If you love the flavor of homegrown fruits and veggies but think you don’t have enough space to grow them, think again! Even if you garden in a small space, like a balcony or patio, new compact cultivars of your favorite edibles make growing food a breeze in any space. Some of the newer introductions even grow well inside on a sunny windowsill or on a tabletop. The key is to find a cultivar with “dwarf,” “compact,” or “mini” in its name.
While indeterminate tomatoes can reach more than 7 feet tall, new introductions designed with the small-space gardener in mind let you enjoy sweet summer fruit in a small patch of sunlight. The “Kitchen Minis” series of tomatoes, as well as sweet and hot peppers, include plants that reach only 1 to 2 feet tall, while still producing big harvests. Dwarf ‘Fairy Tale’ eggplant grows beautifully in a patio pot, reaching only 2.5 feet tall and producing pretty lavender and white striped fruit. Or, if you crave delicious homegrown berries, try compact plants like the Bushel and Berry® Collection, which includes blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries for container gardening.
No matter where you garden, compact plant varieties give you lots of options for homegrown goodies. Choose a pretty container with drainage holes from your favorite garden center, fill it with Master Nursery® Bumper Crop® Potting Soil [Eastern & Midwestern Regions | Western Region], add your compact edible plants, water well, and you’ve created a mini-homestead on your balcony or windowsill! Don’t forget to feed your plants with Master Nursery® Bumper Crop® Tomato and Vegetable Food to keep the plants growing and blooming all season long.
Of course, if you have a small backyard with space for a raised bed, you can fill it with a diverse planting of dwarf edible plants for a terrific homegrown harvest. Give your plants a great start with Master Nursery® Bumper Crop® Soil Builder [Eastern & Midwestern Regions only] for filling raised beds.
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