About this module
This module trains you to grow vegetables where there is little or no land: on walls, verandas, rooftops and small compounds. You learn by doing: you build and look after your own small-space garden, and every unit ends with a practical task and homework.
Who it is for. Beginners with no formal certificate. The level is National Proficiency I, where a trainee does routine tasks under close supervision. It fits CTVET's occupations for vegetable growers and gardeners.
This is not an accredited CTVET programme. No CTVET or NVTI standard for urban, vertical or container gardening was found. Agricultural standards at National Proficiency I exist only for some fruit value chains. This module follows CTVET's published format only.
How the module works
Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent by being watched at work, answering questions, and showing your logbook. About 70% of the time is practical, following CTVET's Oil Palm programme, which uses about 30% in school and 70% at the workplace.
Unit 1 · Work safely
Small gardens are safe if you choose clean containers, hang them securely, and don't let them breed mosquitoes.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 1.1 Choose safe containers | rejects containers that held chemicals, fuel or pesticides |
| 1.2 Hang safely | checks hooks, cords and walls can hold a wet container |
| 1.3 Stop mosquitoes | empties standing water weekly; covers water stores |
| 1.4 Keep food clean | keeps gardens away from drains and latrines; washes hands and produce |
Range. Bottles, buckets, sacks, tyres; walls, verandas, frames. Evidence. Observation; oral questions.
Safe containers
Never use containers that held anything toxic to plants or people. Food-grade buckets, such as those from bakeries, are probably the safest; buckets not made for outdoor use become brittle in the sun.
Weight
Wet garden soil weighs about 1.6–2 kg a litre. So a 2-litre bottle of wet soil weighs about 3–4 kg, and a 20-litre bucket 30–40 kg (calculated). Hang only light containers, on strong cord, from a sound wall or frame. Put heavy ones on the ground.
Mosquitoes
Once a week, empty and scrub, turn over or cover anything that holds water: tyres, buckets, saucers. Cover water stores tightly. Mosquito eggs stick to container walls and survive drying for months. Tyre gardens and water reservoirs need special care.
Clean food
- Keep gardens away from drains, latrines and roads: in a Nairobi study, many sack gardens sat beside open sewage ditches or latrines.
- Vegetables grown with dirty water in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale carried germs and worm eggs above safe limits.
- Wash hands after handling compost, manure or urine. Wash vegetables before eating: vinegar wash worked better than salt in a KNUST study.
Safe or not?
Your trainer shows eight containers and places. Say safe or not, and why.
Safety check
- Inspect containers brought in by the class; set aside any that held chemicals.
- Test a hook and cord with a 5 kg weight before hanging anything.
- Walk the training area and empty or cover anything holding water.
- Record findings in your logbook.
Mosquito hunt
At home, find every container holding water around the house. Empty, cover or turn them over. Write what you found.
Unit 2 · Why grow in small spaces
Land in our towns is scarce and costly, and vegetables are expensive. A small garden puts fresh, clean food on the table.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 2.1 Explain the need | gives two reasons to grow food in small spaces |
| 2.2 Plan a space | measures a wall or veranda and counts sun hours |
Range. Homes, compounds, schools, rooftops. Evidence. Space plan in the logbook.
Food in Ghana's towns
About a quarter of urban households in Ghana grow vegetables. In Accra, about 80,000 tiny backyards grow food. Land is scarce and costly, and urban farmers often lose their plots when owners build.
In Sekondi-Takoradi, vegetable growers have watered crops from polluted drains. Clean home-grown vegetables in containers fill a real gap.
People want it. A University of Ghana study found strong interest in vertical gardens in Accra, especially among young people in flats, because vegetables are expensive and hard to get fresh. WorldVeg has trained farmers in Berekum and Akumadan in sack gardening.
Sun
Fruiting crops (tomato, pepper) need at least 5 hours of direct sun, better 8–10; leafy crops can manage with some shade.
Plan a space
- Choose a wall, veranda or corner at the training centre.
- Measure it and draw it.
- Check it at 9 am, noon and 3 pm: is it in sun or shade? Count the sunny hours.
- Mark where fruiting crops and leafy crops would go.
