Are you looking for space saving vegetable garden ideas? or perusing small garden rooms, but aren’t sure how to start? We are tiny living experts and love gardening, so let us help you succeed with even the smallest garden.
Can I be a successful gardener with a small space or room?
With a little sunshine, a sprinkle of water, and soil, one can cultivate a garden in almost any nook or cranny. And who says that soil has to stay put in the earth? You can opt for suitable containers and let your green fingers do the magic, even in small spaces.
Whether you’re a suburban occupant, an urban apartment dweller, or a tiny living lover, there’s a verdant solution for your home. Unleash your backyard raised bed garden to spill into patio planters and indoor potted greens peeking out from your windowsill.
Tuck microgreens illuminated by grow lights in your kitchen while your front porch bursts with baskets brimming with juicy strawberries and plump tomatoes. The world of small-space gardening is your oyster and we are going to tell you all about it!
Space Saving Vegetable Garden Ideas
Raised Bed Garden
Raised beds are one of the creative planting solutions for small vegetable garden layouts. They make the perfect backyard vegetable garden. In our case, they are the best side yard vegetable garden idea.
Small raised bed gardening applies above-the-ground planting techniques in boxes or containers. Unlike conventional gardening, such beds are created from eclectic materials like lumber, concrete blocks, metal cutter feeders, or bricks.
Be sure if you are renting your home, or live in a strict HOA neighborhood, you inquire about garden planning permission. Believe it or not, some people don’t like having raised bed gardens, so just be sure to check.
We love our Earth Easy Raised Garden Beds and have had them for two seasons. They are perfect for our small space and reap all of the veggies that we eat, year-round.
Raised beds are also ideal for gardening on concrete or hard clay. They offer fertile, well-drained soil that yields more crops from a small area and allows for earlier planting.
Use wooden raised beds as they allow easy installation of trellises, tunnel hoops, and mesh wire to keep rodents out.
Benefits:
- Better soil drainage
- Improved pest control
- Portability
- High organic crop yield
Vertical Garden
A vertical vegetable garden involves growing plants in a vertical orientation, such as on a wall, fence, or trellis. Vertical gardening utilizes various growing mediums, such as specialized containers, pocket planters, shelves, or hooks for holding plants in standing directions. Vertical gardens are perfect for small spaces in urban settings.
Benefits:
- Add aesthetics and greenery to a small space
- Provide better air quality
- Improve vegetable growing prospects in small spaces
Patio or Balcony Garden
Patio or balcony gardening is the best choice for growing vegetables or aromatic herbs. This setting enables gardeners to utilize small outdoor spaces such as a balcony, terrace, or deck. You can grow varieties of plants, such as seasonal flowers, herbs, vegetables, shrubs, and even bonsai in patio gardens, depending on the size and layout of the space.
However, balcony gardens require hand watering with vigilant monitoring of soil moisture.
Hanging baskets can also grow several items for your garden. We have a hanging plant for strawberries, and it thrives. We haven’t been successful with planting strawberries into the ground, so consider that before giving up having a garden altogether.
Benefits:
- Add aesthetics to the outdoor spaces
- You can grow more than 50 varieties of vegetables and herbs
- Improves air quality
- The sight of greenery aids in nerve relaxation and reduces stress
Unique Small Garden Ideas
Windowsill Garden
If you do not have any outdoor space, windowsill gardens are the perfect choice for you. They are probably the biggest space saving gardens. Such gardens can be grown on a windowsill or other sunny indoor location, such as a ledge or countertop. Windowsill gardens are small and compact, utilizing small pots or containers that fit easily on windowsills.
The most limiting factor in windowsill gardening is light. The good thing is that it is manageable with LEDs or other artificial growing light sources. Here is a grow light that we have used and it worked really well.
You can have a windowsill garden in your office building, as long as you have a window. Home office? Perfect! The possibilities are endless with what you can do with garden room ideas with window gardens.
Garden Bar
Speaking of windowsill gardens, have you seen a garden bar? We’re not talking about the garden bar at your local buffet restaurant. We’re talking about a window rectangular pot, in which you create your own contemporary garden. You plant items you will grab and eat, making it your own garden bar.
Garden Pod
A compact LED countertop garden can be purchased online or maybe even at your local hardware store. Also known as a smart garden, it is easier than a hydroponic garden and takes up little room. It also has a great aesthetic and blends with any room design.
Once you purchase the Click and Grow Indoors, pods (also purchased from the same company) are inserted into the garden. Add some water, then let the LED light do its thing! With this system, you can have a garden all year round, depending on what you want to grow. You can have an office pod garden, or at home.
