Small Plot Vegetable Gardening
This publication provides recommendations and techniques for growing quality vegetables in a limited space.
Site Selection and Preparation
Choose a site that receives at least six hours of sun each day. Vegetables grown in shady locations are usually less productive and of poor quality.
Planning
Plan your garden on paper before planting. Determine the amount of space you have available, then decide what crops to grow. Consider incorporating some of these space-saving techniques.
Space Saving Techniques
Interplanting—Grow two or more vegetables in one area by planting slow (long season) and fast maturing (short season) crops.
Succession planting—As soon as one crop is fi nished,
plant another.
Use vertical space—Use a trellis or fence to support pole beans, cucumbers, and squash. Cage or stake tomatoes.
Wide row planting—Scatter seeds over an 8- to 12-inch wide band rather than in a single row.
Bush varieties—Plant “bush” varieties of cucumbers, muskmelon, watermelon, and squash that produce fruit on much shorter vines.
Square foot gardening—This is a form of intensive gardening in which the garden is marked off into squares of space for crops rather than planting in straight rows.
Summer Care
If crops are planted in wide rows or square-foot plots, hand weeding will be necessary until the canopy of the foliage covers the area and prevents weed growth.
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