“Portable raised garden beds for the urban square foot gardener.”

I don’t think I’ve ever written such a long blog title, but it works!

It’s exciting to be able to present some space efficient options for those of you who are short on yard space but big on dreams of growing your own food.

One of the most important characteristics of all the raised container gardens that I present here  is that they are portable. When you live in an apartment or town house it’s helpful to have gardens that you can move around so that you can use your patio or balcony more efficiently.

If you are entertaining and need more space for furniture, roll your gardens out of the way!

Temporarily, of course.

Let’s take a look at some  gardening options for apartment and small space gardeners.

1. The Home Allotment Planting Bags by Burgon & Ball

Don’t let the beautiful willow basket fool you! You won’t have soil bleeding through the wood slots because there is a “grow bag” inside the basket.

The planting bags come in three  and sizes for different plants: Herb Planting Bag, Salad Planting Bag, Vegetable Planting Bag & Potato Planting Bag. You guessed it, the potato planting bag is the deepest.

I recommend that these allotment planting bags be set on top of a 1 or 2″ inch layer of pea gravel to lift the bottom of the baskets away from standing water.

A less expensive alternative to this stylish system is to grow your vegetable directly in an open bag of soil or even a potato chip bag! Yes, you can even grow tomatoes with their deep root systems this way. The roots will spread laterally.

2. Self-Watering Stacking Planters by Nancy Jane

These sturdy stacking containers can be stacked up to 10-tiers high. That’s a lot of planting space and the system is self watering for extra appeal. Excess water from the top levels drain to lower levels where the water is caught in a removable tray.

I appreciate the rolling casters on these stacking planters so the garden can be moved around.

Vertical gardening is a smart approach when lateral space is at a minimum.

3. Eleanor’s Garden (“Just Add Water”) Raised Container Gardens

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What sets Eleanor’s Garden apart from the other two is this container garden comes with the soil and seeds!

The “gardener,” (and I use the term loosely), just has to water the instant vegetable garden.

Eleanor’s Garden is a complete, compact and portable garden kitchen that is delivered to your door. Anyone can assemble the garden bed in less than an hour and the proprietary drainage system lets you garden in a variety of locations.

If you are into  modern or contemporary design, the clean lines of Eleanor’s Garden may appeal to you.

Here is some more information on this instant garden as presented on their website:

The beds are made of durable, lightweight plastic and can be moved depending on the amount of sun your fruits, vegetables, herbs or flowers need.  Eleanor’s Garden Basic Kit comes complete with:

• 1 garden bed – 24” x 24” x 8″ that provides 4 square feet of gardening space
• 1 Quick-Start Guide – Instructions for quick and easy assembly
• Coconut Peat growing medium – No need to drag bags of soil home from the nursery
• 2 square foot dividers – Provide a total of 4 individual square feet of gardening space
• 4 packets of vegetable seeds – Plant a different vegetable in each of the 4 square feet
• 4 legs 8” – Makes raised bed gardening easy
• 1 drainage field mat – Made from non-woven 100% recycled plastic, the lightweight mat creates even, thorough drainage and allows oxygen to reach the vegetable roots.  No need for rocks!
• 1 drain outlet – Allows recycling of water. Collect the runoff and use it again for your next watering
• 1 watering cup – Makes it easy to water individual square foot sections as needed
• 1 drainage connector – Allows you to connect the drainage systems of separate boxes
• 3 drain plugs – Let you control which side of the box your water will drain. Great for balconies so you won’t flood your neighbors below

Eleanor’s Garden will be available for purchase in 2010 at independent garden centers across the USA.

This is a system that I like, not so much because of the ready to go soil and seed, but for  the design of the planter itself. The square foot grid appeals to me.

Everyone thank Mel Bartholomew, author of the “Square Foot Garden Book.” Mel invented the “square foot  gardening” system that allows one to plant in square foot grids to maximize crop yield.

Now the whole world is “square foot gardening!”

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