wall garden.
check our blog for pictures of this project and more:
[link to urbangreensurvival.blogspot.com]
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Budget indoor garden 2009. Already harvesting lettuce and put it all together for well under $100 using resources on the net. Fun and easy to do. No pests and you can watch these things grow right in front of your eyes. I'm no expert and am learning as I go. Hope this inspires you to get growing indoors!

Love this thread

I harvested some carrots yesterday and i don't even have a garden. just a Very small "roof terrace" that i have to climb out a window to get to. Im also saving up milk bottles to try and make some kind of window farm :)

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infinite-fields.myshopify.com A quick video, of a garden after a 20 minute installation of VEG. This client opted for a our garden on wheels, to easily move the garden to different places in her backyard.

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Buy baskets at [link to www.bloommaster.com]
Please enjoy additional videos on this channel: youtube.com/roxycrossdesigns!

Started from seed and planted the peat pots in this 20" planter box. This is day 1-looking good! Only has green, string, and burgundy beans and peas. Also has example of how potting mix should look to plant. Pre-moisten potting mix to the consistency of cookie dough. Be sure to check out the other videos on this youtube.com/roxycrossdesigns channel

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The garden was not built with treated wood. It is more of a plastic type of material. The posts in the back are treated wood, but was purchased after they had stopped using arsenic, They also are on the outside of the garden walls. I drilled holes through the horizontals at each hoop. Then used aluminum ties that are made for chain link fences to run through the holes and bend them at each end. It holds real well and easy to take loose. The sheeting that I bought fit well over the frame. I just attached the boards to the ends and laid it over.

Last Edited by Proud American Supporter on 11/27/2012 04:59 PM

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A short video introducing the animals of our small one acre farm

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This is a bit more intensive and requires others to help out. La Campesina Project's new fields are a year old, and the off-grid farm plan is well under way. La Campesina Project is a community supported agriculture venture

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How to grow potatoes in a small area, above ground, or in the city. A great idea...


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Here you go Michiganmadmax and others that have inquired about how the potato bags fared. (For new subscribers, see earlier videos from this past Spring and summer) The plants didn't have the dreaded blight as I feared, but the "harvest" was fairly light -- EXCEPT when you consider I only got the bags 1/3 to 1/2 full. The straw layers were bulky and fooled me into thinking I had the bags fuller than I did. I realized (too late as the plants were huge by that time) that I hadn't filled my bags. Oh well. I also learned that I probably overfed my plants and next time would lean more towards filling the bags with SHREDDED or chopped straw only after planting the potatoes in a 8" - 10" bed of good, loamy soil. I think that would have lent to a better crop. That said, I am really geeked to use these bags again as COMPOST bins, alternating layering half-composted goat manure / old hay and straw as I did with the potatoes. The finished soil we got was just lovely. So. . . while the potato bin will not be overflowing this year, I DID learn a new, easy way of making some great compost! : )


We've done this with what they call potato bags (kind of like landscaper cloth only heavier. Went to pull what thought was weeks and it had a bunch of baby potatoes attached. So surprisingly funny.

Growing your own potatoes is fun. I've used raised bed, in the earth and potato bags which worked the best.

First get some potatoes you enjoy eating and let them go to sprout. Cut the potatoes into sections (each section has a sprout) and plant in the dirt. When the plants get to about 5-6 inches place another layer of dirt on top. Just keep layering after each growth period until the bag is full. Don't forget to water. In the raised bed they didn't get much water due to drought and looked pathetic. The bag ones look great. Also cleared the area surrounding the raised bed to allow stringers to reseed in the earth. Didn't use any straw - just compost soil.

Last Edited by Proud American Supporter on 11/27/2012 11:09 AM

For later

This is a better video for growing potatoes.


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See more videos and other info about urban farming at: [link to localblu.com]

James and Rishi from TheGrowingHome.net prepare a potato barrel for maximizing potato yield in a small space. They use an advanced soil preparation which includes organic compost, horse bedding, vermicompost, leaf mold, gypsum rock dust, and peat moss. They hope to have 40+ lbs of potatoes when all is said and done.

Strawberries are a favorite and a challenge in different climates. Vetical gardens work well with strawberries and there are a variety of methods to do this.


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[link to www.BigelowBrook.com]
This is an instructional video on how to build your own growing tower for use in aquaponic or hydroponic systems. Details about Expanded Shale growing media can be found at [link to www.ExpandedShale.com] . For more info, see my blog at [link to web4deb.blogspot.com] or [link to www.BigelowBrook.com] Also "like" us on Facebook at [link to www.Facebook.com]

Last Edited by Proud American Supporter on 11/27/2012 11:42 AM

I bought a bag of garlic to grow and learned it takes almost a year so good time to plant is early fall (first week in October). We use horse manure. Add bone meal. Use a dibble to poke hole in ground 4" deep, blunt end down - pointed end up six inches apart. Cover with 6-8 inches of straw to hold in the moisture and protect plants for winter. Garlic can also be grown is pots inside. Harvest 2nd or 3rd week in July. Dry and cure in warm area ventilated space (shed or garage). Takes 2-3 weeks to fully cure.


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Growing great garlic is easy. There are many varieties. Some are mild like Silver Rose. Some are wonderfully aromatic like Spanish Roja and Inchelium Red. Still others a bit hot like Georgia Fire or Siberian. Whichever varieties you plant we are sure you will soon become a "garlic lover".


