Maximize Your Harvest in a Small Garden Space

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How do you make gardening worth your time if you have a small garden space?

I get it. I can grow a diverse array of crops because I do have a lot of space, but not everyone does and frankly, not everyone wants to devote the time it takes for a huge garden. But when managed well, small space gardening can produce heavy yields. Here’s how.

Focus on Fertility

I have a large garden plus eleven raised beds. Every year the vegetables in my raised beds produce several times the amount of the same crops planted in my garden. Why? Because I’m able to control fertility better — and quicker — in a raised bed. (In-ground gardens can be just as productive, but improving native soil to optimum fertility can take years.)

When you use a good mix of topsoil, compost, and other organic amendments, your plants will thrive. Skip the synthetic fertilizer, which feeds the plants but not the soil. Organic amendments such as compost, composted livestock or poultry manure, worm castings, and other options slowly release nutrients over the season instead of a short, limited-burst.

When you focus on fertility, you will harvest more in less space.

Succession Planting Ideas for Small Space Gardens

succession planting combinations small space gardens

Succession planting — when you time two crops to grow one after the other in the same space — can exponentially increase your yields. In longer seasons like mine, I’ve found a few ways to succession plant successfully.

Peas then Beans. Peas are cool-weather crops. In my southern climate, where our last frost is around April 1, I plant them in March and harvest them in mid-May. After I pull the pea vines up, I plant beans. This is also convenient if you plant climbing varieties of both; then you simply reuse the trellis. If you have a shorter season area, opt for bush beans when planting later.

Lettuce then Cucumbers. Lettuce, also a cool-weather crop, will become bitter when temperatures rise. Cucumbers love hot weather and will shoot up after the soil has warmed, which is usually when the lettuce is ready to be pulled out.

Beans then Beans. Bush beans grow and produce quickly, so in the same space you can plant another stand of bush beans in the same season. Try combinations such a snap green bean followed by a dry bean, like pinto beans, black beans, or kidney beans.

How many dry beans can you expect to harvest? Here’s what I found:

Peas then Zucchini. After their harvest in May, the soil has warmed sufficiently for zucchini and squash seeds to spout quickly and yield in just a couple of months.

Potatoes then Beans. In our climate, I start potatoes in late February to early March. After I harvest in June, I can plant bush beans for a late summer harvest.

Cabbage then Peppers. Cabbage can be planted in early March in my area, and when it’s time to plant peppers, I place those seedlings between the cabbage heads. By the time the peppers need more space and nutrients, I have already harvested the cabbage (usually in May or June). (Tip: when pulling out crops, cut at soil level instead of pulling up the roots. Not only is this better for the soil but it also keeps you from disturbing root growth of interplanted crops, such as in this example of cabbage and peppers.)

Read more succession planting ideas here: 10 Succession Planting Ideas to Keep Your Garden Producing All Season

Grow Vertically in a Small Space Garden

Growing climbing varieties of peas and beans allow you to maximize your garden bed space since they grow up instead of out, leaving room for more crops beside them. Consider these trellis ideas for your small space garden.

Small cucumber trellis

Choose Crops Strategically

Some crops take up more space than others, and some are not worth it given the amount of yield they provide.

For example, you don’t want to grow corn if you’re short on space because they not only need a lot of it (and at least 16 for pollination) but they only produce 1-2 ears per stalk. A better use of your space is potatoes, which will yield several pounds in the same space one or two ears of corn would have produced.

Zucchini and squash, on the other hand, produce so heavily, only one or two plants will be sufficient for a family of four, so they are always a good choice for strategic gardening.

free garden printables

Companion Plant in the Small Space Garden

Companion planting is when you plant two different crops close to one another. Carrots, which grow underground, are a great addition to tomatoes. Onions can be interspersed throughout the garden. Black-eyed peas or bush beans easily grow alongside the tall, sturdy okra. Squash is a good neighbor to okra.

Below are some ideas on how I used companion planting with my raised bed gardens last year.

Companion Planting Layout for Small Space
Layout page available as part of the printable Complete Garden Planner and Garden Planning Journal. Click to view.

Companion planting is a great way to use a small garden space, but you can also use companion planting for pest control.

You can have a rewarding garden and a prolific harvest without acres of land. With just a few raised beds, you can plant enough vegetables to feed your family all summer and beyond.

Do you have tips for small space gardening? Share them in the comments!

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