Subscribed. Great video and very thoughtful. I will probably be adjusting my grow to include more sprouts and possible soy beans, FYI Im actually growing 9 corn plants on my balcony. I germinated them from basic sack popping corn kernals. It's a lot of fun, and grows surprisingly well in fairly small pots as long as they get lots of sun and plant food. You are correct however about the returns on the investment: Its a lot of messing around for what will probably end up being 10 small corn on cob lol.
I can never figure a great soil, one of the well known brands we all know and once loved now has reviews of spiders and mites. Any suggestions of which soil to use to get started please. Thanks for the video
I used to grow tons of food in my camper when I lived in it. I grew strawberries, blueberries, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, Basil, parsley, chives, rosemary, thyme, runner beans, an apple tree, a pear treat, a peach tree, a fig tree, tomatoes, onions, kelp, grapes and water cress. I used all vertical space I could and my little camper 28' long looked like a wild forest. It's a lot easier and more satisfying. Now I have a small yard to grow in and miss seeing all the plants inside. I think it's time to bring some back inside. You can find out how many plants per person for a full year. It's less than you might think. And easier than you could imagine. Good luck folks
I currently am growing an apartment garden with west facing windows and no balcony, no grow lights and here are the things I am finding easy and economical: - russet potatoes : so easy! you can grow in food grade buckets. also v fun watching the potatoes try to break over the soil before covering again -ginger: obvi the root is eatable but so are the leaves. when you harvest the leaves, it also encourages the root to grow more - carrots: same as ginger! both root and leaves are edible -beets: you guessed it! same as above. both root and leaves are edible -radishes: yup! same! AND they grow quickly - green onions (as you described) - sweet potato: the leaves are edible and cook similar to spinach with a more earthy taste. obvi the potato is also edible. I'm personally not ready to take on hand-pollinating so root veggies are a great option :)
One Problem with sprouting might be that you have limited water so you can't rinse the sprouts adequately,if you use cress or rocket you don't need to change their water
As a single mom of a almost 2 year old without a car, bugging out isnt an option. I really needed this! Thankyou! I want to garden on my balcony but didnt know how to or what to plant.
Regrow food scraps from the store (celery, onion, lettuce). Grow dried beans, peas and lentils as well. Soak for at least 1 hour (I've found that soaking for 5-8 hours work best for larger beans) before planting. Yes, all of these can be grown indoors or on a balcony. You can even grow smaller melons and squash as well, they just need trellised. For years, I've grown leaf lettuce, radish, carrots, spinach, cherry tomatoes, small bell peppers, cucumbers, mint, basil and oregano on my window sills over winter. I used shoe-box size plastic containers with drain holes in the bottom and sat them on top of their lids to catch excess water. I use dish basins now. I will very strongly recommend NOT going with raised bed soil, container garden soil, ect. I've found these to be way too compact for plants to grow well in without amending the soil before using it. Potting soil is what you want and if possible, pick up some Dr Earth's Pure Gold fertilizer to use. As for containers to use, you can do with fancy containers or use buckets from any big box store. Walmart used to give away their 2, 3 and 5 gallon buckets with lids, but now charge $1 for each; which is still cheaper than $2.95 for a 5 gallon with lid. Drill a few (5-10) drainage holes in the bottom, fill with potting soil and call it good. If you don't like looking at the buckets as is, you can get a cheap flat sheet from a thrift store or walmart/dollar store, sew into slip covers and slide them down over the buckets. When growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons, squash or any beans that will vine/climb, use tomato cages in the buckets unless you have railing they can be tied to. Another option is dish basins. Walmart carries 2 sizes, one much deeper than the other. You can also find them at the dollar stores. Buy them in sets of 2. Drill holes in one and set it inside the other. Hope this helps. Good luck!!
Many folks are going to suggest what veggies to grow and many are great advice. But, for the long term thrive vs survive, not all plants are going to last that long. And going to a store to buy seeds is not going to be an option. So, make sure that you buy heirloom seeds. They can reproduce more seeds to get the same type of plants year after year. Hybrid seeds are a mix of several heirlooms and if you let some of them go to seed and plant them, they will revert to one of the heirlooms they came from but it will not be as good as the original heirloom of the same variety. Heirlooms are the future, hybrids are a dead end. And it is cheap to do!
What i did was go to Lowe's garden section and buy a pre planted tomato plant in a porch container. Then i got herbs and green pepper plant and grew it till it gave peppers.
I had my gardening class this past weekend and it was a hit. Many young people that want to start gardens. I showed how to start with very little money, where to get buckets for free, plus they're food grade. Plus getting their compost started and adding to their dirt so it becomes soil.
I have a local deli that puts them out by the dumpster, The donut shop sells them for $1.50, restaurants, fast food, and a grocery store with cooked food.
Seriously? Dogs will eat it? I have a bunch of it growing in my apartment and was thinking of cutting it all down but wasn't sure what to do with it. Now I know: feed it to my friend's dogs! 😆👍
I think blackberries are a great option too. They need very little ground space, and can benefit from a lot of vertical space. They are perrineal and fully edible, so when you cut it back after the growing season you can eat the leaves. It's a really strong plant giving something sweet for a mental boost.
I have been regrowing my food for almost a year now. I mostly regrow food for my bunny. But soon my living space will be different so I'm going to be able to grow more.
The kratky method is a version of hydroponics and it means it does not need soil or air filtration system. You only need a plastic bucket with a lid, the plant or seed, water and water nutrients. that is it
It's amazing how much a few plants can boost your moral, especially in a lock down... IMHO some foods without basil, or coriander are just one level less and yet you can often buy them only without herbs...
I have numerous celery growing in the window sill, along with micro greens. Growing trays for lettuce, radish, and spices. Table set up with natural sun and grow light for tomatoes peppers and want to try squash. Small hydroponics set up for other small plants and would like to enlarge. Used feed bags with holes punched in buckets for potatoes for winter harvest. Large outside garden being harvested at the time.
Thanks for this video. Lived in apartments all my life and can't afford a home at current prices. Nice to see someone is thinking about us. Will try many of your suggestions. Not many people are thinking about helping us urban people to survive.
