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Growing Vegetables in Small Gardens – Space Saving Techniques
Jane Thomas asked:
You don’t need a large area to have a vegetable garden. All you do need is good soil, plenty of sunshine, a water source and probably a fence. Limited gardening space doesn’t necessary need to be an obstacle for growing vegetables. A well-planned and organized garden can make planting go quickly and efficiently for maximum yields in minimum space. If space is limited use the land twice, or try these intensive cropping techniques.
Space Saving Techniques in Small Vegetable Gardens
Companion crops – This can be accomplished by sowing the seeds of a fast and slow growing vegetable together in the same row. For example, radishes (fast maturing) and carrots (slow maturing) can be sown together. Mix radish and carrot seeds and plant together. Radishes are a short-season crop so will be harvested before the carrots need room to grow. This is also a good method of thinning the carrots. Another method is to alternate rows of fast and slow maturing vegetables. An example would be a row of leaf lettuce between two rows of tomatoes.
Succession planting – As soon as one crop is finished, plant another. After short-season crops such as lettuce, spinach, radishes and peas have stopped bearing, they can be removed. Plant carrots, beets, Swiss chard, turnips or green beans for a later crop.
Bush varieties – Plant “bush” varieties of cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, peppers and squash that produce fruit on much shorter vines. “Bush” refers to growing habit. These plants take up less space in the garden than standard varieties.
Use vertical space by staking and trellising – Some crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and pole beans may be supported by stakes, poles, trellises, or fences and grown upright rather than on the ground. Use a trellis or fence to support pole beans, cucumbers, and squash; cage or stake tomatoes, they will take much less room this way.
Square foot gardening – This is a form of intensive gardening in which the garden is marked off into squares of space for crops rather than planting in straight rows. The name comes from partitioning blocks of garden space that are 1 ft. x 1 ft. A common arrangement is to mark off squares that are 4 ft. x 4 ft. (16 sq. ft.). This area is then divided into four parts that are 2 ft. x 2 ft. One tomato plant or equally spaced seeds are then planted in these square areas, depending on the space needs of the plant.
You don’t need a large area to have a vegetable garden. All you do need is good soil, plenty of sunshine, a water source and probably a fence. Limited gardening space doesn’t necessary need to be an obstacle for growing vegetables. A well-planned and organized garden can make planting go quickly and efficiently for maximum yields in minimum space. If space is limited use the land twice, or try these intensive cropping techniques.
Space Saving Techniques in Small Vegetable Gardens
Companion crops – This can be accomplished by sowing the seeds of a fast and slow growing vegetable together in the same row. For example, radishes (fast maturing) and carrots (slow maturing) can be sown together. Mix radish and carrot seeds and plant together. Radishes are a short-season crop so will be harvested before the carrots need room to grow. This is also a good method of thinning the carrots. Another method is to alternate rows of fast and slow maturing vegetables. An example would be a row of leaf lettuce between two rows of tomatoes.
Succession planting – As soon as one crop is finished, plant another. After short-season crops such as lettuce, spinach, radishes and peas have stopped bearing, they can be removed. Plant carrots, beets, Swiss chard, turnips or green beans for a later crop.
Bush varieties – Plant “bush” varieties of cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, peppers and squash that produce fruit on much shorter vines. “Bush” refers to growing habit. These plants take up less space in the garden than standard varieties.
Use vertical space by staking and trellising – Some crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and pole beans may be supported by stakes, poles, trellises, or fences and grown upright rather than on the ground. Use a trellis or fence to support pole beans, cucumbers, and squash; cage or stake tomatoes, they will take much less room this way.
Square foot gardening – This is a form of intensive gardening in which the garden is marked off into squares of space for crops rather than planting in straight rows. The name comes from partitioning blocks of garden space that are 1 ft. x 1 ft. A common arrangement is to mark off squares that are 4 ft. x 4 ft. (16 sq. ft.). This area is then divided into four parts that are 2 ft. x 2 ft. One tomato plant or equally spaced seeds are then planted in these square areas, depending on the space needs of the plant.
Can You Really Save Money on Growing Vegetables?
