Living in Boston doesn’t leave much room for a garden. However, you can still have fresh vegetables right from your own backyard, even if you’re short on space. Find out how below!
Garden Shed
Organize your garden shed or garage to hold extra gardening equipment and supplies. Use a company that specializes in storage solutions, such as Closet & Storage Concepts, to build organized shelving to fit your needs. We can build a work area so you have a place to prune or repot plants. Larger pots and bags of soil and fertilizer can be stored underneath the worktop. Upper cabinets and shelving can be used to keep smaller pots and containers. Drawers for hand tools can keep the worktop clutter free. Spades, hand rakes, string, fencing clips, and other items can also be stored using a slatted wall system or pegboard. This utilizes wall space and keeps tools at hand. You can store sporting equipment or seasonal tools in tall cabinets.
Creating the Garden
Now for the fun part – creating your garden. Use these tips to maintain an organized garden and take advantage of the green space you have. Straw bales are great for growing vegetable in the New England area and they don’t take up too much space. It often heats up faster than soil, giving you more gardening time. Plus, the straw can act as mulch and fertilizer for your garden next year! If you need flexibility for your vegetable garden, planting in pots would be the way to go.
Straw Bale Garden: If you choose to go with straw bales, choose high-quality bales of straw – not hay. About two weeks before you are ready to plant, choose a sunny location. Set the bales so the cut side is facing up and the strings are facing to the side. Loosen the straw a bit using a pick or a metal rake. Water the straw every day for a few days before conditioning the straw with a fertilizer that is high in nitrogen. This helps the straw begin to decompose, which will give the vegetables plenty of food.
After the straw has been conditioned, you can plant the seedlings directly into the straw. Cover the tops of the exposed roots with potting soil. If you are planting seeds, you’ll need extra soil so that the seeds germinate. Sow the seeds in the straw and then cover them with a 1-inch layer of potting soil. 
Pots: Choosing pots is more traditional and offers flexibility especially if you have a small yard. Choose a pot that is appropriate for the type of vegetable you are growing. For example, potatoes will need wide deep pots. Larger veggies may require a larger pot if they produce longer roots. For tomatoes, use a pot that will hold a tomato cage.
Always remember to keep everything thoroughly watered and fertilized. Since the plants do not have an unlimited amount of ground to get nutrients from you’ll have to provide it for them.
Small spaces require smart solutions. Get organized throughout your home with Closet & Storage Concepts in Boston!
Photo credits: Straw garden photo © woottigon. Herb garden © yanich.