Some people believe that gardening is seasonal, especially in colder climates. But as a prepper, you probably already know that there are options to having a garden all year round.
A greenhouse is an option, but unless you are going to heat it, there are a few months out of the year when it won’t work too well.
Another option is to have pots with planted veggies all over your counters and tables. However, there is a big downside to that. Where are you going to prepare, cook, and eat what you grow, if your pots are taking up so much space?
Have you ever considered a suspended indoor garden? Hanging baskets are not just for greens and flowers. You can also plant veggies in them for a year-round fresh garden.
All you need, other than the basic planting supplies, is space. And, even if you have very limited indoor space, most people can find a spot to hang at least one pot.
So, whether you have the option to hang a few pots from a large rod, or just one or two, you can enjoy fresh homegrown veggies and food all year round, no matter where you live.
Related: How I Grow My Herbs Indoors
What to Grow in Your Hanging Basket Garden?
Just because your garden will be in a hanging basket, doesn’t mean you have to settle for something as dainty as an herb garden. You just need to plan accordingly.
You will need to determine how much space you are willing to hand over to hanging pots and how heavy your ceiling or rod can handle. If you don’t want to hang the pots from the ceiling, look at other options, such as a garment rack.
In fact, a garment rack on wheels is ideal for those of you who want to be able to move the garden from room to room, window to window, or even indoors to outdoors.
However, not all veggies are suited for a home suspension system, unless it’s quite elaborate. Some of the best options to consider growing in a suspended manner include the following:
- Cherry tomatoes
- Leaf lettuce
- Strawberries
- Swiss Chard
- Peas
- Beans
- Peppers
- Spinach
- Cucumbers
- Shallots
- Pearl onions
- Spring onions
- Radishes
- Baby carrots
This list could grow with heavier items, depending on how secure your hanging system is for weight and space.
Related: How To Make A Keyhole Garden
Items You Should NOT Grow in Hanging Baskets
While there are many great options to grow from suspension, there are also a few that shouldn’t be attempted. Here are a few, and the reasons why:
Heavy Veggies/Crops – with a basic hanging garden, you should avoid heavy plants, such as large tomatoes or potatoes. This isn’t just about how heavy the veggie itself is, but also how heavy and productive the crop typically is as it’s growing.
Keep in mind, a hanging pot can only hold so much. The 2 exceptions to this rule could be if you have installed a massive heavy-duty hanging device or will be able to transplant the plant outdoors soon.
Root Vegetables – Pay attention to what will go on under the surface as well. Root veggies will have a problem growing for a long time in the average indoor pot.
So, unless you have an elaborate system that can handle extra deep and heavy pots, save most of the rooted veggies for outdoors. Some smaller ones that I mentioned above should still work.
Tall Crops – As you can imagine, tall crops would be difficult to grow in a hanging basket.
So now you have an idea of what you can plant indoors in suspension. Let’s take a look at some basic steps for the best crop possible.
Basic Garden Considerations for Indoor Hanging Baskets
When developing a hanging garden, there are some things to consider to better your odds for success. Even though many are similar to the same care as a typical garden, there are some differences:
A Sturdy Hanger – While indoor pots can be decorative and pretty, a sturdy hanger to go with the pot is essential. The weight of many veggies could easily be heavier than the typical house plant.
Adequate Sunlight – Take note at how much sunlight your choice in veggies requires, as well as how much sunlight the area they will be hanging get.
If your hanging area isn’t very sunny, you can always take them down for a few hours to place on the floor where the sun pours in for longer periods of time.
Size of the pot – many choices of veggies will require a pot that is at least a gallon capacity. Smaller plants might not need something quite that big, while larger plants will require even larger pots.
Soil – Make sure you either buy or create a healthy soil that is best for growing veggies, containing nutrients.
Planting – Follow directions on the seed packet when planting the seeds. You could also bring in plants from outside for the winter and hang them in the same manner.
Transplant the plant according to what is best for that particular plant, making sure there’s enough room for the roots too.
Drainage – Make sure the pots you choose have adequate drainage components. If the soil isn’t allowed to drain naturally, it could drown the plant.
Maintenance:
- Watering – All plants require some watering. Keep an eye on your crops and follow directions based on what veggies you choose to grow.
- Fertilizing – Most plants can benefit from a little extra help. So, feed the plants with proper nutrients. A natural compost could work just fine, or store-bought fertilizer. If you choose store-bought, follow their directions.
- Pruning – Remove any dead area that you see to help stimulate new growth.
- Harvesting – Make sure to harvest your plants as needed. This will encourage plant production and help keep the plant healthy.
You should now have sufficient information to get you started on an indoor suspension garden, to help you with providing the family with healthy and homegrown veggies year-round.
Imagine having fresh veggies within your reach to cook with each night!
You may also like:
If You Find This in Your Garden, Burn It Immediately
New Invention 12X More Efficient Than Solar Panels (Video)
24 Lost Gardening Tips from 100 Years Ago
10 Beautiful Plants That Are Secretly Killing Your Garden
Similar to Morphine: The Best Natural Painkiller that Grows in Your Backyard
Hi, thanks for sharing this. I’m serious considering hanging veggies growing in the house.
