Limited space can’t stop you from growing food. You can start a salad bowl garden and grow your own salad. Learn how!
How good would it be if a part of the food you eat comes from your garden? But what if you don’t have a garden–a backyard to grow food. Not enough space even to start a container garden? People living in cities have this problem.
BUT, still, this can’t stop you. You can create a salad bowl garden, and for this, you just need a tiny little space that receives some sun. Possibly a small balcony, windowsill, or any other open space.
Pick a Pot
Buy a wide pot, like a big bowl, or you can look for rectangular window boxes as they serve the same purpose. You can find a plastic pot easily; as it’s lightweight, you can move it conveniently. Pot has to be as wide as you want but at least 6-8 inches deep as you’re growing greens and a few herbs, and these plants can be grown in shallow pots.
Learn how to grow lettuce in pots here
Soil
The soil you use is the key. So, choose a quality potting mix that is loose and drains freely. You can make your own potting mix. Also, remember, some soil mixes don’t contain fertilizer, which means you’ll have to add fertilizer and organic material separately.
Plants to Grow
- In your salad bowl garden, you can grow lettuces. But first, you need to decide which type of lettuce you would like to grow: looseleaf, butterhead, cos (romaine), and crisp ones.
- Other greens you can plant are spinach, tatsoi, arugula, swiss chard, fenugreek, mustard, bok choi, and even green onions.
- In another bowl, for additional flavor, plant a few of your favorite herbs like parsley, mint, cilantro, chives, etc.
- As you’re growing only a few plants, it’s not necessary to start them from seeds. You can also buy young plants that you can transplant into your salad bowl garden or ask for some divisions or cuttings from your gardener friend.
Check out these spinach growing tips in containers here
Position and Watering
Keep your pots in a spot that receives bright light all day and a few hours of direct sun (minimum 4-5 hours).
Keep your soil slightly moist but not wet. It’s not compulsory to water every day but check out the moisture each day with your finger. If you find the soil a bit dry–It’s time to water.
Fertilizer
Salad greens require fertilizers that are rich in nitrogen. You can add well-rotted manure or compost to the soil at the time of planting. Feeding the salad greens with compost tea, the water you used to boil vegetables, and from the fish aquarium is a good idea too. You can also look for balanced liquid fertilizer, applying once every 10-14 days in a weak dose.
Harvest
You can start to harvest tasty salad greens from your homegrown salad bowl garden from 30-40 days after planting. Simply pick the biggest individual leaves from the outer side when you need them. If you like to eat salad more, plant 3-4 bowls!
Do succession planting after every other week for a regular harvest. If this goes well, you can also start growing tomatoes and peppers to make your homegrown salad more interesting.