Oh, and a problem is developing from foods that might be "resproutable" is that such veggies including alliums (onions, chives, garlic, shallots, and leeks), potatoes, all root veggies, cabbages, celery, and lettuces are sprayed with a "growth inhibitor" that mostly keeps them from sprouting and if they do sprout, are not healthy and most will die within a week or two. Better to buy heirloom seeds and begin your garden now than wait for when the grid goes down. Heirlooms, you can eat most of them excepting for one fruit or whole plant that you let go to seed to reseed your micro-farm again and again. You will produce more seed from one plant than you can grow in your apartment but as the cities thin out of the population, you can start planting in open spaces. Just space the plants out so it does not "look" like a garden so you can be sure to get most of the produce for you and your family.
Gracias! Excellent video. I have seven parakeets so I started growing Swiss chard for them. They love being able to eat fresh greens whenever they like. Utilities are included in monthly rent so I make sure there is plenty of light. The birds have the living room which has two large ficus tress and 40 plants. Now for fun just started avocado trees (3) lemon trees (12) and red bell peppers (mucho). All from seed so we'll see how it goes. Anxious to try strawberries after watching this video.
I recently bought specific varieties and special pots to grow veggies in all my southern facing windows because they get full sun all winter. Cherry tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers , bell peppers, herbs, bush beans and green onions. Sprouts are a great addition to that. I've been drying chives since I have tons of them growing outside. I'll have to harvest and dry more herbs.
Look into hot drunken composting in a contractor bag to extend your balcony growing season if you live in a winter climate. I double bagged 42-gallon 3 mil contractor bags and stuck a ziptied 1/2" hardware cloth airpipe 3" in diameter inside. Poured the recommended drunken tonic on it after layering leaves, then old soil mixed with basic food scraps (veggies, eggshells, coffee grounds), and I scored fresh chicken manure in mulch bedding on Craigslist. Repeated equal amounts of layers and made the last layer manure. Got the leaves from the great outdoors. Final result was ~18" x 18" x 18" in size. Probably could have gotten to 24" high at least, but bag got too heavy to move. So probably a good idea to set it in your final spot as you build it. I don't have a compost thermometer, but I have taken the temps several times with a candy thermometer lowered into the middle of the airpipe several times since Day 5. Ambient air temperature in that area has maintained a consistent 100 degrees F. So the compost itself is presumably hotter. Outside temps are in the low-mid 30's and 20's overnight. Chicken manure tends to run hot & the compost is supposed to be done in 3-4 weeks. This bag is in a hidden away spot outdoors at my job. 😉 The double bags provide an opportunity to create an insulating air pocket though at the bottom and sides. I masking taped cardboard around styrofoam and created ~2" thick separator blocks for that purpose. You can also park the bag on folded cardboard inserted into a heavy plastic shopping bag to prevent a cold suck from that area. You could probably adapt this to a bucket or storage bin and sheath it with a contractor bag for the air pocket factor or simply just to absorb the sun's heat to help maintain temps inside the container. I think there are smaller contractor garbage bags a size down as well. I am going to create a small greenhouse set up with a DIY PVC frame & insert a bag or a couple of buckets in there. A completed one & a "working" one. I balcony garden too & brought in a bunch of plants to overwinter. Now I have very limited space inside for new projects. Would love to get some of them back outside again.
Remember when fertilizing your indoor garden a fertilizer must contain not only the macronutrients like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus but also the micronutrients which are too numerous to list. The plants need all this so they can process the nutrients into the food you eat. Better fertilizer, better food. Whichever fertilizer you use always follow the instructions.
I think your list could be easily applied to those of us in climates that have winter.... even if we have good gardens there is something to be said for fresh produce. I had elderly neighbours who lived through wartime occupation the troops would of course take their produce from their gardens one thing that was often overlooked was parsley - it kept them alive. Don't forget the root is also good to eat and you can restart the plant from the root.
This is why we have built a small greenhouse against our house and vent air in from and vent air back into the house. That along with extra lighting and we can grow things like tomatoes (rutgers is the best for this), jalapeno peppers, celery, lettuce, and rosemary. Our winters get pretty cold and I use a tarp over and around it about two feet above and three feet away so our minus zero windchills do not affect it. Next year the vents will have 12 volt fans and there will be 12 volt LED grow lighting that will run off of a car battery hooked up to a solar panel. Power down? Still have lights and live food in the winter.
@@glen1arthur: Thank you. Well, venting heat from the house to the greenhouse and back into the house again is the cheapest way I can heat the greenhouse. And it looks like I will have the 12 volt blower fans hooked in for this winter and not have to wait for next year.
@@sonofeloah are your 12 volt greenhouse lights actual grow lights or just lights ??? Would you mind sharing what they are and where you got them ? I live in zone three northern Minnesota and have a split entry house so my basement windows are level with the ground I’m building a small lean to greenhouse on the house so I can access it through the windows of my basement and grow directly in the ground…..I’ve wanted to do it for years but winter always comes quick and fall is always so busy harvesting and canning. (I need a husband to help haha) Anyhow, your light set up sounds perfect and doable for me ….thanks !!!! Oh and I grow parsley in the window seal but haven’t ever used the root, how do you use it ?
@@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123 Any of the bright white LEDs throw off almost full spectrum light with it being a bit higher on the UV. Infrared LEDs (clear red LEDs) in the mix and you will do a lot better.
I live in an apartment and have had great luck with growing beets (for their greens). Turnips, carrots and rutabegas can also be grown for their greens and rutabegas can be used just like potatoes.
@@thepoweroftheoilofjoy can grow some herbs, lettuces, sprouts or microgreens indoors on sunny windowsills in summer. Northern climates in winter likely need grow lights to make up lack of needed light. Can get shelving to put in front of window to accomodate more plants & place grow lights under each shelf if want. Google these suggestions----will find incredible amounts of info on all this.
Bugs can be an issue. Your bugs are everyone's bugs in an Apartment Building. Some bug sprays meant for outdoor bugs can be toxic indoors. So be careful folks.
