5 Small Space Gardening Ideas

1. Mini Greenhouse

Greenhouses provide gardeners will a range of benefits. Mainly an extended growing season and to some extent, a physical barrier to some weather conditions. Young plants are protected from pests and common plant diseases during their most vulnerable stage. While they’re not always an option when you’re short on space, you can, however, try to incorporate a mini greenhouse in your garden.

Create a ‘mini greenhouse’ in your garden in the form of a glass garden cabinet, recycled windows or anything else. Not only will you have a perfect greenhouse-like growing space fit for your garden, but it will also be portable, so you can position your plants in their ideal growing position.

You can even use your mini greenhouse to harden off plants during early spring and give them extra protection with a cold weather fertiliser as they come into season or to fully grow a selection of temperature dependent crops such as tomatoes or chillies, adjusting the shelves to your growing needs.

2. Vertical Growing

Whether you’re pressed for ground space you simply want to prevent your garden from becoming overcrowded, vertical gardening is a great option.

Ideal for growing a range of herbs and salad greens, vertical gardens not only does it allow for even more growing capabilities, it also helps you to minimise the spread and management of garden weeds.

Examples include old shoe storage bags, growing on pallets, hanging baskets, shelves and more.

3. Containers

Many gardeners would be surprised how much space could be saved when simply growing fruits and vegetables from seed to harvest in containers rather than on the ground. It’s actually so efficient that it has its own self-named niche called ‘container gardening’.

When using this method to save on growing space, try not to limit yourself to plant pots. Recycle and upcycle old items such as buckets, wellington boots, wheelbarrows and more. However, be sure to pick the appropriate containers to successfully grow your chosen crops.

Also, note that container grown fruits and vegetables require extra care and attention. They heavily rely on gardeners feeding them with our high-quality fertilisers to get the necessary nutrients for them to grow healthily.

• Want to get started with container gardening? Check out our guide to growing carrots in containers.

4. Intercropping

Intercropping and companion planting are ideal if you want to maximise your growing space without having to compromise your growing medium. A combination of these methods cultivates the benefits of plants which grow together in harmony.

Intercropping allows you to grow different plants simultaneously but with different harvesting times. Typically, with some dramatically faster. This then frees up space for you to grow your next crop.

Combined with companion planting of crops that help each other to flourish, intercropping will also help your garden develop resistance to a range of pests, diseases and possibly weather conditions such as shade from excess sunlight or resistance to wind damage.