Apartment life does not preclude gardening. Many plants thrive in a small garden plot or container.  Flowers, small bushes, herbs and many vegetables will thrive in apartment gardens to beautify your outdoor living space or feed your family.

Each apartment for rent at the Barber Knolls Community in Barberton, Ohio includes space for a small garden. If you choose to use this space please let our staff know so that they don't over plant or weed an area you are cultivating. Because not all residents choose to garden, it's important that our staff know which plots are in their care and which are in the care of residents.  

We hope that these gardening tips will help you get started to create a garden that will bring joy and beauty to your home at Barber Knolls Apartments.

Types of Plants
            Annual: These are plants that live only one season in Ohio. They using die off with the first hard frost as we head into winter. If you plant annuals, you'll need to replant each spring
            Biennial: Biennial plants grow for two seasons. They are usually small the first year with no flowers. The second year they bloom and are much bigger and then, like annuals, they die with the first frost in late fall.
            Perennial: The easiest to care for long term are perennial plants. They will die back in winter then burst to life again in the spring. They do not get a hard woody stem so the garden can be cleaned up in the fall easily.  When you have the right perennial for your garden, all you have to do is a little weeding.


Companion Plants
            Some plants do well together and others don't. By checking gardening lists to learn which plants compliment one another, you can increase the odds of a successful garden.  You can learn more about companion plants at The Southern Great Lakes Gardener or the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.


Herb Gardens
            Herbs are most often used for seasoning in cooking. Fresh herbs are much more flavorful than the dried herbs you can buy at the grocery and once you start cooking with fresh herbs, you'll be hooked forever. Not only does it save a lot of
money to grow your own, the difference in flavor is astounding.
             Herbs that are easy to grow from seed include sweet basil (deer resistant), chives (hardy perennial, deer resistant), sweet marjoram (annual), mint (hardy perennial), sage (hardy perennial), summer savory (annual), sesame, and thyme (hardy perennial).
            Ohio State University has an article about how to grow your own garlic (deer resistant). Here's a tutorial on growing basil that shows how very easy it is to have fresh basil (deer resistant) in your garden. There are over 40 varieties of basil. It comes in several colors and many interesting fragrances like lemon, anise and cinnamon. It's said to have some healing properties as well. Cooking with basil offers many options and it is easily grown inside or frozen for later use. 

Flowers
        Flowers can brighten any space and whether your garden is in full sun or full shade, there are plants that will delight gardeners, new and old. Be sure to read the seed packet or instructions before you purchase seeds or plants to be sure the light in your garden will support the plants you want to grow. Remember, perennial plants are the gift that keeps giving, they'll come back every year with little encouragement.



Shade Loving Perennials
    Astilbe
    Hosta (there's a lot of hosta around Barber Knolls, blooms late summer)
    Crested Iris (shade tolerant, also grows in sun, with extra watering)
    Lady's Mantle
    Viola (tiny flowers in spring, some in fall as well, this is a cool weather plant)
    Bleeding Heart (comes in both pink and white, spring blooming)
    Coral Bells
    Lily of the Valley
Shade Loving Annuals
    Impatiens (can be difficult to start from seed but easy from flats, great in containers)
    Begonia
    Nicotaina (some are fragrant only at night, attracts hummingbirds)
    Viola
Sun Loving Perennials
    Iris
    Daisies
    Black Eyed Susans   
    Coneflower (pink and white, easy to start from seed)
    Yarrow
    Tulips (deer love them)   
    Daffodils (deer resistant)
    Bee Balm ( a member of the mint family, attracts hummingbirds and butterflies, deer resistant)
    Day Lilies
    Stella d'Oro lilies
    Mint
Sun Loving Annuals
    Marigolds
    Zinnias (great as cut flowers)
    Straw flower (great as cut flower or dried flowers, reseed themselves fairly well)
    Alyssum (often reseeds itself for the next season)
    Petunia    (easiest to start with nursery plants)
    Nasturtium (loves poor soil, blossoms and leaves can be used like herbs, deer resistant)
       
Vegetables: Tomatoes, Beans, Peas, Peppers, Lettuce

Tomatoes
        There are two basic types of tomato plants, determinates and indeterminates. Determinates are typically small plants with vines that stop growing and they often produce fruit earlier in the season than indeterminates. Indeterminates  keep growing and increasing in size throughout their growing season and they'll need a cage or trellis for support. Determinates are perfect for a small space or container. If you are planting in the ground you'll have room for indeterminates.
        Tomatoes take a long time to mature and are a warm season plant. You can start from seed inside but it's very easy to buy small plants from a nursery or the local grocer to get started in your garden. Be sure to choose a starter tomato plant that has green healthy leaves and avoid those with yellowing on them.  Choose plants that aren't pushing their roots out the drain holes of the pot yet. Tomatoes don't like to be pot bound and you want one that isn't stressed yet.
        If you start tomatoes from seed (indoors) the best time is usually March. If you plant them in little paper cups of dirt you'll be ready to plant later by simply slitting the paper cup down one side to allow water in and roots out. Then plant the paper cup and the plant so that you don't disturb the roots.
        Near the end of the Ohio growing season, you can pot up a stocky, healthy tomato plant into a well drained pot and keep it in a south window. Chances are pretty good that  you'll have fresh tomatoes all winter. If you don't have a plant that's a good size to pot up, cut a healthy, flowering branch from one of your plants and place it in water for a week to 10 days. It should root. When the roots appear, pot it up gently and set it in a sunny area.
        For more on growing tomatoes, visit Tomato Gardening Tips.  
       
Leaf lettuce, romaine, butterhead and crisphead lettuce
    Lettuce is surprisingly easy to grow. Most varieties can be planted as soon in the spring as the soil is dry enough to rake. Plant successive plantings about 2 weeks apart to extend your harvest. Lettuce likes coolness, so planting in an area that gets some shade will help lettuce survive very hot summer days. If you don't have a semi-shady area, find a heat tolerant varieties (usually the leaf lettuce). Leaf lettuce is easier to grow than head lettuce.
       
Peppers: sweet bell peppers, banana, cherry, Jalapeno. Habeneros
        Peppers are difficult to start from seed so novices are advised to begin with nursery plants. You can often find starts at your local grocery or hardware store at the right time for planing in Ohio.
         All varieties of peppers require full sun. They like hot weather and moist but not wet soil. Growing peppers isn't too difficult and the with the results you can enchance salads or make your own hot salsa. Just be careful you don't plant sweet peppers too close to hot peppers.

Snap beans, French beans, wax beans, snow peas, sugar peas
    In Ohio, peas planted in early spring can be ready to eat by June 10. Snap beans planted in May or June can be harvested by late June and can produce beans through mid-October.  Seeds are often planted a few at a time, spacing a week or so apart to lengthen the harvest time. Ohio Extension Services has a helpful article about growing these healthy vegetables.

Container Gardens
            Containers are a great way to garden if you want to be able to move your plants, plan to bring them in during the winter or need to keep them away from critters. Ohio State University has recommendations for growing cucumbers, peppers, squash and tomatoes in container gardens. It's easier than you'd imagine! It's more work getting started that a traditional, "in the dirt" garden but the results are still pleasing.

Controlling deer and rabbits
    Visit the University of Minnesota site for a list of plants that discourage deer and rabbits(often eats the same plants as deer).  Also see Deer Proof Garden for a more options. Possibly the easiest control for deer is the use of Milorganite, which is a fertilizer. With one product you can fertilize your garden and repel deer.