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Love green onions. Here's a tip. Take green onion. Harvest and cut off the bottom 1/2 inch place in a cup of water to rehydrate until it starts growing and plant for next crop.


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My favorite form of gardening. Now weeds. Water beds can be raised so no bending as well.


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Tim Mann and Susanne Friend share the results of their work developing efficient and sustainable aquaponic food production systems, growing a worldwide community of organic farmers.

Learn more about aquaponics: [link to www.friendlyaquaponics.com]

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Aquaponics is a developing agricultural technology that is rapidly gaining worldwide popularity, both for commercial production and small-scale, backyard systems.

To learn more about home aquaponics, the Malamalama magazine team visited University of Hawai'i Aquaponics Specialist Clyde Tamaru at his outdoor facility on the grounds of Windward Community College.

Learn more
[link to www.hawaii.edu]

5 stars and green karma for you, OP. Thank you for posting

this important information!

Thanks Carol. Growing organic food in the yard is a passion and this next system is great if living where it's fricking cold and one has a basement.


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To retain a more constant temperature, seal the walls with drylok and use UCOATIT epoxy system on the floor, paint your reflectors flat white, better reflection. You'll save alot of money in electricity that way. Lights are on 16 hours a day but a warm basement helps warm the floor above. White PVC is safer for growing food..

Last Edited by Proud American Supporter on 11/27/2012 11:50 AM

I DO live where it gets freaking cold, and I DO have a basement! Thank you so much for this!

You're welcome. We had planed on putting an aquaponic system in the basement and also grow fish.

Here are some other ideas.


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This is a hydroponic system - not too expensive at all.

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Hydroponics for the home. The basics of how to build a DIY 70 plant hydroponics unit from scratch in one day. Total cost was under $300. Supplies food all year.I have also made a bunch of sell watering soil containers which are great for bigger plants. I was able to automate the watering of those...see that video here:

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Get the hole saw to drill the holes here:
[link to www.amazon.com]

Last Edited by Proud American Supporter on 11/27/2012 12:43 PM

Thanks for this thread! I saved it to watch all the videos later today. I hope you don't mind, but I linked it on Tiny Green's thread, too.

Thread: >>>>Sustainable Living PLUS Canning and Dehydrating Food<<<< (Page 273)

We use leaves from the trees in the bottom of the pots instead of gravel. Dead leaves, like the kind that fall off the trees.

Last Edited by The Starbuckian on 11/27/2012 12:15 PM

Thanks for posting this info! Some great ingenious ideas here.

I like that idea. I've experimented with the "spikey" balls from the Liquidambar(Sweetgum) tree in the bottom of pots. A lot lighter weight than rocks.

Here is a link to my tiny house thread. Thread: My Tiny House on Wheels


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This is my favorite idea for a self-contained tiny house with the garden in front. One could also incorporate virtical grow beds (for plants like strawberries on teh side of the house.


How to build a 14x14 solar cabin
This is a general overview of how I built my 14x14 solar cabin for under $2000.

For complete step-by-step directions, videos, and more project plans including how to install solar power, drill your own well, build a composting toilet and more please visit my website: [link to www.simplesolarhomesteading.com]


Photos: [link to www.simplesolarhomesteading.com]

composting toilets: [link to www.ebay.com:80]

solar/electric: [link to www.solar-electric.com]

supplies: [link to www.simplesolarhomesteading.com]

plans: [link to www.simplesolarhomesteading.com]


Building on a site? Can install a grey water system to recycle water for a garden.
Builder's Greywater Guide: Installation of Greywater Systems in New Construction & Remodeling; A Supplement to the Book "Create an Oasis With Greywater"
[link to www.amazon.com]

Roof can have rain gutters that let water drain into a water catchment tank.

Now vertical gardens are great if one is short on space or only has an apartment balcony. This can also go on the outside south facing wall.


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[link to www.EasiestGarden.com]

This is a system we designed to grow vertical gardens in less than 4 square feet that is easy to build, easy to maintain, and most of all affordable! Very little technical skill is required, and with a very affordable investment, a basic knowledge of tools and a few hours you can build a vertical garden to grow dozens of pounds of strawberries, lettuce and herbs right on your patio!


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Edible Suburb presents a fresh look at growing strawberries in a re-purposed over-the-door canvas shoe bag. For more information on this idea and other, visit www.eastofedenfarms.wordpress.com

Last Edited by Proud American Supporter on 11/27/2012 12:54 PM

I like this idea and was thinking of putting it on the south side of the garage wall.


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Thinking outside the box was the theme of this presentation on vertical gardening by horticulturist and director of the Charleston Parks Conservancy Jim Martin. Watch as he gets creative. If you like this video, consider a donation to the Conservancy to support more projects like this.

Of buy an Oregon Breather, hang it on your fence or&#65279; wall and start planting. It's about the same size, has grommets for easy hanging, it's made of a material that allows the roots to get air plus holds some moisture so frequent watering is not required. Find it at verticalgardeningsystems under the category of soft textile pockets, $56.

Lots of great information OP. Thank you!

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Vertical garden on balcony using a coat rack and a canvas shoe organizer.

Tower Gardens

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Jan Young's Hydroponic Greenhouse - Built by the Future Growing team
This video shows quite a few Tower Garden growing examples
For more information, please follow this link: [link to TowerOfEden.com]

Next is the 55 gallon plastic drums as earth boxe. No gophers! Cool.
These are also good for sweet potatoes, tomatoes, etc.