Garden for small space
Gardening in small spaces | UMN Extension
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Gardening in small spaces requires you to maximize the space you have and keep potential problems under control. Here we review the top things to consider when gardening small.
Choose your plants wisely
Compact pepper plants and determinate tomatoes were chosen for this space because they grow well in containers.When growing in a small space, it’s hard to fight the temptation to plant too many things. Plants that are too close together end up competing for nutrients and light and a dense plant canopy can lead to more disease pressure. So, fewer plants that are properly spaced will actually give you a better yield than squeezing many plants in the same space.
With that in mind, avoid planting things like pumpkins and winter squash in a small garden - these crops take up a lot of space and are easy to find at farmers markets later in the summer. Stick to smaller plants to grow a wider variety of things.
For small containers like window boxes, herbs, annual flowers and leaf lettuce are great choices. These plants grow quickly, and you can usually get many harvests throughout the summer. An extra bonus to growing herbs is that you can dry them and enjoy them throughout the year.
When looking for plants that will grow well in containers, look for terms like "compact," "tidy plant habit" or "short stature" on plant or seed pack descriptions.
For some common vegetables, you’ll need to decide between determinate and indeterminate varieties.
- A determinate variety will grow to a certain size and then flower and produce fruit all at once. Determinate varieties are typically preferred for growing in pots, as they require less maintenance and remain compact.
- An indeterminate variety will continue to grow, flower, and produce fruit throughout the summer. Indeterminate varieties typically require staking and pruning, whereas determinate varieties maintain a bush-like shape. If you have plenty of vertical space and trellising materials, an indeterminate variety can be a nice way to use that vertical space, allowing for other things like herbs in the understory.
Consider containers
Herbs don’t take up much space and do well in containers.Containers are a great way to add plants to a small space, especially to sidewalk or balcony areas. They are also a good choice for renters whose landlords will not allow for a garden in the ground.
Check out our article about container gardening from last season for more information and tips.
Succession planting for fresh veggies all summer long
Succession planting is a key concept for small-space growers. If your goal is to have fresh produce all season long, space out your plantings by a couple of weeks rather than planting all at once.
Succession planting works especially well for short-season vegetables like lettuce, radishes, and peas. If you’re starting seeds now, consider planting a few lettuce seeds this week, a few more two weeks from now, and a few more after that to provide a steady stream of lettuce throughout the spring. Find out more about succession planting.
Find ways to rotate
In annual gardens, crop rotation provides numerous benefits. Primarily, rotating between plant families helps to reduce disease pressure. Also, different plants use different proportions of nutrients and have varying root structures, so rotating the spots where you grow your vegetables can benefit the soil.
A few ways to rotate in a small space include building raised beds to delineate spaces, growing in pots, and coordinating with your neighbors. For example, one neighbor could grow tomatoes this year and another could grow cucumbers. Next year you can switch up who grows what, and everyone shares their harvests so you all get a bit of everything.
If you have multiple raised beds, keep your major plant families together in the same bed so that you can rotate them all to a new bed the following year. You can still interplant flowers and herbs into the beds, but try to keep the major families together. Examples of major vegetable families include:
- Solanaceous plants: tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant
- Cucurbits: cucumber, melons, squash, pumpkins
- Brassicas: broccoli, cauliflower, kale, pak choi, mizzuna, arugula, cabbage
- Apiaceae family: carrots, parsnips, cilantro, dill, fennel, parsley
- Allums: garlic, onions, chives, leeks
- Amaranths: spinach, chard, beets, amaranth
If possible, maintain a 3-4 year rotation.
If you plant tomatoes in a bed this year, try to avoid planting other solanaceous plants in that bed for about 3 years. This can be hard to do in a small garden, so just do your best.
Author: Natalie Hoidal, Extension educator in horticulture and food system agriculture
Related topics: Yard and Garden News Featured news
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Small Space Vegetable Gardening Tips
Growing a garden is a great way to produce healthy vegetables, herbs, and fruits to enjoy your favorite fresh foods at home.
While spacious outdoor gardens produce larger harvests, you don't need a sizable garden bed to grow healthy vegetables in a small space. With the right containers, soil, watering schedule, and sun exposure, it's possible to yield your favorite tasty vegetables in a small footprint.
