Grow Anywhere: High-Yield Edible Gardening in a Small Space

Meacham Urban Farm was laid out by the Tampa Housing Authority with the vision to bring local organic produce to the mixed-income communities in the city. It's a 2-acre farm that grows between 30 and 40 varieties of organic seasonal vegetables within the city limits. Since they're in an urban environment, Meacham Urban Farm uses several methods to ensure that they're getting the most out of their property and using every inch of space, including:

• Growing high-turnover crops
• Interplanting different types of crops
• Planting crops close together

These techniques also make great home garden ideas, especially when you're gardening in a small space. We'll give you some examples below, but first, take a look at your soil.

None of the techniques to maximize space would be effective without healthy soil. Understanding your soil is a crucial part of farming and gardening. Gardeners should test the soil even if they're growing a vegetable garden on a very small scale. Two of the most common types of soil are clay and sandy soil.

• If you have clay soil, Joe suggests using amendments like peat moss, compost and sand to help break it up and make it easier for moisture and nutrients to reach the plants' roots.
• If you have sandy soil as they do in Florida, add clay, compost and peat moss to help keep moisture and nutrients from draining out before the plants can use them.
  

To maximize square footage at Meacham Urban Farm, they plant high-turnover crops. In a home vegetable garden, it's also very beneficial to plant crops that grow quickly and use less space. High-turnover favorites Kristin and Joe suggest for the home garden include:

• Turnips
• Beets
• Carrots
• Lettuce
• Radish
• Arugula
• Scallions

You can really pack these plants into a small garden and get a large return.

Interplanting crops (planting fast-growing crops between slow-growing crops) is another technique Meacham uses to get the largest return possible from the space they have. Intercropping uses water, nutrients and time more efficiently than growing a single crop. For example, 15 to 25 days before putting tomatoes in the ground, they plant beets, so as the tomato plants are reaching maturity, the beets are ready to harvest. Some other examples of pairings you can interplant in your home garden are:

• Tomatoes and basil
• Scallions and lettuce
• Cucumbers and beets

Another way they maximize square footage at the farm is by planting crops closer together. You can do this when growing vegetables in your backyard garden by just bringing your plants closer while planting. Play around with spacing. For instance, on the farm they plant lettuce heads roughly 8 inches away from each other in a square pattern. As the lettuce heads grow to maturity, they smother out weeds and help maintain the soil's water retention.

Here are some common spacings you can try in a garden at home:

• Space tomatoes about 18 inches apart.
• Plant your radishes in bunches, about one to three seeds per inch.
• Plant about five scallions every 2 inches.
• Plant arugula in tight bunches.

In addition to helping you get full use of square footage, even in small-space gardening, this technique can also help reduce labor when caring for your vegetable garden plants.

A few weeks after planting, the Meacham Urban Farm is in full bloom. The tomatoes are starting to ripen, and the crops are really coming to fruition. During this time, Kristin and Joe started noticing problems with aphids. Aphids are a common pest in home gardens as well. Joe suggests scouting the underside of leaves for the pests so you can take care of the problem before it spreads.

How easy it is to grow food at home and maximize a small garden space.

New to growing your own food and wondering how to plant a garden? See Plan and Plant a Vegetable Garden and Tips for First-Time Vegetable Gardeners. Planting a raised garden bed is a good way to start gardening in a small space. How to Build a Raised Garden Bed shows you how. A raised vegetable garden makes good use of available space, gives you better control over the soil and makes it easier to take care of your plants. You can also purchase a raised garden bed kit to fit your space.

See more of our "Grow Anywhere" series for tips and ideas on growing your own food:

• Grow Anywhere: Low-Water Edible Gardening With Hydroponics shows you how to set up a hydroponic system to grow vegetables and herbs with no soil and minimal water.
• Grow Anywhere: Year-Round Gardening With Cold Frames shows you how to use a cold frame to keep your vegetable garden growing even in a dry, cold environment.