Not every gardener is blessed with an acre of land or a large backyard garden. Sometimes, all they have to work with is a balcony, small patio, or postage-size backyard. Not to fear though! Here are some awesome tips to grow an abundant garden in teeny tiny spaces.
Gardening Tips for Small Spaces
Maximize Your Space
In a small garden, every inch of soil is valuable. With small-spaced gardens, you need to learn to grow down into the soil in addition to those that can grow vertically. When gardening in small backyards or patio gardens, building raised beds is essential. Potting soil for raised beds is chock full of essential minerals and vitamins that grow healthy plants. Using containers is also a great way to maximize space in tiny gardens. One 14 inch container can hold up to six plants!
Make sure when planting in a raised bed or container that you know the characteristics of how each plant grows. Trailing plants like thyme or alyssum should be planted up front so that they will grow down over the container. Then plant root veggies like carrots, radishes, beets, or turnips. Around those plant lettuce and spinach that you will harvest once they pop up. They have shallow roots and grow quickly. In the back, plant just one or two larger plants like tomatoes, peppers, or even broccoli.
Grow Vertically
Many plants can be trained to grow up rather than out. Think of how you see tomatoes in a greenhouse. Tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, squash, and even pumpkin will grow up a string or trellis. Not only that, but you can also grow pole beans and peas and secure them to the wall or to a trellis. Brussels sprouts already grow vertically and can produce enough heads for two families. Just remember: at the base of whatever plant you are growing vertically, grow another plant!
What About the Really Teeny Tiny Spaces?
You know what I mean – just an inch or two in between rocks or slats in concrete. Sometimes, that truly is all we have to work with. There are plants that do great in such tight spaces. Grab a few seed packets of alyssum, lobelia, chives, and even lettuce or spinach, then sprinkle these tiny spaces with the seeds and water them in well. Yep, you have just grown a small garden in a truly teeny tiny space!
More Gardening Tips for Small Spaces
Container Gardening in Small Spaces
How to Grow Produce in Containers
Urban Gardening Tips for the Apartment Gardener
Kristi Trimmer is currently running half marathons across the U.S. and blogging about her journey. At the beginning of 2012 she couldn’t run across the parking lot and in 2013 she ran 10 half marathons. Follow her journey on DragonflyRunning.com as she shares her running adventures and helps to motivate others to make positive life changes that include eating healthy and having fitness be a part of the lives and not a dirty little word.
Leave a Reply