The size of your garden does not need to limit you nearly as much as you may think! Personally I have very limited garden space (currently!!) and have been honestly shocked at how much can grow in tiny spaces. Don’t let Pinterest fool you into thinking you need a full acre garden to grow veggies, fruits, and herbs for you and your family.
So today we are going to chat about what you can do to grow even more when you have a small garden space to work with. Let’s get right into it!
How To Grow Even More In A Small Garden
What you can do to grow more in your garden space:
1. Go Vertical
Trellises and Arbors: Utilize vertical space by growing climbing plants like beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes on trellises, arbors, or fences. This way you are actually using less ground space because the roots take up a lot less room than the actual veggies.
Hanging Baskets: Use hanging baskets for plants like strawberries, herbs, or even herbs to free up ground space. You will be amazed how much you can grow in hanging baskets. Also, you can hang them over a fence or patio railing.
2. Choose Compact Varieties
Miniature Vegetables: Grow mini versions of vegetables like baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, and mini peppers. If you look online for seeds you can find a ton of miniature varieties of common and uncommon veggies.
3. Square Foot Gardening
Grid Layout: Divide your garden into a grid of square feet and plant each square with a different crop to maximize space and variety. Take a .05 overhead picture of your garden space to help you plan it out better before you actually start planting.
4. Use Containers
Pots and Planters: Grow plants in pots, planters, and other containers, which can be placed on patios, balconies, or windowsills. I started incorporating in container pots this year and have been shocked at how well most of the plants are doing in them. So far my experience has been that peppers and cabbages have thrived the most in container pots.
Tiered Planters: Utilize tiered planters or stacked pots to create multiple layers of growing space. Here is a great option that I found on Amazon for under $50!
5. Succession Planting
Staggered Planting: Plant crops in succession, so when one plant is harvested, another is ready to take its place. When you are deciding what to plant read the packages or google the seeds to see how long and when they will produce. Once a plant is finished producing mid summer you can replace it with a late summer plant and depending on your region you may be able to do a 3rd rotation with fall plants.
6. Companion Planting
Mutual Benefits: Pair compatible plants together to maximize space and improve growth. For example, plant basil with tomatoes or marigolds with cucumbers.
Pest Control: Use companion planting to naturally deter pests and promote healthier plants. Different plants deter different bugs which means that you have more deterrers in one small area so they can help each other out.
7. Efficient Soil Management
Raised Beds: Use raised beds to improve drainage and soil quality, allowing for denser planting. When you have more control over your soil and drainage you can do more to ensure that your plants produce as much as possible meaning you can also plant more closer to each other.
Soil Amendments: Regularly amend your soil with compost and organic matter to boost fertility and support plant growth.
8. Smart Watering Techniques
Drip Irrigation: Install a drip irrigation system to provide consistent, efficient watering directly to plant roots.
Mulching: Use mulch to retain soil moisture, reduce weeds, and improve soil health. Remember that weeds pull nutrients from your plants. But please opt for a food save (aka not dyed) mulch if you are gardening veggies that will touch the mulch/droop.
9. Extend the Growing Season
Cold Frames: Use cold frames or cloches to protect plants from early frost and extend the growing season. You can get them easily and affordable online (like here!) and they can help add a few extra weeks at the end of the growing season.
Row Covers: Employ row covers to shield plants from pests and harsh weather conditions.
Talk Plant To Me
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