Jane Thomas asked:
There are several good reasons to grow a garden.
And with today’s economy, everyone is looking for ways to cut expenses. Lately, we can read all over the Internet and hear all the time that growing vegetables in your garden can be cheaper, more interesting, and better than buying them at supermarkets.
The biggest concern to most people is the fact that it will save so much money. Growing your own vegetables in the garden or in containers, if done properly, can reduce the amount of money you spent on groceries. But, will you succeed in doing so, depends on the costs involved in growing the crops, amounts and types of vegetables you choose to grow, vegetable yields you could expect from your garden, and many other factors. So, to answer the question from the title: “yes” – if done correctly.
It’s possible to spend a small fortune on a garden. If you go out and buy everything that you need (or you THINK you need) to start a vegetable garden, and then calculate all of the input costs (tools and equipment, fertilizers, pesticides, water, etc.) associated with gardening, you could end up with an astonishing figure. These costs can add up quickly, even for a small vegetable garden. The trick to saving money with a vegetable garden is limiting the costs, while purchasing the things you really need for your vegetable garden.
And one of the most important things that will determinate if you will save money by growing your own vegetables is choosing the types of vegetables to grow in your garden! This is done by factoring in the cost of seeds, fertilizer and water (the cost of growing vegetables) against the cost of purchasing those same vegetables in a grocery store. Some vegetables simply won’t save you much money. For example, corn; because you don’t get a high yield of corn from a small garden and because in season corn is inexpensive to buy, it doesn’t pay off to grow corn in your garden in order to save money on groceries.
So, What Vegetables Will Give You the Most Bang for the Buck?
If you want to start a vegetable garden to save money, consider growing vegetables that give a big yield and have a significant return for an investment. Good way to do this is to select vegetables that are expensive to buy in the grocery store (like tomatoes and melons) or to grow large quantities of vegetables that you purchase regularly.
If you’ve never had a vegetable garden before, take a tip from experienced gardener, and take a look at these six classic vegetables you can grow from seed and harvest throughout the summer, and save some money doing so:
* Bush Snap Beans * Carrots
* Lettuce * Peas
* Bell Pepper s * Tomatoes
These vegetable seeds are top sellers year after year, and for a good reason! Of course, the varieties change yearly, but standby vegetables like tomatoes, beans and carrots all always at the top of the lists.
Except these six vegetables already mentioned, in order to save money growing vegetables consider vegetables like broccoli, beans, beets, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, summer squash, spinach, tomatoes and Swiss chard. All these vegetables will provide the biggest returns on your investment of space and time you spend in your vegetable garden.
Even a relatively small garden, say 20′ x 20′, will give you enough room for variety, without being overwhelmed. Of course how much you save by growing your own vegetables depends on the fluctuating cost of food.
Remember, growing vegetables will save you money in the long run – the first year might actually cost more if you need to buy tools, pots and all your seeds, but the second and following years will be much cheaper!
There are several good reasons to grow a garden.
And with today’s economy, everyone is looking for ways to cut expenses. Lately, we can read all over the Internet and hear all the time that growing vegetables in your garden can be cheaper, more interesting, and better than buying them at supermarkets.
The biggest concern to most people is the fact that it will save so much money. Growing your own vegetables in the garden or in containers, if done properly, can reduce the amount of money you spent on groceries. But, will you succeed in doing so, depends on the costs involved in growing the crops, amounts and types of vegetables you choose to grow, vegetable yields you could expect from your garden, and many other factors. So, to answer the question from the title: “yes” – if done correctly.
It’s possible to spend a small fortune on a garden. If you go out and buy everything that you need (or you THINK you need) to start a vegetable garden, and then calculate all of the input costs (tools and equipment, fertilizers, pesticides, water, etc.) associated with gardening, you could end up with an astonishing figure. These costs can add up quickly, even for a small vegetable garden. The trick to saving money with a vegetable garden is limiting the costs, while purchasing the things you really need for your vegetable garden.