@@mera8785 I got WiFi bugs. they in the walls. Online Trolls use em to spy on me. Can't spray them cause they in da Walls. So you better find your Crack Pipe. You hearing voices in your head Ladybug.
A bag of potting soil costs around 3-5 I highly recommend just getting some potting soil and planting into there. Reason: food gets its tastes from the vitamins and nutrients it gets- that being said, growing it in water will essentially leave your crops tasting like water. Especially watery greens like lettuce and onions. Those $3 go a long way in giving your food better taste and nutritional value.
I'm late to this party but in a shtf scenario the power will be out and grow lights won't work. That likely won't be an option for most apartment dwellers. Outdoor gardeners need to consider opsec. Zombies, especially hungry neighbors, will be looking for gardens to plunder likely under the cover of darkness.
@tammymonette8371 OK, glad you've got that covered. Let's dig deeper: Calculate how much of your current, yearly food consumption is grown in your apartment. Double that if you can. it still won't be enough plus you will need sources for everything else - meat, wheat, salt, rice, other veggies, oil, tools, clothes, medicines, firewood maybe, etc. If you have skill sets that allow you to produce goods needed by others, you can feed and equip yourself through barter that you're going to have to do for all of the other stuff that you can't grow anyway. The economy will continue - early-1800s style...plan to be part of it.
In my opinion best survival crops to grow are: Perennials grow once and eat them for a long time Sweet potatoes - you can eat the tubers, they are a perennnial, leaves can be stir fried with garlic taste better than spinach Tree collards, the perennial 10 year kind - grows all year here in ca doesn’t go dormant in winter. can juice stir fry a little tree with lots of kale like leafs you can make chips and juice it. Pigeon peas- I didn’t know how delicious this one is a perennial growing pea tree grows hundreds of peas that taste so sweet and yummy Morninga- if u have snow grow in pot so u can bring in doors it is one of the most nutritious plant leaves out there I take this like my multivitamin, seeds can been eaten also can be used to purify water, I watched a documentary on Africa where the hospitals had no medicine but gave these to very I’ll kids and they recovered because it had so much nutrition another reason they call this the miracle tree - you can search the term Experimenting the Madagascar bean also known as the calico bean can grow seven years , chestnut like tasting beans, also know as the calico bean u just throw one of the seed pods in the ground and it will grow another plant for 7 years, still learning about this one Gynura - purple one taste better and sweet it survives all year in ca through winter. I use it for stir fry and also between my sandwiches a perennial bush easy to grow not much pest problems Good luck on your survival garden!!
I had a mini greenhouse on my balcony but the pigeons ate all my salad then nested in the trough. Now Ive got a coldframe. Day 3 its 8oc outside and 21oc inside the coldframe!
Great video! This is what youtube should be used for. Along with your excellent list I'd like to add Nasturtiums, Malabar spinach and Miner's Lettuce. These plants look like balcony flowers, weeds or climbers but make great leafy greens (covert food growing for the win).
I have malabar seeds but for some reason, I can't get it to grow (no green thumb). I've had much better luck with sweet potato. The vines/leaves are edible and cascade nicely. 🙂👍
Thank you so much! I dream of having a home garden to grow food for my family but I'm in an apartment with little natural light. I'm going to start my indoor garden!
we ARE LIVING OFF ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT SPROUTS----AMAZON HAS A ASSORTMENT WE BROUGHT 2 YEARS OF SEEDS AND WE HAVE SPROUT GROUND UP EVERYDAY WITH A BLENDER AND HAVE THEM WITH A BOILED EGG AND COTTAGE CHEESE WE LIVE GOOD HERE
Good video for this day and age! I've just ordered a pack of 20 different vegetables, now I need to work out what I'm missing! :) Preparing for what's coming!
Wow, someone who appreciates purslane! I love this plant as a detox and for its beauty. Plus it's a perennial so it's cheaper than buying it every year.
A few years ago I did that I did a shower with the stopper in and then during the course of the day going in and out of the house emptied out about maybe you know 2 or 3 gallons of water for the plans
Yo CP , Great vid as usual, I am fortunate to a house with a decent yard we have tomatoes, and jalapeños growing in 5 gallon buckets, we just stated potato’s and our squash didn’t make it, live and learn. Thank you CP
Try zucchini or yellow crockneck squash. I have grown mine in containers for years. Pick short bush varieties. Other squash like winter squash is less easy. I grew several winter squash last year but made the mistake of putting them in the refrigerator to store. Store them instead in a cool room.
Some of that vegetables can't grow in tropical climate who have humid and hot weather. Can you make new videos about growing vegetables in apartment in tropical climate? Greetings from Indonesia.
Have been growing tomatoes and green peppers in my apartment balcony. Got plenty of tomato and green bell peppers. Growing lettuce and potatoes next! Thanks for the video
Great video. While you stress micronutrients I myself would lean towards heartier crops and get my micros from vitamin tablets. jmho. Thanks for the great videos you produce and for not dragging them out like so m as my do on here.
No, you shouldn't grow anything inside your apartment, your apartment is simply not big enough space for you to grow plants to feed you year-round. The video should not be taken to heart. What you should do is storing MREs if you live in an apartment for a short term only and plan for an escape out of the city. Living inside an apartment is simply not feasible when SHTF, it is not designed to sustain your life when the grid is down. This guy is doing everyone a bad favour as he suggests we should bug in an apartment and that is not feasible long term.
Don't listen to the other commentor on here. I have grown tomatoes and strawberries, onions, and many herbs as well as potatoes in big containers in my den because it gets the most light. In the afternoons when the sun is not shining I turn on my grow lights. I use a garage shelving unit and hang the grow lights on the undersides of the shelves. I turned them on for all afternoon and evening and in the mornings they get natural light.
Skip to 1:41 Summary: 1. Alfalfa, Mung Bean, Clover or Broccoli sprouts. 2. Tomatoes 3. Chives 4. Parsley 5. Scallions 6. Garlic 7. Romaine Lettuce 8. Watercress 9. Purslane 10. Strawberries 11. Beans: Pinto, Soybean, 12. Green Beans 13. Lentils 14. Peas 15. Wait for Part 2 Should a global panemic happens again you will defnitely starve to death due to lack of carbs following this guide... or maybe just identify as a goat to survive.