Click Play to Learn How to Grow a Vegetable Garden In a Small Space
Ways to Utilize a Small Space
You don't need a large area to have a vegetable garden. Small sunny spots in your yard, patio, or balcony can all be successful locations. Heirloom seeds and the development of new hybrid varieties also offer great options like colorful novelty vegetables, varieties from around the world, and compact plants. Choosing the right location and ideal varieties of your favorite plants will help you maximize your harvest.
Along with providing the proper growing conditions, it's also helpful to consider using a fence. If you think the deer love your hostas, you may be surprised at how your vegetables increase attraction from the other animals in your community.
If you plant it, they will come—so utilize a method of protection for your small vegetable garden for the best results.
The Spruce / K. Dave
Layout Considerations
Vegetable gardens of various shapes and sizes can have successful yields, but most importantly, your garden's layout should ensure your plants can receive the proper nutrients. When you're deciding where to place your garden beds or containers, consider several basic components. To maximize a small vegetable garden, choose a location that can provide adequate sunlight, access to a water source, and rich, fertile soil to grow healthy vegetables.
- Sun: Vegetables need at least six to eight hours of direct sun each day. Without sun, the fruits will not ripen, and the plants will be stressed. Even if the site is sun-challenged, there are a few vegetables that grow in light shade, such as lettuce and other leafy greens, root vegetables, broccoli, and cole crops.
- Water: Vegetables require regular watering.
Otherwise, they will not fill out. Some, like tomatoes, can crack open if suddenly plumped up with water after struggling without it for a while. If you have the means, a drip irrigation system is simple to install and saves water by directly watering the plant's roots (losing less water to evaporation). Even a simple soaker hose is better than a sprinkler system that wets the foliage, which can make plants prone to blights and mildews. - Soil: Vegetables need a soil rich in organic matter. Fertile soil is important to the growth of all plants, but even more so with vegetables because the taste is affected by the quality of the soil. Soil health is the reason why wine from the same grape variety can vary from region to region and why some areas grow hotter peppers than others.
Types of Small Gardens
Granted, a small vegetable garden might not be sufficient for subsistence farming, but it can provide a few of your favorite options to enjoy at home.
Choose vegetables that grow well together in small gardens like great-tasting tomatoes, some beautiful heirloom eggplants and peppers, or a steady supply of leafy greens. If you have limited space, consider which vegetables you can easily purchase fresh in your area and those that you truly love but can't purchase locally.
- Gardens with compact varieties allow you to grow a variety of plants in the same space. If you plant a giant beefsteak tomato or a row of sweet corn, the space for growing other vegetables in your small vegetable garden will be limited. Even then, you can choose varieties that are bred to grow in small spaces. Anything with the words patio, pixie, tiny, compact, baby, or dwarf in the name is a good bet. Just because a plant is bred to be small doesn't mean the fruits will be small or the yield will be less. The labeling for most seeds and seedlings will indicate the mature size of the plant varieties you are selecting, helping you space things out and see just how many plants you can fit.
- Interplanting with flowers is a great way to find space for vegetables with limited room. Many gardeners squeeze in as many seedlings they can, then deal with crowding as the garden grows. Instead, interplant your vegetables with your flowers. There's no rule that says you can't mix the two. It can be a bit harder to harvest, but many vegetables even look ornamental. As a bonus, flowers also attract pollinators to your vegetable crops.
- Grow vegetables vertically to save space in your garden beds. If you opt to grow a variety of vegetables, look for compact varieties and vining crops that can be trained to grow vertically on support structures. For example, pole beans take up less space than bush beans. Vining cucumbers and squash, as aggressive as they can be, actually take up less space than their bush-like relatives.
- Companion planting is often touted for the benefit of reducing pest infestations, but it also serves to conserve space.
