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.
Twenty-two chapters covering soil, seeds, hydroponics, water systems, pest control and preserving — written for people with a balcony, not a barn.
Coco coir, perlite and compost ratios that actually work in containers.
Grow lettuce with no pump, no electricity — just water and patience.
Run grow lights and pumps off a small panel and a power station.
Turn one square meter of wall into a full herb and greens wall.
A simple build that fits a kitchen window or a tight balcony corner.
Simple filtered collection systems that cut your watering costs.
Set it once, travel for a week, come home to thriving plants.
Beneficial insects and companion planting instead of sprays.
Potatoes, carrots and beets grown in fabric grow bags on a deck.
Turn a big harvest week into a pantry that lasts all winter.
Fermentation, drying and labeling so next year costs you nothing.
Rooftop swaps, seed libraries and building a neighborhood habit.
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 →
A short, honest list of the gear referenced in each chapter — the kind of things people ask about after reading.
3-tier, 4-shelf walk-up greenhouse with PE cover — for extending the season on a patio or balcony.
View on Amazon →Compact, wheeled greenhouse with clear PVC cover — sized for a windowsill, balcony corner or porch.
View on Amazon →8 planters + 24 growing sponges — the exact Kratky-style setup used in Chapter 6.
View on Amazon →Countertop kit with 24W LED grow light and 4L tank with quiet pump — no assembly of separate parts needed.
View on Amazon →6-layer tower with 10L tank and automatic watering — a step up from Kratky for a full pantry of greens.
View on Amazon →6-layer corner-friendly tower with a 63GPH pump and water-recycling diverter — built for balconies as well as indoors.
View on Amazon →Dimmable, with a 4/8/12/18H auto timer and adjustable height — for low-light windowsills and desks.
View on Amazon →Digital programmable timer — the battery-powered setup used for the unattended watering chapter.
View on Amazon →Quiet, reliable pump for anyone building their own DIY reservoir, tower or recirculating tank.
View on Amazon →Small solar generator kit — enough to run a grow light and a small pump off-grid.
View on Amazon →3-compartment heavy-duty grow bags — the style used for the potatoes, carrots and beets chapter.
View on Amazon →The tomato varieties shown in the seed-saving chapter, plus lettuce and herb packs suited to pots and hydroponic setups.
Cherry, Brandywine, Black Krim, San Marzano, Roma, Yellow Pear & more — the same varieties from the seed-saving chapter.
View on Amazon →Bibb, Romaine, Iceberg, Oakleaf & red leaf — bred for hydroponic and Kratky-style growing.
View on Amazon →Basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley & more — for the tiered herb stand chapter.
View on Amazon →The foundation from Chapter 1 — what actually goes in the container before anything gets planted.
Ready-to-use container mix with earthworm castings, bat guano and aged forest products.
View on Amazon →Lightens heavy mixes and improves drainage — the aeration layer used throughout the book.
View on Amazon →Pure, odor-free castings to feed containers naturally without synthetic fertilizer.
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