How To Have A Garden in The City with Burpee Plants

This post was sponsored by Burpee Plants, but (as always!) all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the companies that make Lake Shore Lady possible!

There are a lot of things I love about moving in with Adam, but one of my favorite things is our outdoor space. It’s not huge by any means, but our little porch has become our favorite place to leisurely eat dinner outside, entertain our friends, and now GARDEN!

Admittedly, I always kind of thought you needed a backyard to get into gardening. At least that’s what it can feel like to a gal living in a one-bedroom apartment in a high rise with ZERO outdoor space at all! But once we realized that we could clear some space and utilize the railings on our porch, it was ON. Why yes you can grow plants in an urban environment!

Luckily, Burpee Plants has a ton of options that can thrive in a small space. We are such fans of peppers, so we started with those, along with some tomatoes, basil, and mint. Even though we couldn’t keep the tomatoes alive (whoops!), the peppers and herbs are really easy to grow and it’s SO fun to have them right on our porch whenever we want them!

What We’ve Learned About How To Have A Garden In The City

We really didn’t know what we were doing when we first got our package from Burpee Plants and started gardening, so don’t let that deter you! It’s okay to learn as you go – that’s part of the fun of a new hobby. But to get you started on the right foot, here are the biggest things we’ve learned so far …

Purchase plants you can trust.

If you’re going to put the effort in, you should start with the best, right?! Burpee Plants has been delivering top quality, non-GMO home gardening varieties for over 140 years. They have so much pride in what they do, and their team of gardeners and horticulture experts are there to ensure the best possible product. I can’t recommend them enough!

Get railing planters to save space.

This was huge for us! Our deck is a pretty small space, so we got 4 railing planters for our peppers and some of our herbs instead of trying to squeeze a raised bed/garden beds somewhere up there. Not only does it save room, it also looks really pretty! Just be sure you poke holes in the bottom of your planter (if they’re not already there) so water can drain. You could also look into hanging baskets, too!

Consider an animal repellent.

If you have a lot of squirrels (or other animals/pests) around, you definitely want to look into some sort of repellent. We used this one on some of our peppers, but forgot to use it on one of our other plants – and the squirrels got to the one without, while the peppers with it are untouched. Just make sure the one you get is safe to use with edible plants!

Make sure to water them consistently!

Plants like these need water to grow, so you can’t just forget about them. Get into a routine of watering them, and if you’re going to be out of town, ask a friend to come water them for you!

Do your research.

Burpee Plants has a lot of great information about the plants that they carry, which is great because we’ve learned that the size of the planter, what else you put in the planter, etc. is important!

There are also a few great apps that help demystify all of this a little. The first one is called GrowIt! and it allows you to upload pictures of your plants and ask questions from the gardening community. There are other urban gardeners, but you can also learn from people with a traditional garden, vegetable garden, using the square foot gardening method, you name it! Definitely not just for people in urban settings.

Adam found the second one we love called Planta, that makes the upkeep way easier to understand. You can either search for the plant you have or take a picture of it, and the app will tell you if it needs full sun or shade, how often it should be watered/fertilized, and more. You can even set alerts so your phone will remind you to water your plants! So cool.

We’ve been loving the peppers in salad, stir fry, and even taco bowls on taco night! I am also loving having fresh herbs available whenever I want them. Our basil plant is doing so well that I think I’m going to make a bunch of pesto to freeze for winter!

Have you tried gardening in the city?

What’s holding you back? Do you have any other questions for me? 

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PS. You might also like How To Cook Pizza on the Grill, Easy Roasted Grape Tomatoes, A Simple Pomodoro Sauce, and How To Make Mortar & Pestle Pesto (you can also do this in a food processor, too!).