Shade-tolerant plants benefit from being planted next to taller crops. Basil likes a respite from the hot afternoon sun and does well next to tomatoes. Lettuce will keep producing all summer if shaded by almost any taller plant. Early harvested vegetables, such as spinach, radishes, and peas, can be planted with slower-growing crops such as broccoli or peppers that will not take over the space until the spring-harvested vegetables have been harvested. - Succession planting is a useful technique for any vegetable garden, large or small, but it is all the more valuable when space is limited. Succession planting means reseeding quick-growing crops every two to three weeks during the growing season. It is especially useful with crops such as beans, zucchini, and lettuce that tend to exhaust themselves when producing too much. By planting in succession, you will produce enough food for your family's appetite (and you'll have it all summer instead of all at once).
Warning
Since small vegetable gardens don't leave room for rotating crops, you'll need to utilize other methods to prevent fungal diseases and garden pests that overwinter in the soil.
Be vigilant to avoid pests and diseases from becoming rampant. If a large-scale problem should occur (such as an infestation of squash beetles or septoria leaf spot on tomatoes), it's best to stop growing that crop and others in its family for at least a year.
Growing Fruits and Vegetables in Containers
As with ornamental container gardening, vegetable container gardening is a way to control the soil, sun, and growing conditions of your edible plants. It also allows you to fit edible gardening into the smallest spaces by placing the containers on your patio, balcony, front steps, and along the house foundation and driveway. Virtually any fruit, vegetable, or herb can be grown in a container if the container is large enough to accommodate the mature size of the plant.
The ideal depth of your planter box or container will vary depending on which vegetables you choose to grow. Herbs and leafy greens can grow in small containers or hanging baskets.
Fruiting plants such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and cucumbers work best when planted in 5-gallon containers—or larger, of course. The larger the container, the more soil it contains, and the less often you'll have to water (daily or every other day instead of twice a day). The material used to manufacture the container and the container color also affect how quickly a container dries out. Clay and terracotta containers lose moisture faster, and black containers retain more heat.
You can purchase soil specifically balanced for vegetable container gardening with slow-release fertilizer already mixed in for the most absolute no-fuss garden.
The Spruce / Jayme Burrows
The Spruce / K. DaveWindowsill Gardens
Growing edible plants indoors on a windowsill is an easy, low-space option for plants that are frequently harvested, such as herbs and lettuce. But windowsill gardening isn't just for gardeners with limited space: Any gardener can extend the growing season by potting up some herbs and growing them indoors provided there is sufficient sunlight and water.
If an area inside your home receives enough sunlight, you can even grow vegetables indoors.
Planning a small garden: how to plan a small garden so that everything fits in
So, you finally bought (inherited or received from the state, under the program to support large families) a precious plot of land. The first thought is to move in as soon as possible: to repair or build a house, and do everything else later, over time. But therein lies a huge mistake. Firstly, without a well-thought-out plan, you can do something that will be difficult to fix later. And secondly, there is nothing more permanent than temporary. Therefore, it is necessary to master the site in stages.
David Scott Interiors
1. Draw a plan
First, determine the cardinal directions. First of all, this will be useful to you when designing a house (if it is not already on the site), so that it does not have purely southern or purely northern windows - it will be uncomfortable to live in this.
Also, the orientation of the site is important when arranging the plants. Some will be comfortable only in the shade, on the north side, others need the sun to grow.
ABOUT IT…
- Garden shade plants
- Garden sun plants
How to do it? Of course, you can look for moss in old trees or watch the sunrise when you are on the site (just kidding). The easiest way is to fill in the cadastral number of your site on the site of the public cadastral map: all plans on the site are placed so that the north is always at the top. This will help you get oriented.
Smart Garden
2. Make a wish list
Be sure to interview all family members who will be living or visiting the site for an extended period of time. Yes, the territory can be only two acres, and you have to choose. But having such a list makes it easier to come to compromises. In your wishes, take into account the number of cars, the number of beds, gazebos, greenhouses .
.. Maybe someone wants a playground, a pool and a slide? Or do you need a place to play chess, a Japanese garden, and a corner to sleep outside? We write everything!
3. Think of a building plan
Take a list and think about what you can put in your house out of everything you want? Large buildings such as a garage and baths will “eat up” all the free space of the site. In addition, it will be very difficult to arrange them according to the law: with regulatory indents from neighboring plots and legally laid communications (after all, making a sewer drain from a bathhouse to neighbors is not our way, right?).
