City gardening for small spaces

     The days are heating up, the seemingly endless winter finally behind us, time to get ready for summer.  After the significant down-sizing since the dissolution of my marriage, I was a little stuck figuring out how to bring my love of gardening to our patio.  I miss having the ever ready crop of fresh herbs for cooking and sharing the joy of planting and harvesting our goodies with the next generation.  How to realize my dreams of a lush garden in the confines of a 12' x 4' deck.  Other than the size, it is ideal, getting full sun all day.  I decided to give vertical gardening a try after the flooding from the torrential rains last year due to the planters overflowing and the soil blocking the drain.  That resulted in me up to water well past my ankles frantically trying to dig the drain clear and finally throwing the planters over the railing when the water reached the edge of the patio door.  That was a super fun mess to clean up, but on the plus side, I added a bit of detergent to the water and gave the deck a bit of a scrub at the same time.  Might as well use the near disaster to some advantage.
     So how does a super busy, single mom get to achieve this with the minimum of fuss?  As much as the environmentalist in me wants to try making a hanging planter out of pallet wood, the reality is I haven't even managed to find the time to put up the shelves in my bedroom yet, so simpler needed to be the route to go.  I remembered having a canvas, over the door shoe organizer many years ago and with a bit of effort I managed to locate a new one that was not white.  My son and I selected a variety of herbs, including chocolate mint, which I'd never heard of before and of course, a selection of his favorites, spinach, and strawberries.  I had no idea if this would work or not, but we planted our selections and it seems to be going well so far.  The treated canvas has drainage, so watering is a cinch.  Somehow we ended up with a tomato plant that will have to be relocated to a bigger home but we are enjoying our new vertical garden.  Not bad for $12 for the shoe organizer and another $15 in starter plants.  Check back for updates on how the crops work out.  Happy gardening in your small but cozy spaces!