Small Space Gardening: Containers, Growbags, and Compact Bed Gardens

Garden spaces come in all sizes. But there are some unique challenges and opportunities for those with smaller spaces. In this presentation we will discuss gardening in containers, grow bags, and compact garden beds as well as the soil and nutrient considerations, sunlight, watering, and varieties recommended for smaller garden spaces. This workshop is targeted for those who have balconies or are a renter who needs to have a portable garden but is also useful to those who have larger spaces but are looking to supplement by adding smaller growing spaces. 

Melissa Kruse-Peeples is a Master Gardener with the Maricopa County Master Gardeners program, a Program Coordinator for ASU Garden Commons at the Polytechnic Campus, and owns The Desert Smells Like Veggies offering locally saved seeds and plant starts. She has co-authored the regional guide Saving Seeds in the Southwest: Techniques for Seed Stewardship in Aridlands  and is a co-founder of the Phoenix Seed Swap, a local gardener meetup with events around The Valley. Melissa has a PhD in Anthropology from Arizona State University where she investigated the sustainability of ancient farming practices in the Southwest including how farmers maximized monsoon rainfall. Her motto is that your garden and your seed stash can never be too large as there will always be people to share it with.