Growing in a Small Space
You can grow a lot on a full-size allotment. You can also grow plenty on a half or a quarter plot - you just have to be more organised about it.
The number one rule is to keep your soil really fertile as you will be asking a lot of it. The second is to grow what you like but also try something new each year. Share seeds with other people who have small plots.
Here are lots of ways to get more veg from your space:
Firstly, inter-cropping. This is to grow two crops simultaneously by planting a quick-growing crop in the spaces between larger, slower-maturing plants. Radishes with parsnips is a common combination. Sow the parsnips as usual but sow a radish halfway between each one. The radishes are quicker to germinate and can be harvested before the parsnips are big enough to need the space. Lettuces are great for inter-cropping, especially as they don't mind some shade. I plant mine between young brussels sprouts; Mandy has had a lot of success growing them between her rows of runner beans.
Shade-tolerant plants are a bonus when it comes to planning your growing space. Many leafy plants and root vegetables - such as beetroot and kale - will do well in the shadow of taller plants so you can plant closer than you would for plants which need a lot of sun, like tomatoes.
Another method is to grow different crops in succession. This involves planting a crop, often in the autumn, which will be harvested mid-summer. Have a different vegetable ready to plant out as soon as the ground is cleared. An example is autumn-sown garlic, lifted in July, followed immediately by dwarf french beans raised in modules and potted on ready to go.
Control the amount you grow through successional sowing. For example, sow a dozen spring onions every month. In a few months, when you are harvesting your first-sown crops at one end of the row or bed you will have others ready to transplant into the newly-available space.
Companion planting is another good use of space management. Grow a ground-cover plant, such as squash, around the base of tall crops like sweetcorn or climbing beans to provide shade at their roots and help conserve moisture in the soil. The aim is to have as little bare soil exposed at any time as possible (see pic below left: borage, dwarf beans, squash and sweet peas intermingled).
Some plants are good value because they crop though a long season. Courgettes are a good example: although they occupy the ground for most of the summer they will provide a continual supply of fruit. Other vegetables, such as beetroot, can be grown in clumps and harvested gradually. Don't grow too much of anything - just how many runner beans do you really want to eat?
Another way to make the most of your space is to grow plants vertically or in containers which can be moved around. Most squashes are quite happy to scramble up a trellis or wigwam and you can also make use of hanging baskets. Jimmy did this to good effect with his cherry tomatoes this year (see pic below right).
Extending the growing season and choosing hardy varieties also means you can grow more. Start some crops off in a propagator or under cover, then protect with fleece to get earlier harvests. Grow winter-hardy crops outside and others in a polytunnel or greenhouse for fresh salads and vegetables all year round.
By choosing your cultivars carefully it is also possible to harvest for a longer period and make the most of the seasons. I grow two varieties of many crops, such as cauliflowers, so that just as I finish harvesting one the next is ready to start. This helps to avoid a glut. Learning to grow the right amount for your needs and the space you have available to store your produce comes with practice, trial and error so don't despair if it goes wrong sometimes.
Planting in beds instead of long rows is probably a more efficient use of space, especially if you offset each row of vegetables in the bed to get the most plants in the space available. This is the principle used in square-metre or square-foot planting. Also, if you grow crops in a small well-fertilised area or raised bed you can afford to plant a little closer together than usually recommended.
If you don't have much time, try growing mostly fruit and perennial plants, such as asparagus and artichokes. These tend to be expensive, luxury items so will provide good value from your plot.
The main photo above shows a bed in Charles Dowding's garden, which was planted for BBC Gardener's World as a demonstration of what can be grown in a small space.
The number one rule is to keep your soil really fertile as you will be asking a lot of it. The second is to grow what you like but also try something new each year. Share seeds with other people who have small plots.
Here are lots of ways to get more veg from your space:
Firstly, inter-cropping. This is to grow two crops simultaneously by planting a quick-growing crop in the spaces between larger, slower-maturing plants. Radishes with parsnips is a common combination. Sow the parsnips as usual but sow a radish halfway between each one. The radishes are quicker to germinate and can be harvested before the parsnips are big enough to need the space. Lettuces are great for inter-cropping, especially as they don't mind some shade. I plant mine between young brussels sprouts; Mandy has had a lot of success growing them between her rows of runner beans.
Shade-tolerant plants are a bonus when it comes to planning your growing space. Many leafy plants and root vegetables - such as beetroot and kale - will do well in the shadow of taller plants so you can plant closer than you would for plants which need a lot of sun, like tomatoes.
Another method is to grow different crops in succession. This involves planting a crop, often in the autumn, which will be harvested mid-summer. Have a different vegetable ready to plant out as soon as the ground is cleared. An example is autumn-sown garlic, lifted in July, followed immediately by dwarf french beans raised in modules and potted on ready to go.
Control the amount you grow through successional sowing. For example, sow a dozen spring onions every month. In a few months, when you are harvesting your first-sown crops at one end of the row or bed you will have others ready to transplant into the newly-available space.
Companion planting is another good use of space management. Grow a ground-cover plant, such as squash, around the base of tall crops like sweetcorn or climbing beans to provide shade at their roots and help conserve moisture in the soil. The aim is to have as little bare soil exposed at any time as possible (see pic below left: borage, dwarf beans, squash and sweet peas intermingled).
Some plants are good value because they crop though a long season. Courgettes are a good example: although they occupy the ground for most of the summer they will provide a continual supply of fruit. Other vegetables, such as beetroot, can be grown in clumps and harvested gradually. Don't grow too much of anything - just how many runner beans do you really want to eat?
Another way to make the most of your space is to grow plants vertically or in containers which can be moved around. Most squashes are quite happy to scramble up a trellis or wigwam and you can also make use of hanging baskets. Jimmy did this to good effect with his cherry tomatoes this year (see pic below right).
Extending the growing season and choosing hardy varieties also means you can grow more. Start some crops off in a propagator or under cover, then protect with fleece to get earlier harvests. Grow winter-hardy crops outside and others in a polytunnel or greenhouse for fresh salads and vegetables all year round.
By choosing your cultivars carefully it is also possible to harvest for a longer period and make the most of the seasons. I grow two varieties of many crops, such as cauliflowers, so that just as I finish harvesting one the next is ready to start. This helps to avoid a glut. Learning to grow the right amount for your needs and the space you have available to store your produce comes with practice, trial and error so don't despair if it goes wrong sometimes.
Planting in beds instead of long rows is probably a more efficient use of space, especially if you offset each row of vegetables in the bed to get the most plants in the space available. This is the principle used in square-metre or square-foot planting. Also, if you grow crops in a small well-fertilised area or raised bed you can afford to plant a little closer together than usually recommended.
If you don't have much time, try growing mostly fruit and perennial plants, such as asparagus and artichokes. These tend to be expensive, luxury items so will provide good value from your plot.
The main photo above shows a bed in Charles Dowding's garden, which was planted for BBC Gardener's World as a demonstration of what can be grown in a small space.
Submitted by Jane, plot 9
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