For example, if a house is just being planned, look for projects with a garage and a terrace - this will save a lot of space! You can find projects of houses with an attached greenhouse or winter garden. And even with a compact steam room / sauna - then you don’t have to put a separate bath on the site.
Kitchen Architecture Ltd
In the photo: how do you like this idea - a winter garden as a "passage vestibule" between the house and the summer kitchen?
World Wide Stereo
Pictured: Greenhouse and conservatory attached to summer kitchen
Mark Hickman Homes
Tip: When designing your home, don't forget storage space for garden tools.
It can be located next to the garage or just in the house - with its own exit to the street.
It is also convenient to get water out here - to make a washing area for dug up vegetables, dirty boots and choppers. If the house is already standing, then a terrace and a storage cabinet for inventory can be attached. Or arrange in the manner of a built-in wardrobe, “deepening” into the house (example in the photo).
Tom Howard Garden Design and Landscaping
In the photo: it’s hard to even immediately see that the hedge hides a utility room for storing utensils in the far part of the site
Agava-M Landscaping your site
4. Find a space for a garden
Consider how many beds you need. It all depends on the purpose and size of the site. If you are going to eat from your beds, of course, you will need a significant amount of them. If you plan to mainly relax in the country, then only two or three will suffice.
Fact: To design a garden on the plan, you need to find a southern sunny place and arrange the beds from north to south with a long side.
Designscape Inc.
Take a closer look at the house! If he has the desired sunny side, then the garden can be organized right next to the blind area. The house will protect the landings from the wind, proximity to communications will enable the withdrawal of water and electricity.
The shape of the garden can be any, make the garden beautiful! The beds can be square, rectangular, triangular, can be sectors of a circle, or even arranged in a tape along the path. Which will be the most compact and suitable for you? Draw different options! It is important to remember that the width of a full-sized bed should be 0.7–1.0 m, and the spacing 0.4–0.7 m (for high beds, the distance should be greater).
CplusC Architectural Workshop
Tip: If the site is very small, you can arrange a mini-garden in long planters, hanging them on the wall of any building.
Just keep in mind that the earth in a flower pot bakes faster in the sun and freezes faster during frosts. Therefore, it is better to place such mini-beds in a small shade - for example, next to a tree with small leaves and a loose crown. And for the time of frost, the pots should be brought into a warm room (immediately think over exactly where you will put it).
Made of Wood
In the photo: an example of a combination of boxes for growing greenery and a garden gazebo
cruse consultants
In the photo: a flower bed in a container outside the window is no worse than the usual one
AMS Landscape Design Studio, Inc. Landscapes Design
The Garden Builders0008Here you can (and should) show your imagination. Do not scatter sites throughout the site or “glue” them all to the fence. Try to choose a pair of sites that are far from each other and combine the maximum number of zones on them.
ALSO ABOUT THIS...
Sunken Garden: Sounds intriguing, but it's actually quite simple
Urban Botanics
Why waste such a design? If you extend the roof rails a little and make a few additional pillars, then you can hang a swing or a rope for children on such a pergola. The side wall of the canopy can be designed in the form of a chalk board, immediately place a sandbox. And now the parking lot is combined with a playground. Perhaps someone will be confused by the proximity of the playground to the car park. But think about how often you have cars with a running engine in your country house?
Jarret Yoshida Design
The seating area is conveniently located in the center of the site. From other areas, such as a garden, it can be closed with a wooden lath wall. And on the other hand, decorate with beautiful plants or hedges.
To save space, it is better to place the hozblok next to the greenhouse or garden - on the north side, so as not to interfere with the plants.
Garden pergolas for climbing plants (cucumbers, beans, peas) can also be used for zoning or hanging various chairs and hammocks. Such pergolas are made more capital, made of wood or metal, with metal mesh or wooden slats!
Studio TOOP
Photo idea: garden as a room concept
Terra Ferma Landscapes
6. Select plants
It is good if the buildings can be placed so that the entire garden is not visible from one point. If this was not possible, the role of visual screens can be given to plants. Place small plants closer to the paths, taller plants in depth. At the same time, do not forget about the sun and the location of the shade: if light-loving small plants are shaded by large ones, then it will be difficult to expect complete decorativeness from them.