How does HEAT or COLD effect the plants? I want to grow vegetables ony three seasons porch which is enclosed but not insulated with large windows. Plenty of light, space, and air... But in the summer it can get very hot and in the winter very very cold, almost intensifying the outdoor temps. Suggestions?
In the winter, cover plants with plastic bag or clear table cloth. In summer, tomatoes won't produce if it doesn't get below eighty degrees at night. Keep the plant going. When temp drops, tomatoes produce. Can trim tomato plants and stick them in water or soil and have lots of plants. Chile loves heat. Lettuce, kale, cabbages like cool. So grow in fall. I prefer brussel sprouts instead of cabbage.
Late seeing this post as I was offline hiking. Excellent content! By the way, this is a timely post. Thankfully, in 1988, I spent 3 months at Hippracrates Health Institute, where I learned to sprout seeds, grow wheatgrass to juice and drink. So, I have been sprouting seeds for decades now in my kitchen. I even purchased a DVD from the Handy Pantry as a reference guide about sprouting for my home library. Way to go! I am looking forward to part 2 of this series !
Research has shown that plants require rest. In that they need a break from light to be healthy. I don’t remember the exact reason. If I had to guess was that it signaled to the plant to stop devoting energy towards photosynthesis and more towards enzymes and nutrient absorption/synthesis. I guess too much light stresses the plant. So a timer is better for the health of the plant.
Any particular everbearing strawberry plants that produce runners as well I should be looking at for growing under LED grow lights and where I might wanna get them as live plants?
My wife has Guinea Pigs. She givs them a frelling had of lettuce a day..I don't even get to eat fresh like that. Decided to try and regrow the ends with limited success. In water leaves start forming and it starts gowing. Leave too long it rots, put it in soil and it takes a bit longer then rots-inside or outside. Same with Celery.
On a deck in pots...grow from plants? Tomatoes, lettuce, spring onions? What else can one plant...not from seeds as I think it is easier from plants from a garden store? Has anyone got any advice also please...with thanks. In NZ we are into Spring and think October is a time to put plants in with potting mix? coffee grounds good for fertilizer? This is all new for me...:-)
never eat the fruit or seed or leaves of potatoes. However the green leaves of sweet potatoes can be eaten. but always check first with , showing my age, books or videos to be sure.
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Subscribed. Great video and very thoughtful. I will probably be adjusting my grow to include more sprouts and possible soy beans, FYI Im actually growing 9 corn plants on my balcony. I germinated them from basic sack popping corn kernals. It's a lot of fun, and grows surprisingly well in fairly small pots as long as they get lots of sun and plant food. You are correct however about the returns on the investment: Its a lot of messing around for what will probably end up being 10 small corn on cob lol.
Thank you for this video!
I can never figure a great soil, one of the well known brands we all know and once loved now has reviews of spiders and mites. Any suggestions of which soil to use to get started please. Thanks for the video
Good tips Brother
I used to grow tons of food in my camper when I lived in it. I grew strawberries, blueberries, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, Basil, parsley, chives, rosemary, thyme, runner beans, an apple tree, a pear treat, a peach tree, a fig tree, tomatoes, onions, kelp, grapes and water cress. I used all vertical space I could and my little camper 28' long looked like a wild forest. It's a lot easier and more satisfying. Now I have a small yard to grow in and miss seeing all the plants inside. I think it's time to bring some back inside. You can find out how many plants per person for a full year. It's less than you might think. And easier than you could imagine. Good luck folks
Wow! That sounds amazing. Would appreciate any further info you could share on containers, dirt etc you used. Thanks so much for sharing.
Yes would love more info in growing fruits and veggies indoors
Wow
That's real good. Where was the location?if you don't mind me asking
I’m moving in to 20 foot RV and would love my own garden.
I currently am growing an apartment garden with west facing windows and no balcony, no grow lights and here are the things I am finding easy and economical:
- russet potatoes : so easy! you can grow in food grade buckets. also v fun watching the potatoes try to break over the soil before covering again
-ginger: obvi the root is eatable but so are the leaves. when you harvest the leaves, it also encourages the root to grow more
- carrots: same as ginger! both root and leaves are edible
-beets: you guessed it! same as above. both root and leaves are edible
-radishes: yup! same! AND they grow quickly
- green onions (as you described)
- sweet potato: the leaves are edible and cook similar to spinach with a more earthy taste. obvi the potato is also edible.
I'm personally not ready to take on hand-pollinating so root veggies are a great option :)
Sprouts/micro greens
Tomatoes
Chives
Parsley
Scallions
garlic
Lettuce
Watercress
Persclen (sp)
Strawberries
Beans - pinto-soy
Green beans
Lentils
Peas
One Problem with sprouting might be that you have limited water so you can't rinse the sprouts adequately,if you use cress or rocket you don't need to change their water
microgreens taste like crap I'd only eat them if I had too
Thank you
*Purslane
As a single mom of a almost 2 year old without a car, bugging out isnt an option. I really needed this! Thankyou! I want to garden on my balcony but didnt know how to or what to plant.
Lettuce is a great crop to start with too. Peppers are very easy too. Radishes grow very quickly so that could be fun!
Regrow food scraps from the store (celery, onion, lettuce). Grow dried beans, peas and lentils as well. Soak for at least 1 hour (I've found that soaking for 5-8 hours work best for larger beans) before planting. Yes, all of these can be grown indoors or on a balcony. You can even grow smaller melons and squash as well, they just need trellised.
For years, I've grown leaf lettuce, radish, carrots, spinach, cherry tomatoes, small bell peppers, cucumbers, mint, basil and oregano on my window sills over winter. I used shoe-box size plastic containers with drain holes in the bottom and sat them on top of their lids to catch excess water. I use dish basins now.
