As someone who loves gardening and organization, I like to make sure I’m using every nook and cranny in my space.
I bet you feel the same if you have limited gardening space. Fortunately, you can implement multiple solutions to make the most out of your garden, ranging from using raised beds to interplanting.
Stick around as I discuss the best methods to grow more in less space!
1 – Practice Interplanting
With interplanting, you’ll be cultivating small crops alongside bigger ones. That way, the small-sized vegetation will grow fast enough to harvest before the large ones grow and spread out.
While interplanting, make sure to leave enough space where the plants’ leaves would touch once matured.
One of the best small and fast growers you can plant using this method is lettuce. You can grow it around tomatoes and broccoli to make use of the extra in-between space.
2 – Avoid Planting Competitors Together
Plants have different root growth patterns and sizes. Some, like beets, love to deeply root themselves in your soil.
Meanwhile, others like kale and broccoli don’t take up as much depth. For this reason, you need to pair shallow-rooted plants with deep-rooted plants.
That way, the deep-rooted plants won’t have to vie for space, and you’ll get extra crops from the shallow-rooted veggies.
3 – Experiment with Vertical Gardening
I used to stay in an apartment where my only gardening space was the balcony. Vertical gardening helped me make use of wall space.
I remember purchasing a pre-modeled vertical garden structure, and I was able to grow a cucumber and beans patch using it.
Alternatively, you can experiment with trellising and hanging baskets. On top of giving you extra space, they’ll also elevate your garden aesthetic (literally and figuratively!).
4 – Add Raised Beds
Raised beds are a tried-and-true method in square-foot gardening. Since they give more vertical growing room for your plants to dig down, you can fit more plants around horizontally.
In addition to more space, raised beds offer better drainage since the water will travel downwards rather than pool up.
Raised beds also give you more room to add infrastructure, such as trellises and tunnel hoops. You can ensure better protection from gophers by installing mesh wires underneath.
5 – Get Space-Saving Varieties
Crops come in several size varieties. Whether you’re purchasing carrot, beets, or broccoli seeds, check the size label and pick the miniature, compact, or baby variety.
These types of plants give more room for additional planting space. Plus, smaller vegetable varieties are easier to use in the kitchen.
6 – Create a Space-Saving Plan for Your Garden Layout
Rather than use certain methods to maximize your garden space, you can start from scratch and go back to the drawing board.
Grab a piece of paper and draw your space’s outline and dimensions. Divide the space into three to four different areas for each crop.
You can divide the zones based on categories like flowers, annual vegetables, and biennial plants. Next, you can decide each area’s shape.
I prefer keeping things rectangular, but you can go for circular zones if that suits your preference.
As you plan the shape, take into account the footpath you need to access and harvest your plants.
Finally, draw different layouts and decide which option will make use of the most garden area. You can also account for vertical gardening space.
7 – Implement Succession Planting
With succession planting, you’ll be planting continuous rounds of seeds. It usually happens every two to three weeks in the plant’s growing season.
This method is common with fast-growing plants like lettuce, spinach, arugula, beets, carrots, and radishes.
Think of it this way: rather than harvesting a large batch of vegetation all at once, you’ll get a more spread-out bi-weekly batch throughout the growing season.
After several trials and errors, I managed to implement succession planting in my garden, but it took a lot of planning.
You’ll need to keep track of each plant’s maturity date to know when and where to plant seeds next.
8 – Keep Pruning
Plants tend to expend energy on growing leaves, leaving little energy for fruit or vegetable growth. Subsequently, pruning those excess leaves off will promote more crop growth.
Just make sure not to overly cut back on the foliage. Otherwise, you could expose the fruits to excessive sunlight.
Final Thoughts
You can yield the most out of your garden space by following methods like succession planting and building raising beds.
Nonetheless, you need to keep in mind that all of these methods won’t mean anything unless you make sure that each plant is getting adequate water, sun, and well-drained soil.
That’s why planning should be your top priority. So, grab your notebook and start working on your layouts!
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.