It is difficult to place a separate orchard on a small plot, so fruit trees can be planted throughout the plot, especially since there are very decorative varieties.
What could be more beautiful than the spring flowering of apple and cherry trees? Yes, and fruit bushes (irga, honeysuckle, red currant, wild rose, chokeberry) will also easily fit into the decorative edge.
Craig Bergmann Landscape Design
Even garden crops can be inscribed in a decorative mixborder: cabbage, beet tops, dill umbrellas will look good in a flower garden. In addition, this is a fashionable trend in landscape design. It is better to have dill and sorrel in the flower garden than roses and astilbes planted in the form of a bed.
If there is absolutely no place for planting, again, look at the tubs and vines. A group of tubs and flowerpots on the terrace and lawn, hanging planters - will perfectly cope with the role of landscaping. A pergola with climbing plants does not take up much space.
Tip: Make a calendar of plant care: when to water, when to feed, when to prune. Divide responsibilities among family members.
An abandoned garden with dried flowers and neglected shrubs will visually appear much smaller than its well-groomed counterpart.
RELATED…
A Gardener's Diary: Why and How to Keep One
Chris Snook
Pictured: When there's not enough land, plan your gardening vertically. Watch the full footage of this British project - there are a couple of acres at the most. But the garden seems solid if not spacious
Agence Faure
Landscaping Solutions
7. Do you need a lawn?
Sometimes it turns out that the lawn is not destined to appear on the site: tall old spruce trees, numerous dogs, the northern slope... In this case, you can use small gravel backfilling or lay flagstone with small gaps filled with granite chips - this is very beautiful and convenient. Or even make a wooden flooring. It will be a real green room under the open sky.
The absence of a lawn will not affect comfort, will not make the site visually smaller, but it will save you from many problems. After all, even a small lawn with a lawn requires a lot of care and does not tolerate constant trampling and the presence of dogs.
Frings Garten GmbH
8. What to do with garden waste
A small garden should never be littered. Consider a storage system for logging residues and uprooted weeds: these can be neatly decorated free-standing tanks or a dedicated place near the garage or hozblok. If you decide to make your own compost, consider installing a compost bin.
RELATED…
Good question: How to make compost in the country and not overwork
Charlotte Rowe Garden Design
9. Add light…
Once you have planned all the areas you need, decided on the number and type of plantings, it's time to plan the light.
Depth and volume in the garden are created not only by properly located buildings and plants, but also by lighting. Let accent plants, paths, retaining walls be highlighted (this is not only beauty, but also safety).
FineLines Design Studio
Lead waterproof sockets to the playground and recreation area to connect the lights. It’s a good idea to put an outlet near a spruce or fir - and in winter create your own New Year’s miracle.
And in the summer, these sockets can be used for electric lawn mowers or brush cutters. Do not neglect decorative light even in the tiniest gardens: lighting can work wonders.
Architectural bureau of Oksana Kostyuchenko&C
10. …And textiles
Also, don't be afraid to use textiles and decor in the garden! Pillows, blankets, rugs, candles, bird dishes, birdhouses - there are a lot of options, not only garden gnomes and wicker cars .
..
To avoid collecting textiles and pillows every time it rains, store them in sheltered areas or purchase items made from quick-drying materials.
Making a comfortable little garden is not as difficult as it seems. The main difficulty lies in stereotypical thinking and “memory of generations”: we all remember what a typical grandmother’s small plot looks like. But if you approach things wisely and create a well-groomed garden for yourself, it can become a great place for the whole family to relax, where no one will be crowded.
YOUR TURN…
If you - own a small lot, tell us how you managed to fit everything you need. Share your garden hacks and photos in the comments section!
Design of a small plot in front of the house: Landscaping on 6 acres with a garden, how to organize a small garden perfect garden. And they, often, are different for each family member: mom dreams of a fruitful garden, dad and husband, it turns out, always wanted a separate place for barbecue.
