Your own vegetable garden

home garden Mallorca | garden maintenance company

How to create your Home Urban Garden

…In just 5 steps…!!

No matter how much space you have, how much experience you have, or what you want to grow, to start a garden you need 5 basic things:

1.Choose the best container
2.Decide where to place it
3.Add growing soil
4.Choose your favourite seeds or plants
5.Water for watering

Growing is addictive — and the best way is to start step by step!

You don't need to invest much to get started.

Start small, with affordable containers that require less investment, and as you gain confidence you can move on to larger containers and more crops.

1. Choose the best container

There are many different containers you can use to grow in.
Choosing one or another will depend only on how much you want to invest and how much space you have.

All containers for growing a home urban garden can be grouped into 3 categories:

Growing tables (raised planters)

Ideal option for older people or those with reduced mobility. Also great for gardens set up on terraces, patios and in gardens.

Available space: Medium

Required investment: High

Pots and planters

Ideal for beginners and small spaces such as balconies or indoors, and also for expanding larger garden areas.

Available space: Small

Required investment: Low

Vertical gardens

Ideal for very small areas, balconies or terraces. Have a garden without giving up any space.

Available space: Small

Required investment: Medium

Growing tables (raised planters)

Growing tables are raised structures that allow you to grow without bending your back and to plant many crops in the same space thanks to their large surface area. They can be made of wood, metal or plastic.

The size of the growing table depends exclusively on the space you have. The only fixed rule is that it should be at least 25 cm deep. Don't always assume you need the biggest one — sometimes two small tables fit better, especially on balconies and long terraces.

More growing space

More comfort.

Because they are raised, they are ideal for older
people and those with reduced mobility.

They make watering easier.

Pots and planters

Pots and planters are very versatile containers. There are two important aspects when choosing pots: drainage and size. The pot you choose must always have drainage holes to remove excess water (either because you watered too much or because it rained a lot). You can add a saucer or tray if you place them indoors.

Not all crops need the same space, and it's easy to get the pot size wrong. That's why below you'll find a quick guide to the minimum pot size depending on the crop.

Planters don't differ much from pots — they're simply longer, which is very practical for growing several crops in the same container and avoiding lots of separate pots.

Very flexible in terms of space:
by simply increasing the number of pots/planters you can multiply the size of your garden.

Low investment: a good-quality pot with the right
size is inexpensive and lets you start without spending much.

Pot size?

Pots for Tomatoes / Peppers / Aubergines / Beans / Peas

16 litres per plant

Tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, beans and peas have deep roots and like to have plenty of space, so the pot volume should be at least 16 litres.

Pots for Lettuce / Spinach / Rocket (Arugula)

2 litres per plant

These leafy crops are perfect for salads. They have small, shallow roots, so 2 litres is more than enough for full development.

Pots for Strawberries / Herbs

2–3 litres per plant

Strawberries are an easy and delicious crop. The ideal pot size is 2.5–3.5 litres per plant. With the right pot size, you'll grow the best strawberries.

Pots for Carrots / Radishes / Beetroot / Onions / Garlic

0.5 litres per plant

Smaller varieties fit anywhere, so 0.5 litres per plant is enough.

If you prefer planters instead of pots, the only thing you need to do is add up the volumes required for each plant you want to group together: for example, if you want to plant 4 herbs, you'll need a planter of at least 8 litres.

Vertical gardens

Vertical gardens are wall-mounted structures that allow you to grow crops in reduced spaces.

Modular vertical gardens are very easy to install and allow maximum customisation by adding modules to the sides or stacking them one above another, creating patterns and shapes to your taste and adapting completely to your space.

They are fabric on the outside and plastic on the inside, with self-watering, which makes them great for indoors.

You make the most of the space.
You only need a wall.

They look great.

2. Where to place the garden?

Just as important as choosing the best container is deciding where to place it.

The golden rule is that ALL crops need hours of light.

Pots of peppers, tomatoes and beans love the sun and need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight.
The rest of the crops mentioned can tolerate some shade, so 4 hours of light would be enough.

Find the sunny and shady areas of your garden, balcony or patio. Consider orientation and shade cast by buildings, trees, etc.

Place crops that need more sun in the brightest areas and those that prefer some shade where direct sunlight hours are fewer.

Orient the garden to the south or south-east, as this usually gives the most hours of sun.

Place the tallest plants on the north side to prevent them from shading smaller crops.

In very hot areas, some shade during the hottest hours can help even the toughest plants.

3. Add growing soil

The substrate (soil) is the medium where roots develop and where crops absorb nutrients, so choosing the right soil/substrate is essential if you want a healthy garden.

Once you've chosen the container, fill it with potting soil suitable for containers that retains water well and is rich in nutrients. It's also important that it is light and porous, because roots need not only water and nutrients, but also air in the soil pores.

Can I use any substrate or soil?