Space at home
Do the same for a space at your home. How many hours of sun does it get?
Unit 3 · Build small-space gardens
Five gardens, from almost free materials. Each suits a different space.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 3.1 Build a sack garden | builds a sack with a stone column and planting holes |
| 3.2 Build container gardens | makes bottle, bucket and tyre gardens with drainage |
| 3.3 Build a keyhole garden | builds a keyhole bed with a compost basket (group task) |
Range. Sacks, bottles, buckets, tyres, bricks or stones. Evidence. Finished gardens; observation.
FAO micro-gardens
FAO's standard micro-garden is a 1 m² table made from recycled wood lined with plastic; old tyres, half-drums, buckets, sleeves, bottles and crates all work. It needs little physical effort, so it suits women, men, children, older people and people with disabilities.
Sack garden
From GIZ's step-by-step guide:
- Fold the top of the sack down.
- Mix 2 shovels of manure with 4 of topsoil.
- Put a little mix in the bottom, then stand a pipe or cut bottle upright in the centre.
- Fill soil around the pipe while filling the pipe with small stones; then lift the pipe out (or leave a perforated one).
- Pour water into the stones: they carry it down through the sack.
- Plant 25 cm apart on top and in slits in the sides.
- Mulch the top.
A sack holds 20–40 plants in the space a few plants used to take.
Keyhole garden
A round bed 1.8–2.4 m across and 60–90 cm high, with a gap so you can reach a compost basket in the middle. Fill it in layers of sticks, leaves, cardboard, manure and topsoil, and water through the basket.
Bottle, bucket and tyre gardens
- Every container needs drainage holes: about 6 mm, in the base or low on the sides.
- Use bottles for herbs and small greens, buckets for tomato and pepper, tyres for leafy greens. In tyres, keep the soil level so no rainwater lies in the rim (Unit 1).
- Bottle drip: a bottle with a small hole near the bottom, buried beside a plant, waters it slowly; a 3 mm hole worked best in a Nigerian trial.
Which garden where?
For each space, choose the best garden and say why: (1) a sunny wall 2 m wide; (2) a small, sunny, dusty yard; (3) a shaded veranda; (4) a school with lots of kitchen waste.
Build your gardens
- In pairs, build one sack garden following the steps.
- Each make one bottle garden and one bucket garden with drainage holes.
- As a class, build one keyhole garden (or one tyre garden if space is short).
- Photograph or sketch each, with measurements.
Collect materials
Collect two clean food-grade containers and one sack from home or neighbours for your home garden.
Unit 4 · Mix the growing media
Plain garden soil packs hard in containers and drowns roots. A good mix drains and feeds.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 4.1 Mix media | mixes soil, compost and a light material in the right parts |
| 4.2 Choose container size | matches container size to the crop |
Range. Topsoil, compost, manure, sand, rice husk, palm fibre, cocopeat. Evidence. Mixed media; container-size sums.
Why not plain soil?
Garden soil alone holds too much water and starves roots of air, and can carry harmful worms (nematodes).
Mixes that work
| Mix | Source |
|---|---|
| Topsoil 2 : manure 1 (sacks) | GIZ Sack Garden |
| Equal parts compost, clean soil, and a light material (sand, perlite) | Texas A&M Containers |
| Light alluvial soil, or rice hulls, coconut fibre, sawdust, plus compost from kitchen waste | FAO Micro-garden Concept |
Ghana trial: for tomato in grow bags, carbonised rice husk gave the best growth, palm fibre the highest yield and profit, and 10-litre bags the highest yield.
Stones at the bottom of a pot? Texas A&M says about 2–3 cm of coarse gravel improves drainage. Some gardeners say it makes drainage worse. A 2025 study found a drainage layer is very unlikely to make a pot wetter, and coarse sand worked best. A layer does no harm; what matters more is good holes and not using plain garden soil.
