How Much Room Do I Need for a Vegetable Garden?
You can grow a lot of vegetables in a small space. The University of South Carolina Extension recommends a 25-square-foot garden space for a family of four. If you are a beginning vegetable gardener, you may want to start small and gradually expand after you have an understanding of the amount of time and work required to grow a garden. Does this Spark an idea?
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Intensive Gardening
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Maximize yields in a small space using intensive gardening techniques. With careful planning, it is possible, for example, to interplant two or more compatible vegetables in the same place at the same time. Corn, squash and pole beans grow well together. Corn provides a climbing structure for the beans; beans replenish nitrogen removed from the soil by corn and squash; and squash provides ground cover, shading out weeds and retaining moisture, for the beans and corn. Raised beds provide another intensive gardening method. Raised beds, 3- to 4-foot beds of soil mounded above the natural soil line, concentrate soil and nutrients in a small, manageable area. Though the gardening area is small, raised beds are composed of rich, well-draining soil. The ample nutrient availability and good moisture-holding capacity of raised beds contributes to higher vegetable yields.
Vegetable Spacing
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If you have limited space for a garden, consider growing compact vegetable plants. Bush bean plants require just 2 to 3 inches between plants and 24 inches between rows. Vining plants, such as squash, cucumbers, pumpkins and watermelons, require 15 to 24 inches between plants and 50 to 80 inches between rows. Lettuce, onions, peas and turnips, requiring just 2 inches between plants and 12 inches between rows, use space more efficiently than broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and okra. These vegetables need at least 18 to 24 inches between plants and about 24 inches between rows.
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Vertical Gardening
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Maximize space in the garden by training some plants to grow up supports such as trellises, bamboo poles and fence lines. Indeterminate tomato plants climb as high as 8 feet when tied to wire or wood trellises. Attach tomato plants to stakes with soft ties to avoid damaging the plants. Gently loop a few pea plant tendrils against thin poles to help young plants attach to supports. They will naturally climb up the pole without ties or additional assistance.
Containers
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You can have a vegetable garden even if you do not have adequate ground space. Many vegetable varieties grow and produce high yields in containers. Snap beans, kale and lettuce grow in 8-inch-diameter containers. Lima beans, Brussels sprouts and chard grow in 12-inch diameter containers. Potatoes, pumpkins and tomatoes grow well in 5-gallon tubs. Select compact plant varieties for container vegetable gardens, such as thumbelina carrots, salad bush cucumbers and Tiny Tim tomatoes.
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Garden size is often limited by sunlight availability, soil quality and water access. Most vegetables require at least six hours of direct sunlight a day. If you do not have a large space with access to full sun, plant small plots in areas where there is direct light. Leafy greens, such as lettuce and spinach, require a minimum of four hours of direct sunlight a day. Root crops, such as potatoes and turnips, require at least four to six hours of sunlight each day and plants that flower, such as tomatoes and peppers, require six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day. You will yield more vegetables from a garden planted in well-draining soil. Avoid planting a garden in a low spot where water stands and air circulation is limited. Plants receiving a consistent source of water yield more vegetables, so plant your garden where access to irrigation is easy.
Yields
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Yields vary by vegetable variety and plant size. Cherry gold tomatoes, for example, produce more than 100 1-ounce fruits in a 12-inch space. Beefmaster tomato plants produce 10 to 12 2-pound fruits, but require 3 to 5 feet of garden space per plant. Vining cucumber varieties, such as Armenian, produce more fruit than bush cucumbers, such as spacemaster, but they also require more space in the garden. Vining cucumbers spread up to 5 feet. Bush cucumbers require just 12 inches of space per plant.
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