I will very strongly recommend NOT going with raised bed soil, container garden soil, ect. I've found these to be way too compact for plants to grow well in without amending the soil before using it. Potting soil is what you want and if possible, pick up some Dr Earth's Pure Gold fertilizer to use.
As for containers to use, you can do with fancy containers or use buckets from any big box store. Walmart used to give away their 2, 3 and 5 gallon buckets with lids, but now charge $1 for each; which is still cheaper than $2.95 for a 5 gallon with lid. Drill a few (5-10) drainage holes in the bottom, fill with potting soil and call it good. If you don't like looking at the buckets as is, you can get a cheap flat sheet from a thrift store or walmart/dollar store, sew into slip covers and slide them down over the buckets. When growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons, squash or any beans that will vine/climb, use tomato cages in the buckets unless you have railing they can be tied to.
Another option is dish basins. Walmart carries 2 sizes, one much deeper than the other. You can also find them at the dollar stores. Buy them in sets of 2. Drill holes in one and set it inside the other.
Hope this helps. Good luck!!
@Silly Milkmaid I love growing squash but I have really bad squash bugs here, that's probablyt why it slipped my mind.
Check out 'Robbie and Gary Gardening easy' for simple and cheap container gardening
Many folks are going to suggest what veggies to grow and many are great advice. But, for the long term thrive vs survive, not all plants are going to last that long. And going to a store to buy seeds is not going to be an option. So, make sure that you buy heirloom seeds. They can reproduce more seeds to get the same type of plants year after year. Hybrid seeds are a mix of several heirlooms and if you let some of them go to seed and plant them, they will revert to one of the heirlooms they came from but it will not be as good as the original heirloom of the same variety. Heirlooms are the future, hybrids are a dead end. And it is cheap to do!
What i did was go to Lowe's garden section and buy a pre planted tomato plant in a porch container. Then i got herbs and green pepper plant and grew it till it gave peppers.
Look into hydroponics. I’ve been growing lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers cucumbers in a small closet with lights for a year.
That's quite expensive though
I had my gardening class this past weekend and it was a hit. Many young people that want to start gardens. I showed how to start with very little money, where to get buckets for free, plus they're food grade. Plus getting their compost started and adding to their dirt so it becomes soil.
Where do u get buckets?
I have a local deli that puts them out by the dumpster, The donut shop sells them for $1.50, restaurants, fast food, and a grocery store with cooked food.
Parsley is an AMAZING plant! Especially those with dogs! They help keep their (and your) breath fresh, and it tastes amazing in every food!
Seriously? Dogs will eat it? I have a bunch of it growing in my apartment and was thinking of cutting it all down but wasn't sure what to do with it. Now I know: feed it to my friend's dogs! 😆👍
I think blackberries are a great option too. They need very little ground space, and can benefit from a lot of vertical space. They are perrineal and fully edible, so when you cut it back after the growing season you can eat the leaves. It's a really strong plant giving something sweet for a mental boost.
Even those who have a small, small yard, I still have to container garden, this is great.
I have been regrowing my food for almost a year now.
I mostly regrow food for my bunny. But soon my living space will be different so I'm going to be able to grow more.
The kratky method is a version of hydroponics and it means it does not need soil or air filtration system. You only need a plastic bucket with a lid, the plant or seed, water and water nutrients. that is it
I love lentil soup. I also sprout dried lentils.
Strawberries 🍓 after that post I started thinking about what other stuff I could grow. Appreciate this.
Started with potatoes. One in the house in a window. One in a pot on the front porch. One in the ground. Let's see which one sprouts first.
Can we get an update?
Pls update🥺🥺🙏🙏🙏
It's amazing how much a few plants can boost your moral, especially in a lock down...
IMHO some foods without basil, or coriander are just one level less and yet you can often buy them only without herbs...
And those two are easily grown inside !!!!
I really like how he not just talks about things, but offer suggestions/ideas to actually help. Keep up the good work.
If planted outside peas prefer cold weather. It's best to plant them just after the snow melts and the soil is easily workable.
I have numerous celery growing in the window sill, along with micro greens. Growing trays for lettuce, radish, and spices. Table set up with natural sun and grow light for tomatoes peppers and want to try squash. Small hydroponics set up for other small plants and would like to enlarge. Used feed bags with holes punched in buckets for potatoes for winter harvest. Large outside garden being harvested at the time.
Sprouts are easy to grow and super nutritious. I am glad you included these.
Amaranth is perfect for sprout harvesting. 1 mature amaranth can produce 100s of thousands of seeds depending on variety and they're so easy to grow.
So you eat the amaranth sprouts ???
I’ve haven’t done those…..yet 😍
And they are gluten free alternative to wheat, oats
Thanks for this video. Lived in apartments all my life and can't afford a home at current prices. Nice to see someone is thinking about us. Will try many of your suggestions. Not many people are thinking about helping us urban people to survive.
Porcelain 😄😄😄. We never really planted it but it was always there in the backyard farm at my grandmother's. I used to love it's taste.
If you don't know much about microgreens, check them out, little space or light required for optimal nutrition.
Health Wealth and Prosperity.
Oh, and a problem is developing from foods that might be "resproutable" is that such veggies including alliums (onions, chives, garlic, shallots, and leeks), potatoes, all root veggies, cabbages, celery, and lettuces are sprayed with a "growth inhibitor" that mostly keeps them from sprouting and if they do sprout, are not healthy and most will die within a week or two. Better to buy heirloom seeds and begin your garden now than wait for when the grid goes down. Heirlooms, you can eat most of them excepting for one fruit or whole plant that you let go to seed to reseed your micro-farm again and again. You will produce more seed from one plant than you can grow in your apartment but as the cities thin out of the population, you can start planting in open spaces. Just space the plants out so it does not "look" like a garden so you can be sure to get most of the produce for you and your family.
Gracias! Excellent video. I have seven parakeets so I started growing Swiss chard for them. They love being able to eat fresh greens whenever they like. Utilities are included in monthly rent so I make sure there is plenty of light. The birds have the living room which has two large ficus tress and 40 plants.