Benefits of these three options:
- Space-saving
- Easy to maintain
- Cost-effective
- A great way to bring nature indoors and can provide a source of fresh herbs or other products for cooking
Small Garden Room
If you have some space outdoors and are considering a small greenhouse or garden room, you can check these out.
- DIY your own garden room with these blueprint design plans. This little outdoor room is the perfect garden studio or could convert into a work space to prepare your plants.
- If you want to make more of an investment, try this Outdoor Garden Room/She Shed. This garden room could also be a perfect office space for non-gardening, or specifically a garden office.
If you are going the garden room design route, be sure to check for planning permission in your area. Garden buildings in many neighborhoods are not allowed, or they have to follow certain guidelines.
Ideas to Maximize Vegetable Yield in Small Spaces
Here are some creative suggestions for optimizing your small space to cultivate a flourishing garden that yields an abundant harvest of leafy greens, vegetables, herbs, and whatever else you desire. Vegetable gardening can be fulfilling, and should definitely not intimidate you.
Opt for Fast-Growing Vegetables or Crops
Gardeners with small spaces can leverage intercropping, quick-maturing varieties, and succession planting, to increase their organic yields. During the growing season, many agriculturists take advantage of time and focus on nutrient-dense crops with a faster growth rate and refrain from slow-growing produce.
With so many flavorful vegetables available for quick harvests, there is no need to waste time and space on flat-growing crops like celery, leeks, or pumpkins. You want to set yourself up for success in your space saving vegetable garden. It is the perfect time to embrace fast-growing roots and greens in your small vegetable gardens. Here are some vegetable garden ideas for you to grow.
Top Fast-Growing Vegetables in Small Spaces
Salad Greens
- Harvest Time: 3-4 weeks
- Space Required: Can be planted closely with the “cut and come again” forte – which means one crop produces multiple harvests.
Sprouts and Microgreens
- Harvest Time: 10-20 Days
- Space Required: Perfect for space saving vegetable garden and is best for new gardeners.
Baby Carrots
- Harvest Time: 50-60 Days
- Space Required: Can grow in rows 2-3 inches apart.
Radish
- Harvest Time: 20-30 Days
- Space Required: Can grow in 1 inch of space per radish root.
Green Beans
- Harvest Time: 45-60 days
- Space Required: Can grow easily in 1-inch deep and 6-inch apart rows.
Interplanting
It is also known as intercropping or companion planting – a multiple-crop growing strategy in the same place. It is one of the most tested ecological techniques that maximize small garden spaces while improving the growth of harvests through added pollination, fertility, pest control, and biodiversity.
Pro Tip
The key to companion planting is comprehending the growth habits of crops. Since various vegetables have distinct growth patterns, it is crucial to pre-plan the harvesting.
For instance, all varieties of tomatoes grow best vertically, providing shade for shade-tolerant crops like spinach, scallions, and lettuce. So, intelligent gardeners can take advantage of such growth patterns.
Be mindful that root vegetables are great for pots and containers but make sure they are not too shallow.
Design Space-Saving Layout
Plan a space-saving garden layout by dividing your vegetable garden into zones, measuring pathways, and incorporating vertical or container gardening techniques. If you are growing tomatoes, know that they can thrive and take over the plants surrounding them. We now plant our tomatoes in their own separate area where they have plenty of room.
Pro Tip
Opt for small gardens and layouts that give you the most yield per square foot.
Succession Planting
Succession planting allows the harvest of different crops in the same area in a planned sequence, so as soon as gardeners harvest one crop, the new crop is ready to be harvested. One can do succession planting by growing multiple seeding, such as spring, summer, and fall carrots, or seeding lettuce every two weeks.
Pro Tip
In succession planting, planning is critical to successful harvesting. It is essential to contemplate crop maturity days to attain a steady supply of vegetables around the year.
Space Saving Vegetable Garden Ideas Takeaway
Let your imagination run wild and combine diverse garden types in little harmonious spaces. With apt initiatives and innovations, one can harvest high-yield crops even in a space saving vegetable garden. So, understand the spatial dynamics and let your green thumb create your lush oasis in any alcove!
Having a home garden allows you to enjoy mother nature in an entirely different way. Let us know if you have started a garden in a small space and how it’s going!
Frequently Asked Questions | FAQs
Similar to plants, an indoor garden, no matter the size, promotes wellness and reduces stress. It’s also convenient. You will see it every day and be more apt to eat from it.
No. If you compost, you can use that as your nutrient base for your soil. Contact your local co-op to find free seeds, or sometimes vegetable plants.
Use the same rule of thumb for your garden as you do for your plants. Stick your finger in the soil, to your knuckle. If it is damp, don’t water it. If it is dry, water.
