Top 10 Tips for Small Space Gardening

Growing up in a rural area, everyone in my extended family had a vegetable garden. The average property size in our area seemed to be around 5 acres and the pursuit of food took up a considerable area of said property. My mom and dad had a garden that was roughly 2500 ft² and my grandpa’s personal garden was  1600 ft². In addition to this, there were orchards, barns, chicken coops and in my grandparents case, large swathes of land dedicated to commercial growing of cabbages and turnips since they had considerably more than the typical five acres. All of my friends grew up with the same overwhelming garden space, and chore lists, from a very early age, included going out and weeding a row or two and harvesting fruit and vegetables when ready. Most of my peers now find ourselves in the predicament of either not enough space, or they are still traumatized from the amount of work they had to do to help maintain the large vegetable gardens of their childhood. Although it can be a lot of work, I can attest that nothing tastes better than food you grew yourself, and you will be amazed at how your veggie hating child will eat food that they got to pick out and grow themselves, so even if you don’t have the space or time, there are ways you can still enjoy watching a ‘garden’ grow.

Square Foot Gardening. For mass producing, the row method of gardening makes sense. There’s room for harvesting equipment and pickers. For the general population with limited space and no root cellar to store winter vegetables, the square foot gardening method is a great time and space saver. Introduced to gardeners during the 70’s by Mel Martholomew, square foot gardening brought the ability to have a garden to people with limited yard space. The amount of food produced in a 4’x4′ raised bed is a good source of fresh vegetables throughout the growing season. Growveg.com and squarefootgardening.org are both excellent sites to help start you on your journey of square foot gardening. 

Community Gardens are a great way to learn more about gardening and meet new friends. Each community garden will operate a little bit differently, but they often have free seminars and group planting/harvest days. Some community gardens are free whereas others you can pay to rent your own raised bed.

Vertical Gardening

When you don’t have the space to spread out, you can always go up! Vertical gardening has always been on my ‘gotta try it’ list, but instead of starting with the living walls that I dream about, I should probably start small with a nice pallet garden (best for non-edible plants) Visit Brightnest for an easy to follow, 7 step tutorial on this. Other great options are a pyramid planter, ladder planter or a pvc tube strawberry planter. 

Container Gardening

Whether you only have a windowsill, a balcony railing or an old ladder, you have room to place a pot. We like to pretty up our terracotta pots with a bit of paint like in our distressed pot tutorial, but as far as I’m concerned, any pot looks great as long as it’s filled with a healthy looking plant. When growing plants in containers, make sure you are using good quality potting soil instead of top soil. Potting soil is a lighter mix than topsoil and doesn’t compact as easy which makes it easier for the roots to spread out. Drainage holes are also a key component in making sure your plant doesn’t drown in stagnant water and that air is available to the roots. It also helps keep the salt from building up in the soil from fertilizers. 

Hydroponic Systems

Let’s just say that the Urban Cultivator has made my dream kitchen a reality. Unfortunately that dream kitchen isn’t in my house. I’ve always been fascinated with the science of hydroponic growing, but thought that it’s always been a bit beyond my gardening learning curve. The home systems of today are so simple, even I can have my very own grow op at home. But instead of marijuana I’ll play it safe and stick to the lettuce.

Aquaponics

How is aquaponics different than hydroponics you ask? The answer to that, is fish! Fish swim in the water below, thereby creating nutrients for the plants to grow. The roots from the plants help filter the water creating a healthy environment for the fish. The perfect symbiotic relationship. Now, I can hear the doubters out there saying, “I don’t have room for a garden, so how am I supposed to have room for a garden and fish?”  Aquaponics can be done on a large or small scale. So small in fact, that all you require is a mason jar. For a tutorial on this small scale aquaponic system, visit desima.

Mini Greenhouses

I have seen everything from a clear umbrella over a planter to clear tupperware containers, but I like this upright version for it’s small footprint. Although this one is available for order in the UK from harrodhorticultural.com, it can easily be built from old windows and some cedar.

Monogram Planter

I love the name my mama gave me, and I also love flowers. What better way to combine them both than with this monogrammed planter by iseeidoimake?

 

Espalier

Have a tiny yard but still want to grow your own fruit trees? Then learn the art of espalier. Not only will you no longer have to climb your trees and dangle off of brittle limbs to harvest your fruit, but proper pruning techniques can also increase your yield. Get a start on your autumn harvest at gardentherapy.ca

Succulent Wreath

If your yard is literally non-existent, then the following project was made for you. If you have a home, you have a door, and that is the perfect place (as long as it’s sunny) to hang your new wreath by conneticutlifestyle

If you weren’t convinced before, you can now hopefully say with conviction, that “size doesn’t matter!”  Great gardens come in all shapes and sizes and everyone needs to start somewhere. Now get outside and plant something!

~R.Dolly