Now for fun just started avocado trees (3) lemon trees (12) and red bell peppers (mucho). All from seed so we'll see how it goes. Anxious to try strawberries after watching this video.
We are SerenityAviary on Instagram 🐦🐥
Strawberry leaves r great as a tea & loaded with Vit. C & antibacterial.
I recently bought specific varieties and special pots to grow veggies in all my southern facing windows because they get full sun all winter. Cherry tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers , bell peppers, herbs, bush beans and green onions. Sprouts are a great addition to that. I've been drying chives since I have tons of them growing outside. I'll have to harvest and dry more herbs.
Sweet potatoes are super easy to grow too and the vines/leaves are edible. 🙂👍
Excellent! I live in an apartment in the city, my balcony is my garden. But this time of year, not so much. I needed to know the indoor options! 🌺
Look into hot drunken composting in a contractor bag to extend your balcony growing season if you live in a winter climate.
I double bagged 42-gallon 3 mil contractor bags and stuck a ziptied 1/2" hardware cloth airpipe 3" in diameter inside.
Poured the recommended drunken tonic on it after layering leaves, then old soil mixed with basic food scraps (veggies, eggshells, coffee grounds), and I scored fresh chicken manure in mulch bedding on Craigslist. Repeated equal amounts of layers and made the last layer manure. Got the leaves from the great outdoors.
Final result was ~18" x 18" x 18" in size. Probably could have gotten to 24" high at least, but bag got too heavy to move. So probably a good idea to set it in your final spot as you build it.
I don't have a compost thermometer, but I have taken the temps several times with a candy thermometer lowered into the middle of the airpipe several times since Day 5.
Ambient air temperature in that area has maintained a consistent 100 degrees F. So the compost itself is presumably hotter. Outside temps are in the low-mid 30's and 20's overnight. Chicken manure tends to run hot & the compost is supposed to be done in 3-4 weeks. This bag is in a hidden away spot outdoors at my job. 😉
The double bags provide an opportunity to create an insulating air pocket though at the bottom and sides. I masking taped cardboard around styrofoam and created ~2" thick separator blocks for that purpose.
You can also park the bag on folded cardboard inserted into a heavy plastic shopping bag to prevent a cold suck from that area.
You could probably adapt this to a bucket or storage bin and sheath it with a contractor bag for the air pocket factor or simply just to absorb the sun's heat to help maintain temps inside the container. I think there are smaller contractor garbage bags a size down as well.
I am going to create a small greenhouse set up with a DIY PVC frame & insert a bag or a couple of buckets in there. A completed one & a "working" one.
I balcony garden too & brought in a bunch of plants to overwinter. Now I have very limited space inside for new projects. Would love to get some of them back outside again.
Remember when fertilizing your indoor garden a fertilizer must contain not only the macronutrients like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus but also the micronutrients which are too numerous to list.
The plants need all this so they can process the nutrients into the food you eat. Better fertilizer, better food.
Whichever fertilizer you use always follow the instructions.
I think your list could be easily applied to those of us in climates that have winter.... even if we have good gardens there is something to be said for fresh produce.
I had elderly neighbours who lived through wartime occupation the troops would of course take their produce from their gardens one thing that was often overlooked was parsley - it kept them alive. Don't forget the root is also good to eat and you can restart the plant from the root.
This is why we have built a small greenhouse against our house and vent air in from and vent air back into the house. That along with extra lighting and we can grow things like tomatoes (rutgers is the best for this), jalapeno peppers, celery, lettuce, and rosemary. Our winters get pretty cold and I use a tarp over and around it about two feet above and three feet away so our minus zero windchills do not affect it. Next year the vents will have 12 volt fans and there will be 12 volt LED grow lighting that will run off of a car battery hooked up to a solar panel. Power down? Still have lights and live food in the winter.
Azri'el Collier very clever using in house vents . 😀
@@glen1arthur: Thank you. Well, venting heat from the house to the greenhouse and back into the house again is the cheapest way I can heat the greenhouse. And it looks like I will have the 12 volt blower fans hooked in for this winter and not have to wait for next year.
@@sonofeloah are your 12 volt greenhouse lights actual grow lights or just lights ??? Would you mind sharing what they are and where you got them ? I live in zone three northern Minnesota and have a split entry house so my basement windows are level with the ground I’m building a small lean to greenhouse on the house so I can access it through the windows of my basement and grow directly in the ground…..I’ve wanted to do it for years but winter always comes quick and fall is always so busy harvesting and canning. (I need a husband to help haha)
Anyhow, your light set up sounds perfect and doable for me ….thanks !!!!
Oh and I grow parsley in the window seal but haven’t ever used the root, how do you use it ?
@@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123 Any of the bright white LEDs throw off almost full spectrum light with it being a bit higher on the UV. Infrared LEDs (clear red LEDs) in the mix and you will do a lot better.
Wow. This is amazing. I grow food now in my yard, but I still learned a lot that I can pass on to my friends and family who are apartment dwellers.
I live in an apartment and have had great luck with growing beets (for their greens). Turnips, carrots and rutabegas can also be grown for their greens and rutabegas can be used just like potatoes.
Did you do it without a balcony? How did you do it?
@@thepoweroftheoilofjoy can grow some herbs, lettuces, sprouts or microgreens indoors on sunny windowsills in summer. Northern climates in winter likely need grow lights to make up lack of needed light.
Can get shelving to put in front of window to accomodate more plants & place grow lights under each shelf if want. Google these suggestions----will find incredible amounts of info on all this.
Bugs can be an issue. Your bugs are everyone's bugs in an Apartment Building. Some bug sprays meant for outdoor bugs can be toxic indoors. So be careful folks.
Calm down. It’s not like bedbugs are attracted to lettuce.
@@mera8785 I got WiFi bugs. they in the walls. Online Trolls use em to spy on me. Can't spray them cause they in da Walls. So you better find your Crack Pipe. You hearing voices in your head Ladybug.
You could try diatomaceous earth, but be mindful of pets / pregnant women inhaling the stuff, I've heard it keep the bugs away.