Container size
| Crop | Minimum container | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tomato, eggplant | about 19 L (5 gallons), 1 plant | Texas A&M Containers |
| Pepper | about 19 L, 1–2 plants | Texas A&M Containers |
| Lettuce | about 4 L, 2 plants | Texas A&M Containers |
| Spring onion | about 4 L, 3–5 plants | Texas A&M Containers |
How big for tomato? Texas A&M says about 19 litres. Maryland Extension says at least 30–38 litres, 30–40 cm deep. The Ghana grow-bag trial got the most tomatoes from 10-litre bags of palm fibre. A 20-litre bucket is a safe choice.
Replace or compost container media at least once a year.
Mix and fill
- Mix a batch of each recipe in the table; label them.
- Squeeze a handful of each when moist: does it crumble (good) or stay a sticky ball (too heavy)?
- Fill your Unit 3 containers.
- Record which mix went where.
Find light materials
Find out where you can get rice husk, palm fibre or sawdust near you, and what it costs.
Unit 5 · Sow and grow
Choose crops that grow fast in small spaces, and sow them right.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 5.1 Choose crops | picks crops suited to the container and the sun |
| 5.2 Sow and transplant | sows at the right depth; thins and transplants seedlings |
Range. Amaranth, lettuce, spring onion, pepper, tomato, okra, herbs. Evidence. Sowing record; healthy plants.
Good crops for small spaces
FAO lists lettuce, cabbage, amaranth, jute, roselle, spinach, coriander, basil, mint, green onion, tomato, eggplant and pepper. WorldVeg's Ghana sack trials grew cucumber, lettuce, okra, amaranth, pepper and tomato.
| Crop | Seed to harvest (days) | Sun | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amaranth (aleefu) | 20–45 | Full sun | WorldVeg Amaranth |
| Leaf lettuce | 45–60 | Some shade OK | Texas A&M Containers |
| Spring onion | 80–100 | Some shade OK | Texas A&M Containers |
| Tomato | 90–130 | Full sun | Texas A&M Containers |
| Pepper | 90–120 | Full sun | Texas A&M Containers |
Amaranth is the quickest: thin to 10–15 cm apart at about 3 weeks, then cut half the leaves every 4–5 weeks for up to 4 months. Lettuce runs to seed in strong heat; light shade cloth helps.
Kontomire (cocoyam leaves) is a large, slow crop: picking leaves before about 23 weeks lowers the cocoyam yield. Grow it in a big tyre or keyhole garden, not a bottle or sack.
Sow your gardens
- Sow amaranth and lettuce in your sack and tyre; spring onion and herbs in bottles.
- Transplant a tomato or pepper seedling into your bucket.
- Label each container with crop and date.
- Thin seedlings when they have 3–4 true leaves.
- Record sowing and thinning dates.
Seed prices
Find the price of a packet of amaranth, lettuce and tomato seed near you.
Unit 6 · Water, feed and protect
Containers dry out fast and run out of food. Check every day, feed regularly, and keep pests away without poisons.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 6.1 Water | checks moisture daily and waters correctly |
| 6.2 Feed | applies compost, liquid feed or diluted urine safely |
| 6.3 Protect | spots pests and problems; uses neem and soap sprays correctly |
Range. All small-space gardens. Evidence. Care record; observation.
Water
Check containers at least once a day, twice on hot or windy days. Water when the soil is dry at finger depth, until water drains out; small containers dry fastest. Don't wet the leaves. Mulch the top with straw or grass to save water.
Feed
- Use soluble fertiliser at the label rate every 2–3 weeks; never more than the label says.
- Compost tea can carry many germs: pour it on the soil, never on leaves you will eat.
- Urine is a free fertiliser if handled safely: store it at least a month, mix 3 parts water to 1 part urine, pour on the soil (never on plants), and stop one month before harvest.
Pests: safe sprays
- Neem seed spray (tested in Ghana): remove the pulp, pound the kernels, soak in water overnight, strain through cloth, and use 50 g per litre.
- Neem oil: 50 ml oil with 10 ml liquid soap in 10 litres of water.
- Soap sprays control aphids, whiteflies and mites; the spray must cover the pests, and may need repeating. Don't spray oils above 32 °C or on thirsty plants, so spray early morning or evening.
Read the plant
| Sign | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Tall, weak plants | Too little light or too much nitrogen |
| Leaves yellow from the bottom | Overwatering or too little food |
| Wilting though wet | Poor drainage |
| Leaf edges burnt | Salt build-up: flush with plain water |
From Texas A&M Containers.
