These small vegetable garden ideas will help you make the most of the growing space you have.
Dont let a lack of space discourage you from ahomegrown vegetable harvestthis season.
Use these tips and ideas to put every bit of space you have to use.
Credit: Carson Downing
Nearby water is especially important if thevegetable garden is planted in pots.
Containers dry out quickly and demand to be watered daily during hot weather.
Finally,high-quality potting soilor garden soil is essential for a good harvest.
Credit:Edmund Barr
Edmund Barr
1.
Start Early and Plant into Fall
Grow more in a small space byexpanding the growing window.
Repeat the process in late summer.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Plantcool-season cropsin open pockets of soil and harvest late into fall and even early winter in some locations.
Partner with Shrubs and Perennials
Vegetables don’t have to be grown in separate veggie-only growing spaces.
Add vegetables to full-sun shrub and perennial beds.
Credit: Jacob Fox
A front border or foundation bed can be a great spot to grow vegetables.
Fruiting plants even add color and texture to the planting scheme.
Plant a Container Garden
Almost every vegetable plant will thrive in a pot.
Credit: Brie Williams
Increase your harvest by increasing the number of pots.
Group the pots together near a water source for easy care.
Avoid melons and squash.
Build a Raised Bed
Raised bed gardenscan turn an unplantable spot like a driveway into a garden oasis.
Fill the box with high-quality topsoil andcompostin a ratio of 2:1.
When the lettuce is harvested, the beans take over the growing space.
A few great planting partners include broccoli and tomatoes, peas and peppers, and lettuce and beans.
Trellising is especially important when growing tomatoes in small spaces.
Put atrellisor tomato cage in place near the plant at planting time.
Use strips of cotton cloth to loosely tie stems to the trellis as necessary.
Cucumbers, peas, and climbing beans produce fruit well on a trellis.
Choose Compact Plants
Plant breeders have selected hundreds of cultivars well-suited for growing in small spaces.
Plant a Window Box
When in-ground planting space is limited, look up!
Stock awest- or south-facing window boxwith greens andradishesin the spring.
Plant peppers, eggplant, andherbs in summer, and then enjoy a fall crop of your favorite greens.
Window boxes dry out fast; be prepared to water daily.
Tuck in Herbs
Plantcreeping thymein the space between stepping stones.
Nestle parsley at the base of apurple coneflower.
Sliprosemaryin an opening in a bed of succulents.
Plant herbs in pockets of soil throughout the garden.
