Grow more in less space with interplanting, succession planting, and other techniques. Robin has five simple gardening tips for ensuring a bountiful harvest, even if you only have asmall space to workwith!
5 Tips for Small-SpaceGardening
1. Use Raised Beds
Forget about growing plants single file in long, parallel rows. You can grow up to 10 times the amount of produce in the same space by using raisedbeds and square-foot gardening.
ReadNext
How to Lay Out a Vegetable Garden
Vegetable Gardening for Beginners: The Complete Guide
Planning a Square-Foot Garden: Grow More Crops in Less Space
In a raised garden bed, you keep outside weeds from your garden soil, prevent water runoff and soil compaction, and worry less aboutslugs, snails, and other garden pests.Also, garden boxes allow you to concentrate your energy in a small area, meaning you can work, water, weed, and fertilize as economically as possible. You can make the most of the entire growing season by using season-extending devices such as cold frames, cloches, row covers, and plastic tunnels,too.
Here’s how to build yourown raised garden bed.
2. Keep SeedlingsComing
Succession planting keeps the garden in continual production. Whenever one crop is harvested, have seedlings ready to transplant in its place. For the best results, use quick-maturing vegetables such as radishes or saladgreensto fit several crops into one season and spread out the harvest. See 5 fast-growing veggies to try.
3. Interplant(Intercrop)
“Interplanting” or “intercropping” is the practice ofplanting small crops in between bigger ones; the small, fast-growing crops will be ready before the big ones need the extra space. If you have a small area, this lets you use your space more efficiently and forlonger.
To “interplant,”plants should be placed close enough so that their leaves will touch when they’re mature, shading the ground between them. This will keep weeds down and conserve moisture, reducing the need to mulch andweed.
As the plants begin to crowd out their neighbors, harvest the early-maturing ones, leaving room for the others to develop. For example, plantlettuce around longer-season vegetables such as broccoli, peppers, or tomatoes.
Check out our video to learn more aboutinterplanting.
4. Plant Companions, NotCompetitors
Some intercropping partners thrive if their roots occupy a different depth of soil. Pairing shallow-rooted vegetables, such as bush beans, with deeply rooted beets makes good use of space without creating root competition. Similarly, planting heavy feeders such as cabbage or cucumbers with light-feeding carrots or beans reduces the competition for soil nutrients. The best intercropping partners are companion plants that have different demands andcomplementeach other, such asthe Three Sisters: corn, beans, and squash.Refer toour vegetable companion planting chartfor more recommendedpairings.
5. Grow Up, NotOut
Lay out your garden plot with the fence, trellis, or wall at the north side. By planting the tallest plants there, you will avoid shading the smaller ones. Vining plants, if left to sprawl, take up valuable space in a small garden, so help them growup.
- Cucumbers will eagerly climb a nylon net fence, with the subsequent bonus result that the dangling fruits grow straighter and are easier topick.
- Tomatoes produce more fruit and ripen earlier if kept off the ground on a trellis or in a wirecage.
- Peas and pole beans naturally reach for the sky and will cover a wire fence or twine around a tripod ofpoles.
Some heavier plants, such as cantaloupes, watermelons, and winter squashes, may need help in climbing, so tie their vines to the structure to get them going in the right direction. Support the fruit with slings to keep them from tearing off the vine toosoon.
Read more about the art of vertical gardening and fit more in lessspace!
Plot Out YourGarden
Good soil, adequate sunshine, and sufficient drainage are the key requirements for a successful vegetable garden, but planning your garden’s layout shouldn’t be a last-minute thought. Every garden—and every gardener—is different, so create a garden tailored to your space andneeds.
For example, a100-square-foot garden (10x10 feet) can easily yield a wide variety of veggies. Bisecting it with two narrow paths forms four beds that are easy to reach into and tend. (One square = one squarefoot.)
To plan out your own garden, useThe Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Planner. You can try it free for 7 days—ample time to design your best gardenyet!
