According to Elizabeth Waddington, sustainability consultant and correspondent for Treehugger, indoor growing of edible crops is feasible even in the smallest of tiny homes.
Due to their practicality, advantages to the occupant and the environment, and benefits to both, tiny homes are becoming more and more popular. Waddington points out that having enough room to grow a garden can be difficult, particularly if the garden is located inside a tiny home.
Waddington, a permaculture design expert, offers the following fundamental advice that should enable anyone to grow some edible plants inside their homes while utilizing every square inch of space.
Vertical Gardening
The fact that there is always a vertical, as well as a horizontal component to the space available, is one of the most crucial things to keep in mind when growing in small spaces. Numerous applications use vertical gardening.
Plants are layered one on top of the other in tiered planting schemes as part of vertical gardening. To encourage plants to grow upward rather than outward, she also recommends supporting them with trellises or other structures.
Another method is to build structures for vertical gardens, such as simple shelving and wall-mounted DIY vertical gardens with planting pockets. The simplest approach is to use hanging planters.
Efficiency in Multi-Functionality
Living in small spaces requires being multi-functional. Waddington suggests designing an interior where everything in it can serve more than one purpose when incorporating a small garden for edible crops.
For instance, a tiny house's food-growing shelves could also double as a staircase leading to a mezzanine level.
Read also: Ecocubo: This Modular Tiny House From Cork and Wood Is Every Traveler's Dream
Growing Footprints
One method to increase the footprint of a tiny home is to hook window boxes over sills to make little planting areas protrude from the sides. If necessary, this temporary footprint expansion can be easily removed.
Other options include decking the exterior of a tiny home to make an outdoor space for entertainment and gardening.
Tiny homeowners who relocate frequently might think about adding a trailer, which can function as a portable garden.
Seasonal growing
Waddington notes that one way to make a small space efficient is to increase yield and grow as much as you can by carefully planning a gardening year. Successional sowing and sowing frequently can prevent gluts.
Gluts refer to the excess supply of an item.
Don't Forget the Microgreens
Many edible plants can be grown in small containers in relatively small spaces. But those who live in tiny homes should make sure to embrace foods like microgreens, which take up very little room.
Microgreens are a great addition to a home-grown diet because they are quick to grow and can be harvested when they are still very small. They also contain a lot of nutrition in their tiny leaves. Waddington suggests embracing these micro-crops for anyone growing up in a small house with limited space.
Related article: Gardening 101: The Basics of Growing Your Own Plants