Grow your own food -- in a bag, in a truck, anywhere

bag gardening
(Photo: jo-h / Flickr)


Gardening isn't just for people with lots of land. You can raise your own tasty crops in the smallest and oddest of containers. If you have access to some sun, plus time to water and care for seedlings, every little spot in the world is your garden.

About.com has tips for growing a head of lettuce in a Whole Foods reusable grocery bag. Typically, these bags are reused when you buy salad fixings at the store, but why not use them to raise fresh salad at home? Doesn't look that hard.

In fact, an entire Flickr group is devoted to Grow Bag Gardening. People around the country are growing potatoes in potato sacks, fertilizing plants in bags of fertilizer, and even raising crops in tin cans.

The container gardening site at Texas A&M also suggests using a cake pan as the site to grow green onions, radishes, or beets. What a great way to use an old pan that's scratched or warped or to use something found at the thrift store.

window farm
(Photo: britta and rebecca / Flickr)


Some people have flowers in a window planter. But the Window Farm Project takes it a step further and shows people how to turn an urban apartment window into a hydroponic farm.

All you need is some plastic water bottles (at last, a use for those things!), some netting, piping, and fishing wire. Hook it all together with a little water pump, and you can churn out a salad every week.

Maybe you want to take your garden on the go. Like the Truck Farm. It's a vehicle, it's a garden, it's a movie.

By loading the bed of an old grey Dodge up with organic compost and planting heirloom seeds, filmmakers at Wicked Delicate created a mobile garden in Brooklyn, NY. Check out the movie's trailer:

 

 

So where does your garden grow? What container is the vehicle for raising your fresh food? Share your ideas in the comments below.


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comments from our community

Showing 1 - 13 of 13 comments

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  • Posted by daviesmichaela@ymail.com Fri Aug 21, 2009 12:08pm PDT
    Yes! Getting food back into the city is key! check out this blog featuring articles on vertical growing, a practice that can produce huge yields of fresh food in a small landscape (ie: within urban areas) http://blog.valcent.net/
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  • Posted by Kimbot Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:09pm PDT
    Great article! Namaste!
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  • Posted by Tras Sat Aug 22, 2009 2:38pm PDT
    With LED Grow Lights like the ones available from Sunshine Systems (http://sunshine-systems.com), you can grow food almost anywhere with a minimal amount of energy used and vitrually not heat produced, common promlems with conventional grow lights. LED grow lights combined with these creative techniques allow delicious fresh homegrown fruit and vegetables to be produced anywhere, any time of the year. How cool is picking fresh tomatoes from your basement in November?
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  • Posted by justanotherday Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:03am PDT
    The truck farm movie is great!
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  • Posted by Jammie Fri Aug 28, 2009 6:13am PDT
    I became hypnotized by all the wonderful ideas; eespecially growing in "Containers". I just moved to Georgia from Florida and seeing gardens in my neighbors yards was inspiring; so, the information from this website was extremely awesome...Can't wait to visit the "Thrift Store" to get my containers. Question: I love saving my seeds from Bell Peppers. Is it best to plant them immediately after removing them from the veggie or should they be dried first?
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  • Posted by LisaL Sat Aug 29, 2009 2:11pm PDT
    My brother is growing using poly pools. It has been a very green summer. Love all of your gardens.
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  • Posted by Lalmahamode Sat Aug 29, 2009 6:45pm PDT
    hey the truck seems ok . shame they are using it for that . isn't it better to grow plants on their garage ..seems quite big
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  • Posted by HappyGrrl Sun Aug 30, 2009 2:56pm PDT
    When you finish with those pressboard shelving units, they can be set flat on the ground or deck and used for attractive and productive groups of veggies. If you put it on a deck, just set it on a bit of plywood with holes lined up with the gaps in the deck. With enriched soil, an entire 9-pack will grow nicely in one of the squares.
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  • Posted by Scorpions Tue Sep 15, 2009 10:25pm PDT
    Cool. After having to deal with the drought here in Texas this past year this seems a lot better and sensible too. I spent $$$ trying to keep plants alive and never saw anything all season. I finally moved things into pots onto my large porch and now I see some chili peppers coming along nicely. I'll be getting some fall goodies next. Lots of old pots and pans to use. :)
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  • Posted by Jenna S Wed Sep 16, 2009 7:56am PDT
    Ya it's key especially when the trucks arent bringing it in anymore!!! I would learn how to grow food now, buy seeds now...Things in the coming years will not be like they have been as far back as we can remember. EAT YOUR GREENS!!! YAY!!! :) Goood luck fellow fooooood growers!
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  • Posted by felder Wed Sep 16, 2009 9:32am PDT
    since 1988 i have grown food - both vegetables and herbs, and edible flowers - in bags of potting soil and now a specialy designed box - in the back of my pickup truck, and i drive THOUSANDS of miles a year, at highway speeds. most plants can only take the wind up if they are up close to the cab. and i have to limit the size also out of extra weight/fuel considerations. photos at www.felderrushing.net.
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  • Posted by frank Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:22pm PDT
    My children outgrew the green turtle sand box and we created a garden this spring. It actually worked. We grew green bell peppers,cucumbers,and two differnt kinds of lettue.We also planted basil,and mint in two old Twizzlers plastic bins. It was great to walk out to the turtle and pick cucumbers for our salad. We will do it again next spring, I hope on a larger scale.
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  • Posted by Jazzy Mon Oct 19, 2009 7:14am PDT
    wow this is so cool, I'll have to try it-the water bottle farm looks cool
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