Gardening in small spaces
Illustration by David Clark
Spring has arrived! So, if thoughts of producing oodles of fresh, homegrown edibles have you ready to dig in the dirt, it’s time to roll up those sleeves and start a vegetable garden.
While the physics of time and space dictate that big harvests naturally come from big gardens, for backyard growers who prefer to pass on the challenges of tending mega-plots through the long, hot summer, or who simply don’t have an abundance of planting areas, there are alternative ways to raise impressive passels of veggies—it is simply a matter of making less do more.
Go to bed
First, for maximum production from limited growing areas, go with beds, not rows—in other words, place young plants or seeds according to their recommended spacing per plant and forget about distances between rows. Rows of plants looking like tidy lines of soldiers are better for large gardens in order to have paths to walk around, but this isn’t necessary in small beds. Accessibility is, of course, still important, so, while you can stretch ’em as long as Texas, try not make beds over 4 feet wide—this shortens your reach into the plants and greatly minimizes embarrassing face-flops in the dirt.
Small wonders
Size isn’t everything in gardening, especially when it comes to growing backyard edibles. There are many vegetable selections—often tagged with such labels as Bush, Dwarf or Patio—that are modest in height and girth, but still quite capable of producing impressive crops.
The most common big veggie that can be found in smaller sizes is the tomato. There are a ton of cultivars available. I personally recommend Tiny Tim, Bush Beefsteak or Early Wonder. Keep in mind, however, that a majority of these slight-in-stature tomato selections are determinate, meaning they produce all the ’maters they are going to yield in a matter of weeks. Standard vine tomatoes, if kept healthy, typically crank out fruit continually over the long growing season.
For more tomato-growing tips, and a look at the latest All-American Selections cultivars bred for taste and disease resistance, see “Tasty homegrown tomatoes" by Clemson Extension’s Chase Smoak.
Want a wider range of veggies in your small garden? Squash, watermelons, pumpkins, cucumbers, cantaloupes and green beans—all champs at chewing up space in a planting bed—can also be found in compact forms, either as young plants or seeds, at local garden shops in the spring.
Grow up
Don’t think you have to stick to Munchkin-sized plants. Typical strong growers such as tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers and squash can’t be allowed to crawl across small growing spaces, but they can be trellised, staked or caged to grow up rather than out.
Even the long, rangy vines of watermelons, pumpkins and cantaloupes can be trained upwards on vertical supports, but to avoid the dreaded drop-and-splat factor, it’s not a bad idea to cradle the developing fruits in supporting burlap, nylon or cloth slings.
Suspension weight and size problems with standard pumpkins are obvious, but there are many cultivars, including Spookie, Jack O’ Lantern and Sugar Pie, that yield smaller, more manageable 6- to 7-pound fruits. Ditto for big ol’ watermelons, but with so-called “icebox” varieties like the popular Sugar Baby and its 8- to 10-pound melons available, it is possible to hang ’em high, too.
Growing vine crops on erect supports has other advantages besides saving space, starting with making harvesting easier. Also, vertical gardening improves fruit shape and, since beneficial air circulates through the foliage easier, can promote healthier plants.
Beyond the veggie patch
Looking for even more growing ground? Limited-space gardening with edibles doesn’t need to be confined to small vegetable plots—in other words, anywhere you have dirt in your yard is a potential planting site. And many veggies can be easily interplanted in the landscape as complements, rather than complications, to existing ornamentals.
One popular vegetable that bears the double standard of being both productive and pretty is the pepper. While blocky bell peppers might look a bit clunky in flower beds, there is a wide range of hot peppers that show off long-lasting fruits in many sizes, shapes and sizzling colors on relatively compact plants.
Like bell peppers, common pudgy eggplants probably won’t qualify as eye candy in an ornamental garden, but there are vibrantly colored fruits of cultivars such as Fairy Tale, Prosperosa and Neon that can also add extra visual sass to sunny flower borders.
And okra, which is closely related to the lovely hibiscus, stays true to its family ties with fancy foliage and delicate, hibiscus-like flowers. One particular standout beauty is Red Burgundy, an heirloom selection that has been a veggie garden favorite for many years because its gorgeous (and tasty) scarlet pods never fail to turn heads.
Other decorative edibles with strong, distinctive profiles such as curly spinach, cabbage, looseleaf lettuce (especially red-tinted varieties like Red Sails and Lolla Rossa), kale and Swiss chard (look for Ruby Red or Bright Lights) are low-growing and, for vegetable plants, actually rather good looking. Any of these can be successfully incorporated as accent plants for perennial beds or flower gardens. In addition, root vegetables such as carrots, onions and radishes hide their crops below ground but freely flaunt flowing foliage that can be used to fill in the fronts of border plantings.
Many herbs are also great “double-duty” plants. Need examples? Rosemary’s spiky leaves and delightful (as well as edible) bluish-purple flowers make it an appealing addition to any landscape setting. Bronze fennel’s smoky look is a nice touch for container planters, while the rich, dark foliage of purple basil is a horticultural fashion statement waiting to happen. And curly parsley, with its deep emerald leaves, is an ideal alt-ornamental to line the front of a flower bed.
One word of caution about interplanting vegetables or herbs with other plants: If you spray any pesticides on neighboring ornamentals, make sure the chemicals are cleared for safe use on edible plants as well.
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When are veggies table-ready?
Bell peppers. The typical bell pepper can be picked when it is either green or red. A red bell pepper is just riper than a green one and tastes slightly sweeter. If you prefer to use a size-o-meter, harvest these peppers when they are about 3 inches in diameter.
Carrots. Carrots are normally ready when their orange crowns poke out above the soil line. For better storage, cut off all but about 2 inches of the fern tops after you pull carrots from the ground.
Cucumbers. Although they come in all sizes, standard cukes will, of course, be a deep green when mature. However, if a cucumber starts to show a yellow tint, it is past ripe.
Eggplant. Common varieties, such as Black Beauty and Classic, should have a shiny, dark purple color and be about 4 inches in diameter. Any eggplant that has been on the plant too long will lose its shine—this also applies to the newer, fancy-colored varieties such as Neon and Ping Tung.
Okra. The better tasting (and least slimy) okra pods are snipped off at about 3 inches long. Chef’s Tip: For little or no slime, when boiling okra, leave the pods whole.
Green beans. These beans are at their best when they are about 3 to 6 inches long. At these sizes, the seeds haven’t started to swell yet, and the pods are tender enough to snap easily.
Leaf lettuce. Wait until the plants are about 5 inches tall and starting to fully fill out with foliage. Then, begin your picking. Use scissors, and only take outer leaves so the plants will continue growing strongly in order to extend the harvest season. This method works well for romaine lettuce and spinach, too.
Summer squash. Tasty crook, straight-neck and zucchini squash will be had when they are picked at about 6 inches long. Round patty pan varieties are in their prime around 4 to 5 inches in diameter.
Tomatoes. Come on—everybody knows what a ripe tomato looks like! Sometimes, however, ’maters are picked with a bit of green still showing. To turn the green to red (and make fruits fully ripe) simply place them in a cozy area indoors. A sunny windowsill won’t do because ol’ Sol’s direct rays could redden the skin but not ripen the inside of the tomato. Moderate warmth, not strong light, is the key to properly maturing a tomato.
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L.A. Jackson is the former editor of Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact him at lajackson1@gmail.com.
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Related story
Tasty homegrown tomatoes— Step up to the challenge of growing better-tasting tomatoes this season with expert advice from Clemson University Extension Agent Chase Smoak.