Starting your own vegetable garden is a great hobby and easy way to get more veggies in your diet from your own garden!
It can be a challenge creating a vegetable garden in a small space or area. We have your back with 11 vegetable garden ideas for small spaces.
If you live in an apartment, townhouse, tiny home or just have a small garden space to work with, this is ideal for you! We go over small vegetable garden layout, DIY veggie gardens, and tips on growing some of the basic vegetables!
As the owner of a 1,200 square foot home, my backyard is very small and I found that these ideas made a small vegetable garden possible!
This post is all about 11 small vegetable garden ideas for small spaces.
What vegetables grow best in small spaces?
Any herbs such as rosemary, mint, basil, dill, and cilantro grow best in small spaces. As far as vegetables you can grow select green beans, beets, lettuce, radishes, chard, kale, onions, and spinach in small spaces.
Best Vegetable Garden Ideas For Small Spaces
The best way to maximize your garden in a small space is to use small pots, vertical gardening designs and raised garden beds. Here are 11 of the best ideas to start your small vegetable garden!
1. Vertical Garden With Containers
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A vertical garden is definitely a space saver! Style your vertical garden with small pots or containers. For these small pots you need to plant the appropriate vegetables that thrive in smaller soil depths.
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VEGETABLES THAT GROW IN SMALLER SOIL DEPTHS (4-5 INCHES):
- Chives
- Lettuce
- Radishes
- Basil
GROWING LETTUCE
This small vegetable garden idea would be ideal for growing lettuce! Lettuce is a great beginners vegetable and grows well in different seasons and climates. Lettuce also thrives in containers and pots making it a great choice for our small vegetable garden!
As seeds, lettuce can be started indoors about a month prior to the last spring frost and then slowly acclimated for about a week before completely leaving outdoors. For this specific idea our lettuce is going into pots so we recommend putting the lettuce seeds 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch deep in your pot.
Typically, lettuce from the garden center grows best when you plant it 2 weeks before or after your last spring frost. You can plant your lettuce in both late winter or fall for the best results as long as the soil temperature is between 45°F and 65°F.
To care for this vegetable make sure to water when needed and keep it in the sunlight. The soil should be moist but not overly saturated!
2. Vertical Garden Ladder
To achieve this look you need little to no space. Lean this garden ladder against your home for a quick and easy vegetable garden layout. This is the perfect vegetable garden design for small spaces.
3.Pallet Raised Garden Bed
This vegetable garden idea for small areas is ideal for the organization garden freak. I am one of them so I think it’s a compliment lol. Try this DIY vegetable garden idea for an affordable and easy raised garden bed!
How to Create a Pallet Raised Garden Bed:
- Attach a layer of landscaping fabric to the bottom of your pallet. Be sure that your pallet has not been treated by harsh chemicals!
- Next, go ahead and add your mix of garden soil and compost.
- Lastly, plant your favorite vegetables.
BEST VEGETABLES TO GROW IN A PALLET RAISED GARDEN BED:
- Lettuce
- Cucumbers
- Strawberries (for the fruit lover)
4. Vertical Vegetable Garden Design Idea: Utilizing Your Fence
Don’t forget about utilizing your fence, brick walls and your homes siding as a small space for your vegetable garden. Be sure to always be mindful of the amount of weight you are putting on your fence!
GET THE LOOK WITH THIS WOODEN CUSTOMIZABLE PLANT STAND!
5. Build a DIY Raised Planter with Legs
The idea of the raised garden bed is very appealing due to the fact that the bed is raised and away from predators and pets.
Most of the garden planters for sale online can be pricey and the wrong size for the space needed. This DIY raised planter is the perfect solution for your vegetable garden!
Check out this easy tutorial on how to make a raised planter bed with legs!
BEST VEGETABLES FOR A RAISED GARDEN PLANTER:
The soil is typically looser in these raised beds this makes root vegetables the ideal veggies to plant.