And one of the most important things that will determinate if you will save money by growing your own vegetables is choosing the types of vegetables to grow in your garden! This is done by factoring in the cost of seeds, fertilizer and water (the cost of growing vegetables) against the cost of purchasing those same vegetables in a grocery store. Some vegetables simply won’t save you much money. For example, corn; because you don’t get a high yield of corn from a small garden and because in season corn is inexpensive to buy, it doesn’t pay off to grow corn in your garden in order to save money on groceries.
So, What Vegetables Will Give You the Most Bang for the Buck?
If you want to start a vegetable garden to save money, consider growing vegetables that give a big yield and have a significant return for an investment. Good way to do this is to select vegetables that are expensive to buy in the grocery store (like tomatoes and melons) or to grow large quantities of vegetables that you purchase regularly.
If you’ve never had a vegetable garden before, take a tip from experienced gardener, and take a look at these six classic vegetables you can grow from seed and harvest throughout the summer, and save some money doing so:
* Bush Snap Beans * Carrots
* Lettuce * Peas
* Bell Pepper s * Tomatoes
These vegetable seeds are top sellers year after year, and for a good reason! Of course, the varieties change yearly, but standby vegetables like tomatoes, beans and carrots all always at the top of the lists.
Except these six vegetables already mentioned, in order to save money growing vegetables consider vegetables like broccoli, beans, beets, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, summer squash, spinach, tomatoes and Swiss chard. All these vegetables will provide the biggest returns on your investment of space and time you spend in your vegetable garden.
Even a relatively small garden, say 20′ x 20′, will give you enough room for variety, without being overwhelmed. Of course how much you save by growing your own vegetables depends on the fluctuating cost of food.
Remember, growing vegetables will save you money in the long run – the first year might actually cost more if you need to buy tools, pots and all your seeds, but the second and following years will be much cheaper!
How to Grow Vegetables with (and for) Your Kids!
Jane Thomas asked:
The best way to ensure that your children eat healthy is to grow your own vegetables! And the trick to getting your children interested in healthy, organic vegetables is helping them grow their own.
You and your children can grow your own vegetables even if you don’t have masses of space to grow vegetables in your garden or a specified vegetable plot, since there are more and more possibilities for growing vegetables in containers.
Here’s how you do it:
1. Set aside a couple of containers or a small area of your garden and designate it the “children’s garden”. Obviously, you as a parent will be doing most of planting, tending for vegetable plants, weeding and watering, but let your child take pride in selecting (from the list of easy to grow vegetables) which vegetables to grow and how the plants will be positioned. If you don’t have a garden, there are many vegetables that can be grown in containers!
2. Choose vegetables that produce something to eat quickly, such as radish, spring onion, baby carrot and baby salad leaf. Quick growing vegetables are the best way to insure your child remains interested in vegetables and gardening! Tomatoes are another obvious choice, especially cherry types, as children can pick and eat them straight off the plant. Cucumbers are great candidate also. The traditional type is too large, but looks for varieties which are ready when they’re just 10cm long.
3. Encourage your child and to keep up the enthusiasm, by letting your child choose some of easy to grow vegetables, and you will both be delighted with the results. Find out what vegetables grow in your area, and what time of year each vegetable should be planted. (Check the library for magazines and books on vegetable gardening, look it up on the internet in gardening related sites and forums, or ask a gardener or farmer in your neighborhood).
4. Remember, make growing your own vegetables a FUN activity! Your child will love digging up the potatoes and carrots – make it a game, like digging for buried treasure! And watching seeds grow from tiny seedlings into grown, mature plants, tending for them and keeping an eye on their progress every day, protecting them from invaders (slugs and insects), really is quite an adventure even for us adults, let alone for the children.
Additional benefit from home growing vegetables with your kids is that it will encourage your kids to eat more vegetables – especially the fussy eaters! Let them choose the vegetable seeds or plants, help them plant and tend for vegetables together, and finally harvest the fresh vegetables. Home grown vegetables taste SO much better when they are fresh and not mass produced or bought at the supermarket. Tasting the difference between home grown vegetables and the supermarket kind is like eating a completely different vegetable. And your kids will notice the difference!