Soil/substrate is one of the most important factors to ensure success. It's a cheap product, so it's worth spending a couple of euros more and getting good quality. The difference is noticeable — a lot — in the quality of what you grow.

Don't use unknown cheap brands. Look for special substrates for vegetable gardens or recognised brands that are good quality and easy to find.

Some cheap brands use a percentage of sewage sludge, which can contain traces of heavy metals. You don't want to eat something grown in that soil, do you?

Also, if you start with a good substrate, you won't need fertiliser until the season changes. Later you can add an extra boost, such as worm humus or compost.

4. Choose your favourite seeds or plants

The truth is that in an urban garden you can grow all kinds of vegetables. It all depends on your experience level and the space you have.

Being able to grow everything doesn't mean you should start with everything. In fact, it's better to start with a few easy, rewarding crops and gradually level up.

When choosing vegetables for an urban garden, the question is always the same… what's better… starting with seeds… or buying plants?

The answer is simple: IT DEPENDS

It depends mainly on your experience level and the crop.

Generally, it's easier to buy the plant and transplant it into its final place. But it's not always worth doing that for every crop, because some seeds grow almost by themselves — so buying seedlings can be a waste.

If you decide to start with plants

If you're a beginner, I recommend starting with plants of these vegetables:

Tomatoes
Peppers
Strawberries
Aubergines

If you decide to start with seeds

Some seeds can be sown directly in their final place, in the soil, and they are easy and quick to germinate. If you want to start from seed, begin with these crops:

Beans
Peas
Lettuce
Rocket (Arugula)

Spinach
Basil
Chives
Coriander (Cilantro)

Parsley
Radishes
Garlic
Onions

How to sow seeds

Step 1

For best results, moisten the growing medium before sowing. It's important that humidity is even, so there are no dry areas that could hinder germination.

Step 2

Make a small hole no deeper than 2 times the size of the seed (CAREFUL! burying seeds too deep is a common mistake). For smaller seeds (lettuce, radish), simply place them on the surface.

Step 3

Place 2–3 seeds in each hole, no more. Cover again with a light layer of soil. Water again carefully so you don't move the seeds out of place.

Step 4

When the seeds have germinated, choose the strongest one and remove the other two, so it has space to grow properly.

WHAT CAN I GROW and WHEN?

The easiest crops to start with, organised by seasons, are:

SPRING

PLANTS

Tomato
Pepper
Aubergine
Strawberries

SEEDS

Basil
Parsley
Coriander
Spinach
Lettuce
Beans
Radish
Beetroot

SUMMER

PLANTS

Basil*
Coriander*
Lettuce*
Spinach*
Rocket*
Tomato**
Pepper**
Aubergine**

SEEDS

Beans
Radish
Beetroot
Corn
Parsley

*If you're starting out, in summer it's better to begin these crops as plants.

**Only until July

AUTUMN

SEEDS

Beans
Peas
Broad beans
Lettuce
Spinach

Parsley
Radish
Beetroot
Chard
Rocket

WINTER

Lettuce
Spinach
Peas
Parsley
Radish
Beetroot
Rocket
Chard

*** Here the choice between seeds or plants depends exclusively on where you live. If temperatures usually do not drop below 5°C, start all these crops as plants.

5. Water for watering

MANUAL

A watering can or hose is still a good solution for small gardens. Ideally, water very slowly so water infiltrates well throughout the soil. If you water too fast or all at once, cracks form and water runs through quickly, not giving roots time to absorb it.

SELF-WATERING SYSTEMS

Perfect to complement manual watering: pots with a reservoir that store water and filter it little by little. There are also "mobile" reservoir accessories you can place in pots during the hottest periods or when you go on holiday. The advantage is that it's an economical system with no installation; the disadvantage is that it's only suitable for very small gardens.

DRIP IRRIGATION WITH A TIMER

If you have a growing table or a considerable number of pots/planters (around 7–8), it's useful to use a more complete system. It will give you more autonomy and you can automatically regulate watering frequency and intensity.

www.jardineriamallorquinapujol.com

@jardineriamallorquinapujol

info@jardineríamallorquinapujol.com

+34 650 66 49 37

And just tell us 3 things…

1 Chosen container

- Growing table
- Wood
- Metal
- Plastic
- Pots
- Planters
- Vertical module(*)

* Only for culinary herbs.

2 Desired crops(**)

- Vegetables
- Tomato
- Pepper
- Aubergines
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Rocket (Arugula)
- Lettuce

- Culinary herbs
- Basil
- Parsley
- Coriander (Cilantro)
- Chives
- Dill
- Thyme
- Rosemary

** If you don't want the full pack of Vegetables or Culinary herbs, please mark only what you want and we will calculate the container size you need.

3 Preferred watering

- Manual
- Hose
- Watering can
- Self-watering
- Automatic
- I have a tap installed
- I don't have a tap installed