The Small Space Raised Garden

We're quickly running out of space on our own balcony; it's getting cramped with little pots that look almost like (egads!) clutter. Plus, in a freak sweeping accident over the weekend one of our prized pots got knocked over and broke to bits. In mourning the loss, we found this alternative to the tiny pot filled balcony-- a modern and elegant planting bed on legs for growing a little garden:

This planting bed is at the Casa Camper in Barcelona and is used for planting herbs and small vegetables for the hotel's chef. A raised bed offers more planting space than a series of pots and is easier to water (and weed) since it's up higher and doesn't require bending over. We might not be able to make something quite this elegant, but building a plain box and adding legs shouldn't be all too difficult for a weekend project. Just remember when you plant to put pants together that like the same amount of water and sun.

Image via Hordedog.

Comments (9)

Thanks - I bookmarked this and will check out the related posts as well. I have decided that this was the year my tiny, drab concrete balcony is getting a makeover :)

posted by Emmanuelle on April 27th 2009 at 8:07pm
view Emmanuelle's profile

love these but SO not practical...that little planting medium and that many plants would need irrigation or watering like 3x a day at least, even in a MN summer.

posted by splatgirl on April 27th 2009 at 10:13pm
view splatgirl's profile

After I read this post, I went to craigslist and saw these vintage wash tubs for sale:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/clt/1141649756.html

Seems to me like they might do the trick for some people, though they're too wide for my narrow little walkway.

posted by sandra_m on April 27th 2009 at 11:13pm
view sandra_m's profile

Interestingly, there is an organization that makes beds like these so that people with disabilities and people who just have a hard time bending over for ground beds can also garden :)

posted by caiti on April 27th 2009 at 11:27pm
view caiti's profile

Here is a "salad table" for growing different greens...maybe a similar set up for your balcony. Does require a ton of water, though. Also, look into "earth boxes".

posted by witchwonspink on April 28th 2009 at 7:28am
view witchwonspink's profile

oops. Here is the salad table link:

http://www.cultivatinglife.com/100.html

posted by witchwonspink on April 28th 2009 at 7:29am
view witchwonspink's profile

That Salad Table is really cool..and you can adjust to whatever size you need. I'm thinking an L-shape for my balcony would be really cool.

posted by elai1231 on April 28th 2009 at 8:12am
view elai1231's profile

love the look of this but if it was built to be self watering it would be amazing, with even a 5" deep reservoir under the plant area they could stay watered for awhile. I started using self watering containers on my balcony last year and it went great. Won't use anything else now.

posted by jmorey on April 28th 2009 at 11:06am
view jmorey's profile

My father actually built a series of these in our backyard when I was younger, as all the ChemLawn pesticides that had been sprayed reduced our yard to a chemical mess. We grew tomatoes, radishes, carrots, and a host of other vegetables. Since the boxes are raised, there were no problems with back pain, or weeds, or rabbit pests. I dream of having a backyard or deck where I can have one of these!

posted by petrokat on April 29th 2009 at 12:00am
view petrokat's profile