Hello garden gals and guys! This blog post is dedicated to all my readers out there that think they don’t have enough space to grow their own food. Have you ever heard of patio farming? I know people grow things on their patios all the time, but I’ve never heard it called this before. That’s how this lovely veggie farmer caught my eye. She hipped me to the term. I LOVE that!!

Our happy patio farmer. Photo, courtesy of Amithyst Conway

Meet Amithyst Conway, a patio farmer in Stillwater, Oklahoma. I ran into her in one of the vegetable forums that I peruse on a regular basis. I was so impressed with her, I just had to ask her for an interview…and she agreed! So, let’s get right to it, shall we?

How and why did you get into gardening?

My sweet Grandma always had tomato or sweet pepper plants while I was growing up, and started me out when I was young.  I would attempt a few plants every  year, however, this year is the first year I’ve had my balcony/patio and had enough room for as many as I’d like.

Where do you grow and how big is your garden?

I currently grow on my balcony, in a tiny one bedroom apartment with over 78 plants and counting. One-third of these are flowers like gladiolus, sunflowers, morning glory, marigolds, and amaranth, and the other two-thirds range from spicy peppers to the sweetest blueberries and varieties of tomatoes.

What is your favorite thing thing to grow?

My favorite thing to grow is strawberries and tomatoes. I have four different varieties of strawberries

Amithyst’s patio farm. Photo, courtesy Amithyst Conway.

and SIX varieties of tomatoes.

What’s one of the biggest challenges you face in gardening?

The biggest challenge I face with gardening is definitely space. While there is room for the plants, there isn’t always quite enough room for me.

Why do you think it is important to grow your own food?

It’s important to grow your own food because it’s a direct connection with the Earth. You’re put on this world to educate, create, love, and survive. Growing plants is a little bit of all of that.

(I love this. Amithyst just summarized why I love to grow things!)

What advice do you have for new gardeners?

Grow big or go home! Don’t ever withhold yourself from trying out a new type of plant to grow. They all help you learn something along the way.

(Ahhh another great garden nugget to keep in mind!)

Here are a few more shots of Amithyst’s patio farm:

Photo, courtesy Amithyst Conway.

Photo, courtesy Amithyst Conway.

Isn’t it beautiful? Nothing makes me smile more than seeing people growing things. I can’t wait for it to get warm enough here so that I can get out there and get to growing!

So there you have it garden gals and guys. Amithyst proves that you don’t need a lot of space to grow your own food. You don’t even need a yard. She truly exemplifies the phrase “bloom where you are planted.”

If that doesn’t convince you to get out and grow even just one thing this year, nothing will.

Until next time garden gals and guys……

Happy farming!