Things You'll Need:
- seeds
- small plot of land
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Step 1
Plan your layout
Plan your layout long before you plant. Thick about each plant and what it needs. Which part of the garden will have sunlight for the longest part of the day? For a patch of tall plants, such as corn, where can they be planted so they will not rob other plants of sunlight?
Typically, when gardeners plan their gardens, they think of the plot's visible dimensions, length and width. You can get far more yield in a limited space if you also think of depth. Do you have lattice on your porch or a fence that cucumbers, beans or tomatoes could grow on? -
Step 2
Don't overlook the fourth dimension, time
To get the most food for the least space, you are going to be pushing the envelope all year. Know how long it takes for each plant to mature and the earliest planting dates for your area. See what combinations will give you the most number of harvests over the year.
If you learn to incorporate the fourth dimension – time – into your gardening, you will be able to increase your garden's yield many fold. A patch of corn, for instance, planted in late May should be ready for harvest in August. As soon as you harvest the corn, remove the stalks and till them under or place the stalks in the compost pile. Plant a late season crop, such as carrots, parsnips or turnips in its place. -
Step 3
Start early
You can start the seeds from some plants, such as onions, turnips, parsnips, carrots and spinach in the late fall and overwinter the seedlings. These plants will mature much earlier than had you planted them the following spring. This not only gives you a bonus early harvest, if you play your cards right, you can get numerous harvests over the course of a year. -
Step 4
Farm an on-deck circle.
Plants do need space to grow to their maximum potential. Seed packets generally specify some distance the seeds must be planted apart. That applies for mature plants. You can plant carrots, turnips, leaf lettuce and other easily-transplantable plants very thickly in a small area. A plant won't grow as quickly
It is possible this way to get four harvests from a single piece of ground in a growing season in temperate climes. If you plant sweet Corn in early May, for instance, plant another crop of corn in your on-deck circle in mid-June. When you harvest your first crop in early July, transplant the corn seedlings from the on-deck circle. Plant turnip seeds in your on-deck circle in early August. When you harvest your second corn crop in late August or early September, transplant the turnip seedlings. It won't be long before you'll be eating turnip greens and you should have a crop of turnips in late October and November. -
Step 5
Eat as you thin
You can not only plant thickly for later transplanting, but you can also do so for eating. Sow seeds from greens you can eat as immature plants thickly. As they grow, you'll need to thin out the planting, but eat what you thin. This not only allows you to consume from your garden earlier, it increases your total yield over the course of a year.
You can also plant crops, such as turnips that are valueable for BOTH their roots and their greens. While the turnip tubers develop, you can cut greens for the table. -
Step 6
Grow on several planes
In a very small plot, you aren't planting in rows as much as patches. Your patches, however, need not be exclusive. Planting three or four popcorn plants in a five-foot-square lettuce patch will