These are the vegetables to consider
- Radishes
- Chard
- Carrots
- Onions
- Spinach
- Garlic
- Turnips
CONSIDER NO TILL GARDENING IN YOUR RAISED BED OR SMALL GARDEN
If you have been dying to try no till gardening or have yet to hear about it, you MUST check out Little Green Yard’s ultimate guide on this method! This is the best low maintenance technique that saves you from that back breaking digging that we all hate doing!
Jessica Tay from Little Green Yard explains some of the key benefits of this “no dig” approach, tips to get started and even some FAQ’s that you may have if you are a beginner. Before reading her article, I didn’t even know that this method would be suitable for small gardens or planters! I can’t wait to try this innovative method this Fall.
6. Combination of Pots and Planters
Create a mixture of pots and planters for your vegetable garden! Pots create a great environment for your smaller herbs like basil, coriander, mint and parsley.
GROWING PARSLEY
Parsley thrives in the sun and requires approximately 6-8 hours of sunlight a day. This makes it the perfect pot herb.
Parsley grows about 8 to 24 inches depending on the variety ( flat or curled ). We suggest a container or pot that is at least 12 inches deep to allow the vertical roots to grow deeper.
Plant your parsley in the Spring for the best results. Remember to keep the soil wet but not overly saturated and to always provide adequate drainage for your plant.
7. Climbing Plants In the Garden
This is one of our favorite small vegetable garden ideas for small spaces! Climbing plants are trending this year and the past few years! We love climbing vegetables because they add character to your homes garden.
BEST CLIMBING VEGETABLES:
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Beans
- Snow peas
- Gourds
- Spinach (malabar)
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8. Vegetable Garden Idea: Tower Trellis
A tower garden trellis is ideal for climbing vegetables that need that extra height and support.
For this small vegetable garden layout, we suggest planting tomatoes. Tomatoes appreciate a good trellising because it prevents their big stems from breaking!
Growing Tomatoes
Growing tomatoes that climb is not as hard as you think!
Be sure to plant your tomatoes in late spring to early summer for the best results. Tomatoes also grow best in areas where they will get about 8 hours of sunlight a day. Don’t forget to keep the tomatoes in well drained soil and make sure the soil is moist but not overly wet!
It is crucial to plant your tomatoes deep so that the first layer of leaves are covered. The vegetable plant can get pretty heavy when it grows taller and planting it deep enough will prevent it from falling over.
The best tomatoes for climbing are indeterminate tomatoes. We suggest purchasing this vegetable from a nursery rather than growing it from seeds yourself.
As the tomato plant grows, be sure to prune any leaves that look damaged. Prune any other stems besides the main one until you start to notice flowers coming out of the plant. Be sure to support the plant by tying any of the vines to your trellis as they grow upward.
Tomatoes usually last about 90-120 days so they provide a long season of fresh produce.
SIDE NOTE: I know tomatoes aren’t technically a vegetable but they go well with most vegetables.
9. Greenstalk Veritcal Planter
If you have not checked out the Greenstalk vertical planter then you are missing out! We love this planter for small vegetable garden ideas for small spaces!
Their website covers all the topics on what to grow in your planter, how to grow your plants in the planter, what design works best for your needs. This is the coolest garden layout ever that can be customized to fit your vegetable gardens needs!
10. Large Container Vegetable Mix
We love this small vegetable garden idea for small spaces! Combining all of your favorite vegetables in one large pot can be the perfect solution for small spaces.
What are the Best Vegetable Container Companions?
The best vegetable container companions are:
- Tomatoes and basil
- All of the greens such as lettuce and herbs
- Spinach and onions
11. Hanging Herb Garden
This DIY vegetable garden ideas for small spaces is an amazing idea for starting an herb garden! You can use your herb garden for cooking, medicinal purposes and essential oils! An herb garden is a cool small vegetable garden bonus!
BEST HERBS FOR SMALL SPACES:
- Oregano
- Basil
- Mint
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Sage
These herbs can grow in soil as little as 6 inches deep which make them ideal for this vegetable garden layout.
I hope this post inspired you to start your own small vegetable garden or gave you some ideas on small vegetable gardens!
This post was all about 11 vegetable garden ideas for small spaces.
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