Grow real food,
right where you live.
A practical, step-by-step guide to growing your own safe food at home — from a single windowsill pot to a full balcony hydroponic system. No farm required.
Available on Amazon — part of the Urban Greenhouse series.
Every chapter, grounded in something you can actually do this weekend.
Twenty-two chapters covering soil, seeds, hydroponics, water systems, pest control and preserving — written for people with a balcony, not a barn.
Building living soil
Coco coir, perlite and compost ratios that actually work in containers.
The Kratky method
Grow lettuce with no pump, no electricity — just water and patience.
Solar-powered systems
Run grow lights and pumps off a small panel and a power station.
Vertical & pallet gardens
Turn one square meter of wall into a full herb and greens wall.
The tiered herb stand
A simple build that fits a kitchen window or a tight balcony corner.
Rainwater harvesting
Simple filtered collection systems that cut your watering costs.
Drip irrigation on a timer
Set it once, travel for a week, come home to thriving plants.
Natural pest management
Beneficial insects and companion planting instead of sprays.
Root vegetables in bags
Potatoes, carrots and beets grown in fabric grow bags on a deck.
Dehydrating & canning
Turn a big harvest week into a pantry that lasts all winter.
Saving heirloom seeds
Fermentation, drying and labeling so next year costs you nothing.
Sharing the surplus
Rooftop swaps, seed libraries and building a neighborhood habit.
Written by someone who actually grows this stuff.
Davide Dante Sala is an Italian expat writer and consultant who has lived in Panama City since 2018. After years of helping fellow expats navigate relocation through his consulting work and the Urban Greenhouse and New Chapter Abroad guide series, he started digging into food self-sufficiency — growing what he could in small rented spaces, from a first windowsill herb pot to a full balcony hydroponic setup. This book is the practical record of what actually worked.
Read the full author bio →
Choose gear for your growing space
Compare greenhouses, hydroponic systems and grow lights by the space and care they need.
Tools mentioned in the book
A short, honest list of the gear referenced in each chapter — the kind of things people ask about after reading.
Greenhouses for balconies & windowsills
WORKPRO 4-Tier Mini Greenhouse
Four-tier covered shelving, approximately 27 × 19 × 63 inches. Measure your space and provide secure anchoring and ventilation.
View on Amazon →Pure Garden 4-Tier Mini Greenhouse
Compact, wheeled greenhouse with clear PVC cover — check its footprint and shelf clearance against your balcony or porch.
View on Amazon →Systems, from Kratky jars to towers
Kiicii Kratky Method Planter Kit
8 planters + 24 growing sponges — compare included parts before starting a small passive hydroponic setup.
View on Amazon →SUNCOZE 12-Pod Hydroponic Growing System
Countertop kit with 24W LED grow light and 4L tank with quiet pump — no assembly of separate parts needed.
View on Amazon →Vertical Hydroponic Garden Tower (30-Plant)
6-layer tower with 10L tank and automatic watering — compare cleaning access, pump support and lighting before scaling up.
Compare towers on Amazon (search) →KUCKGO Vertical Hydroponic Tower (30-Pod)
6-layer corner-friendly tower with a 63GPH pump and water-recycling diverter — built for balconies as well as indoors.
Compare towers on Amazon (search) →Grow lights
Dual-Head Gooseneck Full-Spectrum LED Grow Light
Dimmable, with a 4/8/12/18H auto timer and adjustable height — for low-light windowsills and desks.
View on Amazon →Everything else in the setup
Automatic drip irrigation kits
Compare automatic watering kits by power supply, reservoir requirements and tubing compatibility.
Compare Automatic drip irrigation kits on Amazon (search results) →VIVOSUN 800GPH Submersible Pump
Compare flow at your required lift height before choosing this pump for a DIY reservoir or recirculating system.
View on Amazon →Portable power: compare capacity
Compare battery capacity, output rating and daily energy demand before pairing a power station with lights or pumps.
Compare Portable power: compare capacity on Amazon (search results) →Auroal 15-Gallon Fabric Grow Bags (2-Pack)
3-compartment heavy-duty grow bags — the style used for the potatoes, carrots and beets chapter.
View on Amazon →Seeds for the varieties in the book
Compare tomato, lettuce and herb varieties for containers and hydroponic setups. Read the current listing to confirm varieties and sowing instructions.
Heirloom tomato seed packs
Compare tomato seed varieties for the season, container size and sunlight you can provide.
Compare Heirloom tomato seed packs on Amazon (search results) →Lettuce seed variety packs
Bibb, Romaine, Iceberg, Oakleaf & red leaf — compare varieties and growing requirements for your container or hydroponic setup.
Compare Lettuce seed variety packs on Amazon (search results) →Culinary Herb Seeds, 18-Variety Pack
Basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley & more — for the tiered herb stand chapter.
View on Amazon →Potting mix, perlite & compost
The foundation from Chapter 1 — what actually goes in the container before anything gets planted.
FoxFarm Ocean Forest Potting Soil
Ready-to-use container mix with earthworm castings, bat guano and aged forest products.
View on Amazon →Gardenera Organic Perlite (4qt)
Lightens heavy mixes and improves drainage — the aeration layer used throughout the book.
View on Amazon →Espoma Organic Earthworm Castings
Pure, odor-free castings to feed containers naturally without synthetic fertilizer.
View on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases made through the links above, at no extra cost to you. Product images shown are illustrative and represent the topics covered in the book, not the linked product's actual packaging.