Another benefit that comes from growing your own vegetables with the help of your children is that children actually learn what vegetables look like, where vegetables come from and how vegetables grow. Furthermore, use this opportunity to teach them how to prepare vegetables for eating. Given that more and more children seem to have difficulty recognizing basic vegetables and knowing what to do with them, learning how to grow vegetables in your home garden or in containers will provide your children with a valuable education and a useful life skill– while at the same time they have fun and plenty of fresh air!
The best way to ensure that your children eat healthy is to grow your own vegetables! And the trick to getting your children interested in healthy, organic vegetables is helping them grow their own.
You and your children can grow your own vegetables even if you don’t have masses of space to grow vegetables in your garden or a specified vegetable plot, since there are more and more possibilities for growing vegetables in containers.
Here’s how you do it:
1. Set aside a couple of containers or a small area of your garden and designate it the “children’s garden”. Obviously, you as a parent will be doing most of planting, tending for vegetable plants, weeding and watering, but let your child take pride in selecting (from the list of easy to grow vegetables) which vegetables to grow and how the plants will be positioned. If you don’t have a garden, there are many vegetables that can be grown in containers!
2. Choose vegetables that produce something to eat quickly, such as radish, spring onion, baby carrot and baby salad leaf. Quick growing vegetables are the best way to insure your child remains interested in vegetables and gardening! Tomatoes are another obvious choice, especially cherry types, as children can pick and eat them straight off the plant. Cucumbers are great candidate also. The traditional type is too large, but looks for varieties which are ready when they’re just 10cm long.
3. Encourage your child and to keep up the enthusiasm, by letting your child choose some of easy to grow vegetables, and you will both be delighted with the results. Find out what vegetables grow in your area, and what time of year each vegetable should be planted. (Check the library for magazines and books on vegetable gardening, look it up on the internet in gardening related sites and forums, or ask a gardener or farmer in your neighborhood).
4. Remember, make growing your own vegetables a FUN activity! Your child will love digging up the potatoes and carrots – make it a game, like digging for buried treasure! And watching seeds grow from tiny seedlings into grown, mature plants, tending for them and keeping an eye on their progress every day, protecting them from invaders (slugs and insects), really is quite an adventure even for us adults, let alone for the children.
Additional benefit from home growing vegetables with your kids is that it will encourage your kids to eat more vegetables – especially the fussy eaters! Let them choose the vegetable seeds or plants, help them plant and tend for vegetables together, and finally harvest the fresh vegetables. Home grown vegetables taste SO much better when they are fresh and not mass produced or bought at the supermarket. Tasting the difference between home grown vegetables and the supermarket kind is like eating a completely different vegetable. And your kids will notice the difference!
Another benefit that comes from growing your own vegetables with the help of your children is that children actually learn what vegetables look like, where vegetables come from and how vegetables grow. Furthermore, use this opportunity to teach them how to prepare vegetables for eating. Given that more and more children seem to have difficulty recognizing basic vegetables and knowing what to do with them, learning how to grow vegetables in your home garden or in containers will provide your children with a valuable education and a useful life skill– while at the same time they have fun and plenty of fresh air!
Growing Vegetables to Save Money: Important Tips to Consider for First Time Gardeners
Jane Thomas asked:
Saving money is one of the biggest benefits to growing a vegetable garden in the mind of many first time gardeners. While this may be a good enough reason to start a vegetable garden, let’s not forget that there are others as well. Growing your own vegetables would increase your confidence in food safety and security. You would know where your food is coming from and all the history of plants grown in your own gardens. You would know what chemicals you used (if any), would learn what pests could impose problems and would essentially eliminate the whole resource-gobbling transportation chain to get the food to your plate. And all that gardening is good for you, because it‘s a great form of physical exercise!
For all you first time gardeners, here are several useful tips to consider when growing a vegetable garden in order to save your money:
Select vegetables that you and your family like to eat. Many fist time gardeners don’t know where to start and which vegetables to grow in their gardens. This is quite simple – you’re not likely to take care of vegetables you don’t like to eat. So don’t waste your time or money planting them in the garden, but choose the ones you like (and that grow well in your gardening zone).
