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Ask HN: Has anyone had luck with starting an apartment garden?

8 points by j-rom ↗ HN
I live in a 1-bedroom apartment in Seattle and was considering starting a small apartment garden. My goal is to grow maybe 1-2 vegetables that I can use for cooking.

I've seen many guides [1] but I was curious how practical it is to actually pull off. The long-term (maybe overly-ambitious) goal is to automate this process with watering and lighting.

[1] * https://www.homedepot.com/c/ai/apartment-gardening-tips/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90115e46ab9

* https://www.thespruce.com/apartment-gardening-for-beginners-4178600

* https://www.sustainablejungle.com/urban-gardens/apartment-gardening/

* etc...

10 comments

[ 4.8 ms ] story [ 28.3 ms ] thread
gcheong
I've had luck growing cherry tomatoes, shishito peppers, fairy-tale eggplant, and a variety of herbs with our Aerogarden and I've also grown lettuce and Mitsuba( a Japanese parsley that I can't find locally) from seed using an led grow light and some empty laundry soap containers I re-purposed for Kratky method hydroponics (https://www.kratkygro.com). Definitely doable.
j-rom
Very cool! I was considering something like basil or peppers to get started. Does your geographic location get a lot of natural sunlight? I'm wondering if I need supplemental lighting since Seattle doesn't always get a ton of natural sunlight.
gcheong
In San Francisco so probably similar. We only have one southern-facing window that gets any significant light through the day but it's in the kitchen so I haven't tried to grow much of anything near besides green onions and cat grass. They both do well there. We do have an outside garden area and have grown artichokes, peas, basil and other herbs like tarragon as well as having a couple lemon trees that do well so I think it just depends on having a spot where you can get full sun for the things that need it though grow lights do give you more flexibility and control overall.
j-rom
> artichokes, peas, basil and other herbs like tarragon as well as having a couple lemon trees

That gives me hope :) I think I'm going to try out basil and go from there.

rdtwo
Herbs grow great in windows. The other 2 require a lot of space and I would not recommend. If you want to do cheap hydro build a lettuce raft
rdtwo
I grew a 4x4 hydroponic garden in Seattle growing cherry tomatoes under a 400w hps bulb. It was awesome had a bumper crop until some of the tomatoes fell to the ground and I had a crazy fruit fly infestation. Good times
j-rom
Did you have any issues with fruit flies in general or only when the tomatoes fell?
rdtwo
Once the fruit ripens then you start to have problems. Cherry tomatoes were problematic in general besides there were too many and they fall off and stuff. I also wasn’t as careful as I should have been pruning so that created pockets for Things to fall into. Honestly if you have a balcony with good exposure just build an earthtainer or 2 it’s a lot easier and grows fine in Seattle.

Also hallide lamps are amazing during SAD season just make sure your lease does not specify max light bulb wattage

netizen-936824
How much does it cost monthly to run that 400w light?
simonblack
My goal is to grow maybe 1-2 vegetables that I can use for cooking.

Probably the most cost-effective things to grow are the ever-growing flavoring herbs like coriander, parsley, mint, etc. Those are always better garden-fresh and aren't too bulky. Seasonal stuff is labor-intensive and not as cost-effective.