What vegetables work best in tight spaces?
Written by
Nguyen Minh
Reviewed by
Prof. Samuel Fitzgerald, Ph.D.Square foot gardening sustains the amount of space we have by maximizing productivity with the use of compact and vertical crops. On my balcony garden, I grow 18 varieties every year, demonstrating that choosing crops with purpose is better than growing in square footage. Plant fast-growing crops, such as spinach, next to climbing crops, such as peas, and use every inch to your advantage.
Leafy Greens
- Spinach: 9 plants per square, harvest outer leaves weekly
- Arugula: 4 per square, thrives in partial shade
- Butterhead lettuce: 1 head per square, cut-and-come-again
Bush Varieties
- Patio Pride tomatoes: 1 per square, 10 lbs yield
- Bush cucumbers: 2 per square, 8-10 fruits each
- Dwarf zucchini: 1 per 2 squares, 5-7 fruits monthly
Root Crops
- Paris Market carrots: 16 per square, 1" diameter
- Easter Egg radishes: 16 per square, 25-day maturity
- Baby beets: 9 per square, harvest at golf-ball size
Vertical gardening systems increase crop growing space. A customer used a 2x4ft trellis and harvested 15 lbs of pole beans, creating the equivalent of 15 square feet of growing space horizontally. Use nylon netting for crops like peas and steel grids for heavy crops like melons. Vine crops such as pole beans should be trained in a clockwise manner to avoid damage to stems as the plants wind around the vertical system.
Root vegetables thrive exceptionally in shallow beds. I have a 6-inch deep planter that grows 48 radishes for me every month. I sifted soil through a 1/4" mesh to have soil minus the rocks and no crooked carrots. I saw a 40% reduction in crooked carrots once I sifted out the rocks. Also, intermingle salad greens with your root vegetables to take advantage of the top surface space above the roots.
Read the full article: Ultimate Square Foot Gardening Guide: Maximize Your Harvest
