How to put the right kitchen garden in a small space

The reality of the gardening of the house is that you rarely have as much place as you want. For many people, they have a 4×8 foot bed. While it does not feel like a very place, you can fit a lot of plants in 32 sq ft. With a small space, you just have to find new and invent ways to get more variety in your beds. Where I live, we call it “Cramscpping”.

Take advantage of plant time and growth pattern

Each vegetable and fruit are recommended out vacancy (for example, tomatoes should be 18 inches separate), and in an ideal world, you will adjust them completely. However, if necessary you can plant plants closely, while understanding your plants cannot be as productive as they have more space to grow to their full capacity.

Kohnabi is growing under the beans, which are upwards.
Credit: Amanda Blum

To get out of the limited place the most, take advantage of the space above and below the soil. For example, radish and carrots are mostly below the ground, while tomatoes are above ground. Thus, they are great for growing next to each other. Grow beats with peas and large squash -climbing beans.

Also consider that plants mature at different rates. Latus will grow quickly, and will be ready for the crop only in weeks, while brinjals all move in summer. If you plant them at the same time when both of them are small, you will harvest your latcus on time to evacuate your brinjal to spread the place.

Trailing is required

Help the plants moving upwards by creating horizontal locations
Credit: Amanda Blum

When you do not have such a horizontal place, you have to take advantage of the vertical location. You have to stop the plants from spreading on the ground, and the primary way to do them will be to train them. Instead of determining uncertain tomatoes (which are more vine-like), choose (or “Bush” tomatoes), so that they keep moving upwards despite sorting. Then everything, but some stems and train them on a long trailis. Use an obbilisk or mesh to provide the structure to climb the beans, peas or cucumbers. Iyellow squash and zucchini can be trained to move upwards with a trailis, as pumpkin and melons.

However, remember that the item on the trailis should be within access to: If you plant a trailis of green beans in the dead center of your bed, you will not be able to reach those beans without stepping on other plants. Therefore trailized plants must be sufficiently located to reach the edge of the bed. Corners and edges make the most understandable. For less trailis for squash, you can keep them closer to the middle, but can test your access before finalizing planting.

Start with the largest plants

Start with an empty 4×8 bed (I left last year’s nastartium.)
Credit: Amanda Blum

Start with a grid for your bed, foot to foot, and whatever you want to plant. Lie in the first largest plants: In this case, tomatoes. Since they will be the highest, keep them closer to the corners or the edge of the bed, they are not shade. Now consider anything that requires a wide trailis like peas and cucumbers or beans. Those people should stay on the edge of the bed, but leave the place on both sides of the trails so that you can reach the other side. These trailis are good at the small ends of the bed, so they do not stop you from getting inside. Now, start doing your work in the list of plants in descending shape. I put brinjal and chili, which all would need a trailis, on both sides. For the center, which is difficult to reach, I chose plants that do not need support and will not be too long, but are large: Kel, Chard and onion.

What is that there are small crops that will grow quickly like Latus, Radish, Beat and Carrots. Latuus is a great buffer between brinjal and crucifier plants such as chard and kel, so you can add various latus heads. I do not yet worry about root vegetables.

I then add some beneficial flowers such as nastartiums, alsum and marygolds, especially hanging on the edges of the bed. These flowers will implicate aphids, put insects in the bay, and add colors. Subsequently, I lay in herbs like Basil, Dill, Parsley and Seelantro. In addition to being great in the kitchen, they help control all insects. These herbs can be sprayed all over the bed, but do the best next to basil and dill nightshed.

Now, in all spaces, I backfill with root vegetables: carrot rows, radish circles, and block blocks.

The plant first installed sprouts, then seeds

Sketch of prepared garden.
Credit: Amanda Blum

When it comes time to plant, work out from inside. Start with plants in the dead center of the bed, and work outwards by putting your transplanting into the ground. Once you are started, go back by the sector and sow things like work area, beat and radish. Working in this way allows you to see what you have already done, so you do not accidentally look after the field you have already worked.

Water everything well and then just pay attention. As soon as they need to be trimmed, prun plants. Since plants need to be cut, replace them or allow large plants to infect the area. Keep your bed moist, but not wet, do not water at the root – and use a fish fertilizer every other week, add it to your water.

In the season, some plants can do better than others, and you may need to change them. Due to tight vacancy, the brinjal cannot find enough sun where they are, or a lotus may be too high. You will learn in the season where each plant can succeed, and you should chart it for the next year. Each season is another opportunity to learn about your yard, sun profile and soil, and each season has your vegetable garden – no matter how small it is.