Bugs hate lavender. Boil a pot, put it in a spray bottle & spray everywhere
Great topic and suggestions on gardening for urban preppers!
A bag of potting soil costs around 3-5 I highly recommend just getting some potting soil and planting into there.
Reason: food gets its tastes from the vitamins and nutrients it gets- that being said, growing it in water will essentially leave your crops tasting like water. Especially watery greens like lettuce and onions. Those $3 go a long way in giving your food better taste and nutritional value.
I'm late to this party but in a shtf scenario the power will be out and grow lights won't work. That likely won't be an option for most apartment dwellers.
Outdoor gardeners need to consider opsec. Zombies, especially hungry neighbors, will be looking for gardens to plunder likely under the cover of darkness.
@tammymonette8371
OK, glad you've got that covered. Let's dig deeper:
Calculate how much of your current, yearly food consumption is grown in your apartment. Double that if you can. it still won't be enough plus you will need sources for everything else - meat, wheat, salt, rice, other veggies, oil, tools, clothes, medicines, firewood maybe, etc. If you have skill sets that allow you to produce goods needed by others, you can feed and equip yourself through barter that you're going to have to do for all of the other stuff that you can't grow anyway. The economy will continue - early-1800s style...plan to be part of it.
Hi. Can you tell me the kind of led lights you got?
In my opinion best survival crops to grow are:
Perennials grow once and eat them for a long time
Sweet potatoes - you can eat the tubers, they are a perennnial, leaves can be stir fried with garlic taste better than spinach
Tree collards, the perennial 10 year kind - grows all year here in ca doesn’t go dormant in winter. can juice stir fry a little tree with lots of kale like leafs you can make chips and juice it.
Pigeon peas- I didn’t know how delicious this one is a perennial growing pea tree grows hundreds of peas that taste so sweet and yummy
Morninga- if u have snow grow in pot so u can bring in doors it is one of the most nutritious plant leaves out there I take this like my multivitamin, seeds can been eaten also can be used to purify water, I watched a documentary on Africa where the hospitals had no medicine but gave these to very I’ll kids and they recovered because it had so much nutrition another reason they call this the miracle tree - you can search the term
Experimenting the Madagascar bean also known as the calico bean can grow seven years , chestnut like tasting beans, also know as the calico bean u just throw one of the seed pods in the ground and it will grow another plant for 7 years, still learning about this one
Gynura - purple one taste better and sweet it survives all year in ca through winter. I use it for stir fry and also between my sandwiches a perennial bush easy to grow not much pest problems
Good luck on your survival garden!!
I had a mini greenhouse on my balcony but the pigeons ate all my salad then nested in the trough. Now Ive got a coldframe. Day 3 its 8oc outside and 21oc inside the coldframe!
I'm excited to start my winter indoor garden.
Great video! This is what youtube should be used for. Along with your excellent list I'd like to add Nasturtiums, Malabar spinach and Miner's Lettuce. These plants look like balcony flowers, weeds or climbers but make great leafy greens (covert food growing for the win).
Why have I never grown nasturtiums inside ??? dah 🙄 thank you !!!!
I have malabar seeds but for some reason, I can't get it to grow (no green thumb). I've had much better luck with sweet potato. The vines/leaves are edible and cascade nicely. 🙂👍
This is so helpful because light is my issue we have a balcony but there is never alot of light that hits it and we have winter and cold spring
If you grow in a hot area purslane is a tender perennial. Though that could be said for others in the list you made.
Excellent. Just bought grow tent! Sorry, don't trust CDC stats these days
Thank you so much! I dream of having a home garden to grow food for my family but I'm in an apartment with little natural light. I'm going to start my indoor garden!
In my flat iv grown wheat. bell peppers jalapeños tomatoes all on my window
The tops of strawberries are also edible!!
we ARE LIVING OFF ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT SPROUTS----AMAZON HAS A ASSORTMENT WE BROUGHT 2 YEARS OF SEEDS AND WE HAVE SPROUT GROUND UP EVERYDAY WITH A BLENDER AND HAVE THEM WITH A BOILED EGG AND COTTAGE CHEESE WE LIVE GOOD HERE
Loved💞 how the video also incorporated the nutritional value of each plant. Thanks for posting.
Good video for this day and age! I've just ordered a pack of 20 different vegetables, now I need to work out what I'm missing! :) Preparing for what's coming!
Fantastic! I just started looking into modifying my system and you put a lot of ideas and sources here. Thank you. You saved me a lot of time.
Glad I could help!
@@CityPrepping I just watched part 2. Looks like I will be clearing out the other half of the basement soon. Thank you again.
Wow, someone who appreciates purslane! I love this plant as a detox and for its beauty. Plus it's a perennial so it's cheaper than buying it every year.
I just found you and I’m so happy that I did! Thank you for your videos! I’m learning a lot!
Great information. Thank you for sharing
Thank you. You as well (stay safe).
Thanks, you too!
Great ideas. Doing anything will help but having the knowledge &and actully getting something to grow will benefit a lot more. Good video
A few years ago I did that I did a shower with the stopper in and then during the course of the day going in and out of the house emptied out about maybe you know 2 or
3 gallons of water for the plans
Thanks for the excellent source material. I had a live stream on apartment gardening and used your videos for my show prep. Best regards BT
I ordered several of those portable solar light bulbs and tried them. They worked almost a month.
Yo CP ,
Great vid as usual, I am fortunate to a house with a decent yard we have tomatoes, and jalapeños growing in 5 gallon buckets, we just stated potato’s and our squash didn’t make it, live and learn.
Thank you CP
That is awesome! Our garden is doing so-so, but we're learning!
Sqush is hard to grow
hope king , we got 3 out of the plant
Try zucchini or yellow crockneck squash. I have grown mine in containers for years. Pick short bush varieties. Other squash like winter squash is less easy. I grew several winter squash last year but made the mistake of putting them in the refrigerator to store. Store them instead in a cool room.
@@leopardwoman38 awesome thank you
Seriously, thank you for this! 💜
can you do one for storing for long term for potato’s carrots onions ect
Some of that vegetables can't grow in tropical climate who have humid and hot weather. Can you make new videos about growing vegetables in apartment in tropical climate? Greetings from Indonesia.