Hanging is best indoors with cats that like to get into them lol
Aquaponics is a good way to avoid cats. There are a ton of how-to on YouTube about making frames and towers for in the house. niio
I have done some aquaponics and perhaps its time to get going on this again
Strawberries make a great basket, back to garden tragedies, I had a beautiful 24″ wire basket of strawberries on my front porch years ago, somebody stole it while I was at work. Is anything as beautiful and tasty as a fresh homegrown strawberry?
strawberries are so delicious to grow and eat!
My strawberry problem is, everybody wants to sell plants in the spring. Here, it’s already close to summer and 100+ F in the shade. We put three in the garden last fall. 2 got eaten by something. the last one looks pretty, bright green, and is doing nothing. A neighbor has a variety that’s crossed with wild strawberries, and is going to give us some starts. We raised an acre of strawberries on the farm in Penna every year with the matted/mulch method. That bed was still producing the last time I visited the folks who bought it from Mom and Dad 50 years ago. No red stell, no insect problems, but he does sow black radishes with the strawberries in the fall to kill nematodes and so on. niio
Mike: It’s harder to steal a grow tower and fish bowl. A niece’s husband had a pet tilapia that liked a taste of fingers. Water was sprayed into the tower. see if this helps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ8XkY6Too0
niio 🙂
They had a grow tower demo at the Texas State Fair last year, people are doing real cool things. I checked out your youtube link, it is no help at all, my musical tastes are rooted in the yazoo River Delta and ruled over by Eshu-ellegua Elegbarra.
I keep thinking, got to try the tower. Two picture windows on the south side for winter growing. I just don’t want to get back into fish again, for some reason. Yeah, carp are tasty is cured and smoked… 🙂
Master of Force? Music or religion? Interesting thing, Israel officially recognized the Lemba in east central Africa as the tribe of Levi. They again have a priesthood, which means other prophecies are in line. Santa Rita are common where I lived in east PA. One stepson had a bro is a curandero de la Senora and adopted me as his Papi 🙂 A good people, a respectable people.Good way to live! niiio
Dang Red, you know about everything. Ellegua was the messenger between the Gods so he also had all knowledge. If you waited at the crossroads in the middle of the night you might meet Ellegua and receive a great gift from him. Christians considered him the Devil. So you had Church music and you had the Devil’s music…
I know nothing. The more I learn, the less I know. But, I lived for years with NYC and Philly only hours away. the Wyoming Valley in PA has always been a sort of mecca for people who are religious. Eleguá is red and black, life and death. That and crossroads are judgment in most cultures.If you check, you find most Africans are monotheists as most Native Americans are. Christians are not to demonize anyone. You chose your way, I eventually decided to follow Christ. We have a lot of satanists yet in the family; most are more conservative than many who claim to be Christian. Most of the Santeria I know are very up on deliverance, and have come asking help and get it, no questions asked. . peace.
KJ, when stuck in Penna, I used to raise sweet potatoes in upside down hanging planters. Full sun, and always got a lot more than from the garden. Last year, here in Arizona, I raised them under the eves, out of direct sun on the planter. They did as well as those in the ground. And, only those growing in the planters were kept for ‘seed’ ‘potatoes. The rest suffered from ground squirrels and packrats, and the dachshund who thinks he’s supposed to rid the world of rodents 🙂 a heavy duty swivel on the chain is a major plus. niio
My wife used to have a couple dozen flower pots of varying sizes in the house. We finally figured out that the soil molds were the major cause of my winter allergies.
Yeah, same here, so I water from the bottom. the top stays dry. But, I live in Arizona now. niio
Reuse old wire hangers for lighter plants. Electric wire fencing is a good sturdy wire to make hangers for heavier plants.
A new roll of wire is always useful when you have one on hand.
Consider a large pot for green pole beans on a rolling platform. Using a large wire tomato cage and train as they grow. Trainable.
Also zucchini for winter use in a large pot.
Cucumber can be grown like the beans, but a piece of old wire fencing is best. Fencing can also be used for fthe beans.
To fertilize-a manure tea.
All pain relievers are addictive. Because they relieve pain. Addiction is affected by pleasure of the drug taking.
how do you pollinate when you can’t get them outside?
diane: You can use a camel hair brush to take pollen from one bloom to another. Tomatoes, take a pencil and tap aroud the blooms. Once or twice should do it.
Here, we can set things out in the afternoon even in January (Zone 9). The chilis we raise are Sandia and Chimoyo, and both don’t mind a touch of frost on them. Those in the garden will freeze back by Christmas, but come back from the roots in March. The varieties are great for house plants. A sunny window is best, and they can handle cold nights, drying out, but never too much water! They’re from Hopi reservations and frown at over 4,500 feet in elevation. They’ee wind resistant and will grow close to the ground when they have to. Cherry toms are best for the house.