Select vegetables that are expensive to buy. To save money, think of growing more expensive items, like tomatoes, or growing large quantities of vegetables that you purchase regularly. You could save money by growing herbs if you use a lot and they’re expensive to buy; mixed salad leaves are also cheaper to grow than to buy. Consider vegetables like broccoli, beans, beets, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, summer squash, spinach, tomatoes and Swiss chard. All these vegetables will provide the biggest returns on your investment of space and time you spend in your vegetable garden.
Select vegetables that can be easily stored or preserved. A lot of vegetables that you can grow in your garden you can store, freeze, or can so you are saving that money year round, not just during the growing season. Selecting vegetables that have a long storage life or that can easily be canned or frozen is a great way to save money on your grocery bills. Potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, and winter squash can be stored for several months if stored at the appropriate temperature. Other vegetables, like tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and beets, can be preserved by canning or freezing. Preserving vegetables is a great way to enjoy the surplus produce later in the year.
Do some research and start with a plan. Planning the garden on paper could help you decide what you want to grow and determine what will be necessary to be successful. If you need help, ask family members, neighbors, or friends that can help you. There are many gardening forums and sites on the Internet where you can search for information that you’re looking for.
Start small. Even a relatively small garden, say 20′ x 20′, will give you enough room for variety, without being overwhelmed. Plants will require regular maintenance, watering and harvesting. Growing too many different vegetables your first year in a large garden could become overwhelming for you and can ultimately lead to failure. It’s better to limit yourself to just a few types of vegetables the first year. Later, when you become confident in your abilities, you can gradually increase the size of your vegetable garden and grow a more and more variety of crops!
Saving money is one of the biggest benefits to growing a vegetable garden in the mind of many first time gardeners. While this may be a good enough reason to start a vegetable garden, let’s not forget that there are others as well. Growing your own vegetables would increase your confidence in food safety and security. You would know where your food is coming from and all the history of plants grown in your own gardens. You would know what chemicals you used (if any), would learn what pests could impose problems and would essentially eliminate the whole resource-gobbling transportation chain to get the food to your plate. And all that gardening is good for you, because it‘s a great form of physical exercise!
For all you first time gardeners, here are several useful tips to consider when growing a vegetable garden in order to save your money:
Select vegetables that you and your family like to eat. Many fist time gardeners don’t know where to start and which vegetables to grow in their gardens. This is quite simple – you’re not likely to take care of vegetables you don’t like to eat. So don’t waste your time or money planting them in the garden, but choose the ones you like (and that grow well in your gardening zone).
Select vegetables that are expensive to buy. To save money, think of growing more expensive items, like tomatoes, or growing large quantities of vegetables that you purchase regularly. You could save money by growing herbs if you use a lot and they’re expensive to buy; mixed salad leaves are also cheaper to grow than to buy. Consider vegetables like broccoli, beans, beets, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, summer squash, spinach, tomatoes and Swiss chard. All these vegetables will provide the biggest returns on your investment of space and time you spend in your vegetable garden.
Select vegetables that can be easily stored or preserved. A lot of vegetables that you can grow in your garden you can store, freeze, or can so you are saving that money year round, not just during the growing season. Selecting vegetables that have a long storage life or that can easily be canned or frozen is a great way to save money on your grocery bills. Potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, and winter squash can be stored for several months if stored at the appropriate temperature. Other vegetables, like tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and beets, can be preserved by canning or freezing. Preserving vegetables is a great way to enjoy the surplus produce later in the year.
Do some research and start with a plan. Planning the garden on paper could help you decide what you want to grow and determine what will be necessary to be successful. If you need help, ask family members, neighbors, or friends that can help you. There are many gardening forums and sites on the Internet where you can search for information that you’re looking for.
Start small. Even a relatively small garden, say 20′ x 20′, will give you enough room for variety, without being overwhelmed. Plants will require regular maintenance, watering and harvesting. Growing too many different vegetables your first year in a large garden could become overwhelming for you and can ultimately lead to failure. It’s better to limit yourself to just a few types of vegetables the first year. Later, when you become confident in your abilities, you can gradually increase the size of your vegetable garden and grow a more and more variety of crops!
