Think you have no space to grow your own?? These space saving tips will help you make the best of any space.
When you have no time, money or space to garden and grow your own vegetables, it can seem daunting.
But by following these simple ideas, you can have your crops and eat them.
I am going to show you how to stop making excuses and easily learn the skills you need to grow nutritious, organic fruit, vegetables, flowers and salad leaves fit for your families table in whatever space you have.
You can also check out this post for ideas on places you can grow when you have no space. It looks at verticle gardening, raised beds etc to get you thinking.
“Space Saving Tips to grow your own” is part three of our -No Excuse Garden Series
So, if you’re ready to stop making excuses and get stuck in straight away, why not take our Vegetable Gardening For Beginner’s Course.
Growing your own vegetables, ticks so many boxes for any of your goals, giving you;
-Fitness and a healthy lifestyle,
-Nutritious food which doesn’t cost a fortune,
-More fresh air and activities the whole family can enjoy together.
-Encouragement to save food miles, reduce plastic and recycle more waste into the garden. Thus feeding your soil and eventually you and your family.
Check out this post for more information of achieving your goals through gardening
We all have to start somewhere, and if you don’t have a relative to guide you then let me remind you of where you are.
Growing Healthy Kids is here to help you raise healthy kids by growing healthy food right in your garden.
Getting advice is the no.1 time saver.
Why try it on your own when we can help?
I’m a mum, just like you, I have failed more times than I can count but I kept going, I kept asking questions, working out where I went wrong and trying again. AND YOU CAN TO!
Find the rest of the series here
Part one: Budget Friendly Tips To GYO
Part two: Time Saving Ways To GYO
So, stop making those same excuses and start this year with a new goal, a new belief in your heart that YOU. CAN. DO . THIS!
Space saving ways to grow a ton of vegetables
First have a look around and see what space you do have to grow in?
Do you have a small patch of ground in the garden, room for a few patio posts on the balcony, or just a windowsill?
Well no matter the space you have to grow in there is a lot you can grow and harvest when you know how.
When you only have a small space to work with, its important you use the space wisely and learn to rotate the plants you grow so you always have a continuous crop.
Some things sown in trays ready to pop into position as one crop ends.
You don’t need to have a typical allotment plot to grow vegetables though, it can be so much more effective to start small.
You can grow a huge amount of crops in a very small place. It just takes planning and timing.
Planning and timing is also important to make sure you don’t end up with all your veggies ready at the same time then a huge gap while you sow more.
A few simple tips is all you need to have a tasty addition to your meals each day whether you have a plot or a patio pot.
7 Space Saving Tips to get you growing a full seasons worth of fruit, veg, flowers and herbs.
Little and Often
This is one of the best ways to grow vegetables in small spaces.
When your short on space you don’t need a whole garden full of one crop.
Work out what you would eat in a week or a month of each crop and only grow that amount each time you sow.
Planting small amounts but regularly, means you have a continuous crop and none going to waste or taking too much space.
Use our Garden Planning Sheets to keep track of your sowing and planting.
Start Seeds Indoors
This will help to extend your vegetable growing season.
Some seeds need a bit of warmth to get started so starting them early indoors can help extend the season you can grow that vegetable.
To help start my seeds off early indoors in spring.
I like to sow in pots on the windowsill or over a radiator.
But somethings I like to sow in a small propagator.
This one here is small and compact so it fits in the available space I have.
For some seeds it’s a perfect way to give a protected environment to give your seedlings the best chance of growing healthy and tall with a little extra warmth.
I used to make do with plastic bags and other mini greenhouse ideas or over the radiator, but I found as soon a the seeds were ready to come out of their heated house they wilted and began to grow spindly due to the lack or real light.
So I wouldn’t be without my propagator now.
Grow plants that can be repeatedly harvested
In a small space, it doesn’t make sense you grow veg that only produces one small flush of harvest.
Instead grow veg that can harvest more than once.
Veggies such as tomatoes, peas, courgettes, and lettuces all continue to produce throughout the season.
Growing a few fast growing veg like radishes can be useful to get a quick crop while the slower growers are still gearing up.
For example, sowing parsnips can take the whole growing season so I like to sow the parsnip seeds then sow radishes on top.
This way you get 2 crops in the 1 space. The radishes have grow and been harvested before the parsnip seedlings have even appeared.
Grow Perennial vegetables
Perennial veg can also be a great idea, Jerusalem artichokes, raspberries, for examples are a good use of space.
Growing Friendly Vegetables
Maximise your vegetables potential by growing vegetables that help each other by maximise space or health benefits.
For example, grow basil at the base of tomatoes to use up the left over space and in turn help shade the soil for tomatoes.
As above sow lettuce or radish right beside carrots or parsnips.
The radish is harvested well before the roots need the space.
The 3 sister. Method is a perfect example of ‘companion planting’ grow sweetcorn, beans and squash together in a small bed.
The corn provides the beans a frame to climb up while the beans help shade the soil and add nitrogen for the other plants to use. The squash also covers the soil keeping in moisture as growing in the left over space between the others.
Plants can help each other and benefit each other in a small space garden.
Another space saving tip is to offer protection..
Protection can give you more options.
If you can find room, a little protective space for your plants can help extend what plants you can grow.
A small cold frame allows you to extend the season you can grow in and how long you can grow it for.
This one here is my favourite. We start plants off early peas, beetroot, beans and lettuces.
The frame allows us to sow 3 to 4 weeks earlier into the protective environment and have stronger, bigger crops to plant outside when the frost passes which means cropping is a lot earlier.
You could try making individual environments for your seedlings.
Try this winter sowing technique and see if you can grow seeds a few weeks earlier.
Don’t Be Afraid To Try Something New
Trying new things is one of the joys of gardening.
Growing something you can’t buy in a shop gives a huge sense of pride.
Growing a field of carrots isn’t using the space well as they are cheap to buy, but growing veg that’s expensive or hard to buy in store is a wonderful way to make use of the space you have.
Vegetables like Swiss Chard, tomatoes and mangetout are good choices that are easy to grow.
They don’t take up alot of room and can even be grown in a pot.
So, there’s my 6 tips to make the most of your space.
You can find more advice for gardening in small spaces here.
Let us know what space your growing in and do you have any tips?
