HOW TO GET THE MOST FOOD FROM A SMALL GARDEN
Not all of us have the luxury of acres and acres of land to garden in.
In fact, some of us don’t even have YARDS to garden in.
It is still possible to grow food. In fact, having a humongous garden is not always the best thing in the world.
For one, it’s a whole bunch of work
And, frankly, we don’t really need 40 tomatoes plants, 12 squash plants, and an entire row of cucumbers.
Most of us can’t eat all the squash from one plant without gagging.
Small gardens can be the best way to feed ourselves
Small gardens involve less work, fewer headaches, provide fresh produce AND a give you a relaxed growing season.
HOW TO GET THE MOST PRODUCE FROM A SMALL GARDEN
#1: GO VERTICAL
The best way, by far, to expand a small garden is to go up.
DIY wood tomato cages
So many vegetables can be grown on trellises: Beans, cucumbers, gourds, peas, pumpkins, melons, squash, sweet potatoes, and even tomatoes will happily climb a ladder if you give them one.
Metal Trellises
Trellises come in all shapes, sizes, and materials.
For an all-natural trellis, head to some nearby woods and grab some branches and turn them into a teepee.
My favorite way to build a trellis is with cattle panels. They sell 16 ft long cattle panels for $20 at our local tractor store. Cattle panels are strong, durable, and will last for years to come.
#2: RICH SOIL
It won’t matter how many trellises you build or how many cages you have, if your soil is lacking, the plants won’t thrive.
Nutrient-rich soil is a must if you want to cram dozens of plants into a small space.
Building soil isn’t difficult. It just takes compost. You can create a small compost pile in a corner of your garden. Add kitchen waste, household organic waste, and lawn waste to this spot. Turn it often and you’ll have ripe compost every spring.
Keeping small animals like rabbits will give the back-yard gardener plenty of manure to keep the soil fertile. Rabbit manure is great because it is a cold manure. It is never hot and can go directly into the garden.
#3: RAISED BEDS
With raised beds, you can plant much closer together. Because the soil is extra deep and extra fertile (compost) you can put more plants in less space. The roots can go down much deeper in a raised bed so they don’t travel “out” as far.
When the soil is poor and the ground is hard the roots will travel “out” to the right and left in order to find nutrients and moisture. In this scenario, you need to plant your veggies farther apart so they can find what they need.
Some notes about Raised Beds:
- They can greatly increase your yields.
- Raised beds are easier to manage, weed, and keep tidy.
- Crops growing in raised beds may need more water due to the increased volume of plants in a smaller space.
- Raised beds need super fertile soil (also because of the volume of plants)
With raised beds the roots can go down instead of out. This means more plants can all live in tight quarters without fighting over root space.
For more on raised beds go here.
#4: SUCCESSION PLANTING
Another method of growing more crops in a smaller space is to use succession planting. Succession planting is a system where one crop follows another. This allows the gardener to get multiple crops from the same space over the seasons. When crops are harvested, new crops are planted.
In a succession garden, you can plant spring crops (cool season) followed by summer crops (warm season) followed by another round of cool-season crops for fall.
Conveniently, a second crop can usually be started before the first is harvested.
An example of this would be the spring lettuce. In between the bibb heads, the summer squash can be planted. By the time the squash is large, the lettuce will be finished.
Another way to use succession planting is to sow lettuce seeds under the shade of your tomato or pepper plants. The lettuce will enjoy the shade and before you eat your last tomato, you will begin to harvest fresh lettuce.
#5: PLANT WHAT YOU EAT
Don’t waste space on things you don’t eat. If garden space is tight, plant only what you love.
It is astounding how much food comes from one plant when the soil is adequate. One tomato plant, one squash plant, one cucumber plant. These are performers!
Other garden selections who reap big rewards:
- Yellow squash
- Zucchini
- Cherry tomato
- Peppers (jalapeno, banana, chili peppers)
- Herbs (rosemary, thyme, lavender, basil, oregano, mint, stevia, chives)
- A packet of seeds: kale, lettuce, mustard greens, beets, radishes
For more information on How to grow the best garden on any space, check out the Organic Gardening Class.
It is happening now and is filled with information on how to grow your best garden ever.
The summer gardens are just ramping up and the fall gardens will be going in next month!
It’s not too late to learn the tips and tricks that Organic Growers use to produce food for the entire year.
XO,
Candi