How strong a neem spray? The Ghana trial used 50 g of pounded neem kernel per litre. Other guides suggest 25 g of shelled kernels or 50 g of whole seeds per litre. Start at the Ghana rate and watch the plants.
Diagnose
(1) Your bucket tomato is tall and thin and has no flowers. (2) The lettuce in the bottle is yellow at the bottom and the soil is soggy. (3) There are tiny insects under the amaranth leaves.
Care routine
- Every day, check and water your gardens; record it.
- Every two weeks, feed with compost or a diluted liquid feed; record it.
- Make a neem spray with your trainer and use it on any pests.
- Each week, check for pests and problems and record what you did.
Collect neem
Collect a cupful of neem seeds near your home, dry them, and bring them in.
Unit 7 · Harvest, eat and sell
A small garden feeds a family and can earn a little. Records show how much.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 7.1 Harvest | harvests leaves and fruit without harming the plant |
| 7.2 Record | weighs and records each harvest |
| 7.3 Use and sell | works out home use, sales and savings |
Range. Leafy greens, herbs, tomatoes, peppers. Evidence. Harvest record; savings sum.
How much
FAO reports that 1 m² of micro-garden can give up to 36 lettuces every 60 days, or 10 kg of tomatoes twice a year, and up to 10 kg of leafy vegetables a year. FAO and WHO advise eating at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables a day.
Use and sell
Micro-gardeners typically eat 30–40% and sell 60–70%, and 10 m² can earn about US$0.50–1 a day. In Nairobi, sack gardens saved food money more than they earned, and most sales went to friends and family. In Kumasi, most home gardeners grew food to cut their food spending.
Savings sum
Your garden gives 1 kg of amaranth a week. At the market, amaranth costs GH¢15 a kg. (1) How much do you save in a month (4 weeks)? (2) If you eat half and sell half at GH¢12 a kg, what do you earn and save?
Harvest days
- Harvest amaranth by cutting about half the leaves; pick lettuce leaves from the outside.
- Weigh and record each harvest.
- Wash produce with clean water (and vinegar if available).
- Agree with your trainer which share goes home and which is sold; record sales.
Start at home
Set up at least one small garden at home. Record what you planted and send a photo or drawing to your trainer after 4 weeks.
Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Competent / Not Yet Competent | The two possible results of a CBT assessment |
| Container garden | Growing plants in pots, buckets, bottles or sacks |
| Drainage holes | Holes that let extra water out |
| Growing media | The mix plants grow in, instead of plain soil |
| Keyhole garden | A round raised bed with a compost basket in the middle |
| Micro-garden | FAO's name for a small, intensive garden of about 1 m² |
| Mulch | A cover of straw or grass on the soil to save water |
| Neem | A tree whose seeds make a natural pest spray |
| Sack garden | Vegetables grown on the top and sides of a filled sack |
Logbook
Copy these pages into an exercise book. Your logbook is part of your assessment evidence.
- Unit 1: container safety check; mosquito check
- Unit 2: space plan with sun hours
- Unit 3: gardens built, with sketches
- Unit 4: media mixes and where they went
- Unit 5: sowing and thinning record
- Unit 6: daily watering; feeding; pest record
- Unit 7: harvest weights; sales and savings
- Every homework, dated
Self-check quiz
- Which containers must you never use?
- Why hang only light containers?
- How do you stop mosquitoes breeding in your garden?
- Why not use plain garden soil in containers?
- What is a sack garden's stone column for?
- How many hours of sun do tomatoes need?
- Which crop is quickest to harvest?
- How often should you check containers in hot weather?
- How do you use urine safely as fertiliser?
- How do you make the Ghana neem spray?
- When should you spray soap or oil?
- How much fruit and vegetables should a person eat a day?
Further reading and sources
Best next reads: FAO's integrated micro-garden concept; GIZ's sack-garden guide; the Texas A&M guide to vegetable gardening in containers.
What this module does not cover: hydroponics, greenhouses, large rooftop installations, wall-fixing engineering, and greywater systems.
Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.