Have been growing tomatoes and green peppers in my apartment balcony. Got plenty of tomato and green bell peppers. Growing lettuce and potatoes next! Thanks for the video
If you can grow 25 vegetables in your apartment
That would be amazing in it self
I live in apartments so indoor grows is ideal thank you.. 😊
Looking forward to part 2! :) I love your stuff
Glad to hear it! I just released part 2 a moment ago.
Just saw it! Thank you for sharing! ^_^
I would suggest open pollinated varieties in case you need long term Survival .
Great video. While you stress micronutrients I myself would lean towards heartier crops and get my micros from vitamin tablets. jmho. Thanks for the great videos you produce and for not dragging them out like so m as my do on here.
Garlic is also a natural antibiotic, strawberries are also good for morale because they are yummy
How do you grow vegetables/fruits in apartments w/o balconies? What lights are best to use?
No, you shouldn't grow anything inside your apartment, your apartment is simply not big enough space for you to grow plants to feed you year-round. The video should not be taken to heart. What you should do is storing MREs if you live in an apartment for a short term only and plan for an escape out of the city. Living inside an apartment is simply not feasible when SHTF, it is not designed to sustain your life when the grid is down. This guy is doing everyone a bad favour as he suggests we should bug in an apartment and that is not feasible long term.
Don't listen to the other commentor on here. I have grown tomatoes and strawberries, onions, and many herbs as well as potatoes in big containers in my den because it gets the most light. In the afternoons when the sun is not shining I turn on my grow lights. I use a garage shelving unit and hang the grow lights on the undersides of the shelves. I turned them on for all afternoon and evening and in the mornings they get natural light.
I'm am very new to this. If you don't mind, how long did it take to grow strawberries and onions. My space is limited so I will not be growing a lot
Sometimes water stress is a bonus to strengthen the root system.
Skip to 1:41
Summary:
1. Alfalfa, Mung Bean, Clover or Broccoli sprouts.
2. Tomatoes
3. Chives
4. Parsley
5. Scallions
6. Garlic
7. Romaine Lettuce
8. Watercress
9. Purslane
10. Strawberries
11. Beans: Pinto, Soybean,
12. Green Beans
13. Lentils
14. Peas
15. Wait for Part 2
Should a global panemic happens again you will defnitely starve to death due to lack of carbs following this guide... or maybe just identify as a goat to survive.
How does HEAT or COLD effect the plants? I want to grow vegetables ony three seasons porch which is enclosed but not insulated with large windows. Plenty of light, space, and air... But in the summer it can get very hot and in the winter very very cold, almost intensifying the outdoor temps. Suggestions?
In the winter, cover plants with plastic bag or clear table cloth. In summer, tomatoes won't produce if it doesn't get below eighty degrees at night. Keep the plant going. When temp drops, tomatoes produce. Can trim tomato plants and stick them in water or soil and have lots of plants. Chile loves heat. Lettuce, kale, cabbages like cool. So grow in fall. I prefer brussel sprouts instead of cabbage.
Late seeing this post as I was offline hiking. Excellent content! By the way, this is a timely post. Thankfully, in 1988, I spent 3 months at Hippracrates Health Institute, where I learned to sprout seeds, grow wheatgrass to juice and drink. So, I have been sprouting seeds for decades now in my kitchen. I even purchased a DVD from the Handy Pantry as a reference guide about sprouting for my home library. Way to go! I am looking forward to part 2 of this series !
Research has shown that plants require rest. In that they need a break from light to be healthy. I don’t remember the exact reason. If I had to guess was that it signaled to the plant to stop devoting energy towards photosynthesis and more towards enzymes and nutrient absorption/synthesis. I guess too much light stresses the plant. So a timer is better for the health of the plant.
Any particular everbearing strawberry plants that produce runners as well I should be looking at for growing under LED grow lights and where I might wanna get them as live plants?
I just need sunshine.... n no those lamps pls
Really needed this video!!! Thank you!!!
This video is very helpful and informative. Thanks so much for sharing!💚🤗🌱🌿
There is also some plants that dont like high sun
We need more people to grow food in their apartments and on balconies to bolster food security.
Purslane is so common yet most people don't know about it well I consider that as a good thing because it will always be cheaper
cheery tomatoes requires less sunlight hours. So I was told.
Great information.. Thank you
God help me this looks overwhelming
My wife has Guinea Pigs. She givs them a frelling had of lettuce a day..I don't even get to eat fresh like that. Decided to try and regrow the ends with limited success. In water leaves start forming and it starts gowing. Leave too long it rots, put it in soil and it takes a bit longer then rots-inside or outside. Same with Celery.
On a deck in pots...grow from plants? Tomatoes, lettuce, spring onions? What else can one plant...not from seeds as I think it is easier from plants from a garden store?
Has anyone got any advice also please...with thanks. In NZ we are into Spring and think October is a time to put plants in with potting mix? coffee grounds good for fertilizer? This is all new for me...:-)
Organic spinach is 6$ a lb. Thats the price of red meat. I'm planting spinach in my basement
Try Swiss chard. It’s easy to grow and comes back after you cut it all season
A great video, thank you. 😊
I have a huge bag of bird seed for keeping the birds fed through winter. I wonder if that's something that could be planted and eaten.
never eat the fruit or seed or leaves of potatoes. However the green leaves of sweet potatoes can be eaten. but always check first with , showing my age, books or videos to be sure.
If you are in your home and not traveling on foot, cutting wood, and surviving outside, etc., you should not be eating calorie-dense foods.
I have three hydroponics units with grow lights and timers built in
This is great! thanks!
Pretty sure space light water and air are four
Glad I found your channel!!!🤩
Ur channel is of specisl interest. I live in an apt. So the info ur vids gav is vital 2 me. 2 try 2 cover some the the probs u might
Encounter & their solutio s. U can adapt 2 ur sustuayio.
Thank you helpful insightful starter video
I have found purslane in pots used as decorative hanging plants. Are these also edible.