If there are children in the family, then, of course, it is necessary to provide a playground. And you, most likely, want to see a corner of paradise drowning in flowers. But the site is far from rubber. You will be surprised, but the problem has a simple solution! And it is far from tricks with space - we are talking about the correct layout of a small area.
Southview Design
Start with functional zoning
In order to compactly arrange everything you need in a small garden plot, it is not enough to draw a beautiful picture in your head - draw up a project plan. This should be a zone neighborhood plan depending on their purpose.
At a small plot, this is an entrance area, a vegetable garden, a flower garden, a recreation area and a children's area (optional).
Now your task is to place the necessary fragments on the available territory. Act like a miniature painter: the smaller your "drawing", the more accurate the master's strokes should be.
Milieu Landscaping
The "face" of your garden
A place for a flower bed can be found even on the smallest patch of land, almost regardless of the landscape. Place it opposite the porch or traditionally - two on either side of it.
Tip:
Large flowers can be planted in the center of the flower bed (for example, roses that bloom several times a season), and tall phloxes (Phlox), speedwells (Veronica) and delphiniums (Delphinium) are suitable as court flowers for the Queen.
Aloe Designs
Garden - in mini format
The size of the garden plot is no reason to deny yourself a garden bed. It is important to use your imagination, approaching its organization as if it were the interior of a room. I would advise organizing a mini-garden (both in terms of area and design). And grow vegetables for the table or for fun.
For example, a two-tier garden will allow you to get an excellent harvest even from a small area.
SEE ALSO…
Fashion garden: Who said that the garden is only about cabbage?
Garden behind a fence
Select a small place for planting (even a 3x4 m area is enough) and place it behind a decorative fence.
Place a few container beds there, plant bushes (preferably stamped ones, they take up little space and decorate the territory), and you still have room for three or four columnar fruit trees.
Tip:
The fence should be painted white. In general, in small areas it is better to stick to light colors.
Exterra Designs, Inc
Secluded spot in the flower garden
Even in the smallest garden, there is a place for a small corner with a garden bench from where you can admire all the magnificence of flowering plants.
Another touch in the design of the flower garden is a wall-mounted decorative washstand. Water can do wonders for the mood - the rest will be very comfortable and relaxing. A fountain or a mini-pond with a cascade also perfectly solve this problem.
If there is still a catastrophic lack of space for a flower garden on the "homestead" territory in front of the house, then you can be satisfied with the creation of mixborders that are fashionable in our time, as in the photo.
SEE ALSO
456 more photos of beautiful mixborders
THE OHIO VALLEY GROUP, INC.
A path is also a decorative technique
An unusual way to decorate a small area is to lay paths with bizarre curved shapes. I like the paths in the form of leaves - in my opinion, a very unconventional approach. Let the paths lead you to the recreation area, garden, flower garden.
This technique will visually increase the area of \u200b\u200bthe site.
SEE ALSO
456 more photos of garden paths
Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery Association
Recreation area: barbecue or patio test
Fresh air is always waiting. If you have the opportunity and desire to organize a small construction on the garden plot, then it is best to build something like an open garden dining room, as shown in the photo. That is, in order to lay out a real stove, with chimneys and all the consequences, we make out the floor covering on the site. And enjoy the power of fire and delicious kebabs!
Carson Arthur Design
If you have children, the stationary stove option will have to be moved into the category of distant plans (at least until the children reach middle school age). A safer option with a mobile grill will suit you: it takes up little space, there are no unnecessary problems with coal and wood, and the dishes are no less tasty.
Pay attention to how great a children's playground was located next to the recreation area. The kids will have their own place, and they themselves will remain under your watchful eye.
Advice:
Children's playground should not be concreted or laid out with paving slabs - it is best to make a lawn.
CHEATHAM FLETCHER SCOTT ARCHITECTS
Arbor to be
Of course, an arbor can look bulky in a small suburban area. But still, given the peculiarities of our climate, many of you will want a small classic gazebo with amenities and maximum protection from the weather. As for the size, an internal diameter of 3 m is quite enough to accommodate a family.
Find a scenic spot in your garden that is ideal for building. Make your pavilion as airy as possible. Avoid brick buildings - neat wooden ones will do. In your cozy house, make large floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows - overlooking the suburban paradise.
