Urban Gardening in Small Spaces: A Guide to Container and Balcony Gardening in Tennessee"
Just because you happen to be a Nashville apartment dweller or a Knoxville condo owner or live in a Memphis rowhouse with nothing bigger than a postage-stamp yard‚ doesn’t mean that urban gardening doesn’t work in Tennessee․ The question is a little more subtle: what actually grows in a 200- sq․ ft․ or smaller space in Tennessee? The answer: you can grow tons of food and tons of flowers in 200 sq․ ft․ or less‚ but it all depends on your zone (6b through 8a across most of the state)‚ light‚ and container size more than generalized “urban gardening” information that’s written for a national audience․
Most of Tennessee is in USDA zones 6b/7b․ The southwestern corner around Memphis is in zone 8 a‚ which is more important than most urban gardening guides would suggest․ The climactic concerns of the heat and freezing should be considered․ The heat stress tolerances required for a rooftop garden in Chattanooga would differ from a balcony garden in Johnson City at a higher elevation․ If you are in the northern or southern portion of the state‚ your last frost date will vary between March 20 and April 15‚ when you can begin moving tender plants outdoors․
Why Container Size Is the Real Limiting Factor
Competitor articles love to talk about ““vertical gardens”” and ““guerrilla gardening”” in the abstract‚ but you will rarely see the number one reason urban container gardens fail: pots that are too small․ A tomato plant‚ to produce a real harvest‚ needs no less than a 15-gallon container․ Herbs (e․g․ rosemary and thyme) can survive in a 6-inch (15 cm) pot‚ but will need at least a gallon of soil; perennials and shrubs need enough space to develop real roots․
If you have a balcony or small patio‚ here’s a rough sizing guide that works in Tennessee’s climate:
* Herbs (basil‚ chives‚ parsley): 1-2 gallon containers minimum․ * Peppers and dwarf tomatoes: 5-7 gallon containers * Full-size tomatoes: 15-20 gallon containers * Small shrubs/flowering perennials: 10-15-gallon (40-60 L) containers‚ depending on mature size * Dwarf fruit trees: 20-25 gallon containers‚ minimum
Tennessee summers are hot and humid‚ and container soil can dry out quickly‚ even in a single afternoon‚ especially in July and August․ While terra cotta pots are considered more attractive‚ they dry out faster; glazed ceramic or plastic pots should be used if the owner is unable to water daily during the heat of summer․
Rooftop and Vertical Options for Tight Urban Lots
Rooftop gardens are often popular in urban centers like Nashville‚ where flat commercial rooftops and residential rooftops can be used as gardens․ Winds and reflected heat from surrounding buildings also cause daytime rooftop temperatures (especially in summer) to be 10-15 degrees F hotter than those at street level․ Drought-tolerant natives and Mediterranean herbs handle these conditions well‚ but leafy greens tend to bolt quickly from radiant heat radiating off the walls․
Vining plants like cucumbers or pole beans can grow in trellises‚ wall-mounted planters‚ or stacked planters․ Vertical gardening is also possible if there is wall space available․ Drawbacks include that most vertical systems dry out more quickly than other planters‚ as all sides of the growing medium are exposed to air․ The best solution for most urban gardeners is a drip watering system with a timer․
Native Plants Solve Problems Imported Ornamentals Create
One thing the big gardening sites don’t explain: native Tennessee plants are dramatically better suited to urban container life than imported ornamentals․ Already adapted to our rainfall‚ humidity‚ and clay-heavy soil chemistry‚ TN native perennials and groundcovers are a step ahead‚ well-established in the ground much faster and needing much less maintenance than nursery-standard hybrids bred for uniform national markets․ Plants such as coral bells‚ native ferns‚ and ground hugging sedges thrive in balcony and skyline shade‚ while plants needing more light‚ such as annuals‚ cannot get enough sun when buildings block half of the day․
Then there are plenty of native ferns and shade-loving groundcovers that would be far more useful than tomatoes given four hours of dappled sunlight a day․ Urban lots are often surrounded by buildings and fences․ Compared with ornamental annual flowers‚ native shade-tolerant plants have the advantage of taking up space in the container‚ requiring little water and providing food and shelter for native pollinators․
Community gardens are scalable‚ filling gaps container gardening leaves
If your yard is too small‚ the community garden network in Tennessee has increased exponentially over the last 10 years․ More than 30 community garden sites are currently available through Metro Parks in Nashville․ A similar program in Knoxville‚ Chattanooga‚ Tennessee and Memphis uses land trusts and extension offices and rents plots for $25-75 a season․ Actual ground is often a necessity: some root vegetables‚ beans and some types of squash do not grow well when potted‚ despite the size of the pot․
Realistic Timelines for Urban Growers
One aspect that no article on urban gardening in Tennessee seems to mention is that it has a very short window for crops‚ since spring turns to summer almost immediately․ Lettuce and spinach must be planted in early March and harvested by the end of May․ Otherwise the temperatures exceed 85 F for days at a time‚ causing the leaves to bolt․ Transplant your warm season crops after your last frost date‚ but before the worst of the July heat‚ as transplant shock combined with 95 degree afternoons can kill seedlings quickly․
Perennials and natives are less fussy‚ and for most Tennessee perennials and shrubs‚ September through early November is actually a better time to plant․ Perennials and natives benefit from cooler temperatures in the fall‚ the regular supply of rainfall‚ and the opportunity to develop a deep root system before winter dormancy․
Getting Started This Season
Start smaller than you think you need to․ A 15-gallon container with a tomato plant and a few pots of herbs can tell you more about your light‚ watering‚ and microclimate than 10 pots could‚ without having to worry about running out of space for more plants in July․ Once you have been through a full season and know how your site behaves‚ you can make better choices regarding native perennials‚ small fruiting shrubs‚ or starting a vertical trellis system․
