Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Small space garden plants
A small space doesn’t mean you can’t have a garden! I have a raised bed for my vegetables but I also plant in pots.
I like cucumbers but I don’t like the space they take up in my raised bed.
Cucumber ‘Patio Snacker’ is the perfect size to plant in a 15 inch pot with a trellis for the 3 to 5 foot vines to grow on. It’s fruits are 6 to 8 inches with non-bitter skin. And they mature in 50 days!
For fruit trees in a small space, I recommend trying the “getting ever more popular” columnar apples. ‘Blushing Delight’ produces abundant green apples blushed with red – ripening in September. It grows to just 8 feet tall and only needs 3 feet spacing between.
Apple trees need another variety for cross pollination. Might I suggest ‘Tangy Green’ or Columnar Red? These trees can also be planted in containers. If you’re in zone 4, give them protection if planted in a container. Plants in the soil only need mulch.
These are also called Colonnade apples.
Loose leaf lettuce can be packed tight and because you can harvest it early, you can interplant it with tomatoes and other later season vegetables. There are a LOT of different varieties. One of my favorites is a mesclun mix.
Or maybe you’d like swiss chard, packed with phytonutrients.
Patio or cherry tomatoes are a great choice for small spaces. ‘Sweetheart of the Patio’ cherry toms are the perfect choice for delicious flavor, disease resistance and they’re determinate. That means they’ll grow to 3 feet and stop yet deliver plenty of tasty fruit. It matures in 68 days. ‘Bush Early Girl II’ is meatier yet very tasty and delivers in 54 days. It’s also disease resistant and determinate.
Most determinate varieties of tomatoes are the ticket for your small space. Also consider bush or dwarf type plants, such as bush beans for containers or in the garden. Dwarf bean ‘Speedy’.
Remember too, that you can take advantage of the time it takes for your tomatoes to grow and plant things like radishes and lettuce in that same area. When they’re done is when your tomatoes are really starting to grow.
Going vertical is a great way to save space. I used an old mattress spring secured into my raised bed with bamboo poles to grow squash on.
