One of the easiest and least expensive forms of apartment gardening is to develop small food gardens in containers on patios, porches or balcony railing. Container gardening allows apartment dwellers to grow fresh produce year-round in a small space without taking up valuable real estate or wasting precious time and labor cleaning and weed controlling. Most apartment plants require approximately four hours of light a day, so planning and scheduling weekly or monthly light cycles is necessary for successful apartment gardening.

With many sunny states experiencing colder winters, mild to moderate apartment living is a popular choice for apartment dwellers. Container gardening can be completed successfully without the use of artificial lights and is therefore perfect for apartment dwellers. Vegetables and fruits can be scheduled for growth throughout the growing season. Keep in mind however that most plants will flower during the late summer months and some fruits such as melons will not bloom until December or January. Regardless, apartment planting is not difficult with a little bit of planning and research.

Cucumbers, melons, peppers, onions, squash, carrots and lettuce are all vegetables that make good plants for apartment growing. These healthy small crop vegetables can be planted from seed or bought in small containers. Be sure to plant the seeds in fertile soil and water them well in the morning. Water them through the afternoon to get rid of salts in the soil and then cover with more dirt. Keep this up through the first week of May and you will have healthy growing vegetables.

Although most apartment gardens need three to six weeks of continuous sunshine, some plants may need more frequent watering. For these plants, consider using raised beds. This is an ideal apartment gardening idea for smaller spaces. Container raised beds are also available for purchase, but they can be cumbersome to set up and require the frequent purchase of pots or planters. Most apartment dwellers find the small cost of purchasing raised beds useful as it allows planting in smaller spaces. In addition, there is no risk of weeds taking over the plants since weeds cannot grow in soil that is too thick.

Many apartment dwellers like to use tomatoes because they do not tend to become dormant during cold winter months. Tomatoes, chilies and other healthy green plants make attractive food garden vegetables. Some plants, such as zucchini and carrots, may also be grown successfully in a raised bed with good soil but keep in mind that these vegetables need more frequent watering.

There are many apartment dwellers who enjoy eating salad right outside their apartment windows. Salad making is easy when you have good small garden design ideas. Most apartment dwellers want to save money, so making their own salads at home is a great way to do this. Making fresh salads fresh from scratch instead of buying frozen salad mixes is even better. Plus, the vitamins from fresh greens are much better for your body.

When you are thinking of small food garden ideas, another option for creating a fresh salad is to plant small containers of spinach, tomatoes or cucumbers. These vegetables tend to stay small and reproduce quickly, so you can plant a lot in a limited amount of space. These vegetables will provide your family with vitamin C and potassium, that they will need to stay healthy. Potatoes are also another vegetable that is very easy to plant in small containers.

There are numerous other small food garden ideas that will allow you to grow your own vegetables in a limited amount of space. You can find great gardening books that tell you all about planning and layout for small gardens, including planting tables. You can also visit websites with pictures and instructions for designing a small food garden. And there is an abundance of information available online. Simply doing some research will help you to find viable small food garden ideas for your personal situation.