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Small vegetable garden, big harvest - here's how

18.10.2022  /  Reading time: 7 minutes

You can also harvest a lot from small beds if you follow a few tips. We have put together some tips and tricks on how to get the most out of a small garden. This makes gardening fun and satisfying, even in small vegetable patches!

This article contains:

  1. Creating and planting small and narrow beds
  2. Which vegetables need little space?
  3. Vegetables that can be harvested for a long time
  4. Examples and planting plans for small mixed culture beds
  5. Ideas and tips for a small vegetable garden

Quick Overview

Tips for saving space in a small garden:

  • The right choice of plants: small vegetables and narrow shrubs
  • Vegetables with a long harvest time for better time utilization
  • Mixed cultivation to plant lots of different vegetables in as little space as possible
  • Create height levels such as raised beds and hanging beds to utilize the vertical level.

Creating and planting small and narrow beds

If you only have a small area available, you can grow vegetables that require little space. For example, you can grow runner beans instead of bush beans. These tend to use the space vertically and do not spread out so lushly over the small bed. The same applies if you plant pole tomatoes instead of bush tomatoes. If you would like to create a new small vegetable patch, we have summarized some tips for you in our article. You can also find a list of vegetables that don't take up too much space here. So you can grow lots of vegetables in a small space.

Which vegetables need little space?

  • Turnips
  • Radish
  • radish
  • Carrots
  • Garlic
  • Runner beans
  • Celery
  • Winter postelein
  • Leek
  • Lamb's lettuce
  • Peas
  • Chinese cabbage
  • Swiss chard
  • Pole tomatoes
  • Kohlrabi
  • Beet
  • Sugar loaf

Vegetables that can be harvested for a long time

It can also make sense to grow vegetables that can be harvested for a particularly long time. This way you can make the most of the limited space in your garden, at least in terms of time! Vegetables with a long harvest time include

  • Chard can be harvested again and again if only the outer leaves are cut off.
  • (Cut) lettuce, like chard, can be harvested as required by only ever harvesting the outer leaves.
  • Runner beans produce new beans when they feel well and over a longer period.
  • Kale is planted once and can be harvested again and again throughout the winter. However, it can take up quite a lot of space.
  • Carrots can be sown again and again and then gradually harvested.
  • In the case of beet and kohlrabi, the edible leaves can be harvested first before digging up the tubers.

Examples and planting plans for small mixed culture beds

Bed plan for small beds with a large variety of vegetables.

This first bed has been designed so that you can grow many different types of vegetables in a small area. You can plant a total of approx. 5 kohlrabi, 2 chard, 5 peas, 2 Chinese cabbage, 7 leeks, 20 carrot plants and a few radishes in a bed measuring 120x200 cm.

Idea for planting an elongated, narrow bed in a terraced house garden, for example.

This bed plan is suitable for long, narrow beds, for example in a terraced house garden. You can accommodate a lot of plants in this small bed measuring 1 x 2.5 m: Approx. 12 carrots, 8 radishes, 2 runner beans, 5 kohlrabi, 2 rows of spinach, 3 chard plants, as well as savory. If there are any gaps, these can also be filled with more kohlrabi plants.

Bed plan for a multi-layered, small bed to make use of the vertical space.

If you also want to go vertical to make the most of the height of your beds, you can try this"layered bed". Here, 2-3 runner beans and 2-3 tomato plants form the top layer. Underneath, you can either add more cabbage plants or sow herbs such as basil or savory.

Ideas and tips for a small vegetable garden

To make the best possible use of the limited space, we have put together some tips on how you can also use the vertical plane.

Vertical beds allow you to make better use of the space in small gardens.

Raised beds for small gardens

Small and narrow raised beds can give small gardens more structure and make them appear larger. You can also save space with raised beds: Planting cucumbers, small pumpkins, strawberries or other hanging plants on the edge not only looks beautiful, but also makes use of the vertical level.

Hanging beds - save space with vertical beds

With this vertical bed design, you can decorate your house wall, for example. Not only does it look great, but it also saves a lot of space in small gardens. You can also create vertical beds like this on the south side of garden walls. You can either buy special devices for hanging beds or make them yourself from an old garden fence and flower pots. The pots are attached to the slats of the fence and then planted. Kitchen herbs, bush tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, strawberries, lettuce and many other vegetable plants are suitable for planting. Just give it a try!

Height levels for more structural diversity in small gardens

Once again, the vertical plane is utilized. Here you can create artificial levels that resemble a staircase. You can then plant these steps. In narrow terraced house gardens, the sides of the garden are ideal for this design method. This also creates a visual separation from the neighboring garden.

Trees in a small garden - the right woody plants

It is important to choose plants that have a certain ornamental value all year round. For example, small woody species that flower in spring and have great leaf color in autumn are suitable. Examples of this are the witch hazel or the rock pear. You should also make sure to plant tall shrubs such as dwarf lilacs or roses, as these do not take up as much space. Larger trees should not be planted in a small garden. Only columnar cherries or miniature patio fruit trees are suitable for small gardens. You can also plant espalier fruit trees on a narrow strip next to the house wall.

Mixed cultivation for space-saving gardening

Mixed cultivation is particularly suitable for small gardens, as taller climbing plants can be planted alongside flat-growing ground cover plants. This also shifts the bed into the horizontal plane. In addition, a colorful, mixed vegetable patch looks larger than a monotonous patch with only one or two types of vegetables.


I hope I have answered all your questions about your small vegetable garden. If you have any questions or comments, please write to us at [email protected].

Would you like to receive helpful gardening tips all year round and plan your own beds in the best possible way? Then register here or download the Fryd app for Android or iOS.

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Author

Isabell

Isabell studies agricultural sciences and loves to be surprised by nature and its complexity again and again. Herbs - whether gathered wild or in the garden - are her passion.

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Current topics in the community

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Ingo15890 1 hours ago
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Harvested a sweet potato today. 650g. If the others are as big, I'll be completely satisfied. I've already cut cuttings.

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Kathi‘s Garten 🌻 2 hours ago
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#potatoes 🥰

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Nordheide-Garten 2 hours ago
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Harvest! We are particularly pleased with the beans. We planted them so late and didn't expect much of a yield. #shoppinginthegarden #harvest #everythingfromthegarden #lifeisbeautifulinthegarden

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