Being that I live in a small apartment complex with next to no space for gardening, my mom set aside a small patch of her backyard for me to grow vegetables. We've composted the heck out of it, and I'm beginning to ponder what I should plant in such a small space. I love beets, and I think they are beautiful plants, so that's a must. There is a high chain link fence on one long side, so I thought I'd go vertical with some pumpkins, squash, and maybe melons or cucumbers. Unfortunately, the fence is on the south edge, but hopefully won't shade everything else for very long. What else? I'm not eating nightshades right now, but I'll put in some tomatoes for my mom and sister. What would you plant? Do you have any suggested varieties for small spaces? I can't wait to get started!(((((

Cucumbers do well vertically, as do peas and beans. I'd probably also plant lettuce, onions and/or garlic, basil. And I always put flowers in too - nasturtiums and marigolds and cosmos.

Have you read "Square Foot Gardening" by I think Mel Bartholomew? Great for discussing gardening in small areas.

Check out the book called "The Patio Kitchen Garden". It talks a lot about small spaces and what is compatible with what in the same bed, what has low ground root structures and then things to add with high ground root structures. It is a great little book... not enough pictures for me... but WONDERFUL information!

Lots of containter garden ideas too, things that you perhaps could even use IN your apt complex!

They even have plans for meter by meter gardens, and 1 meter by 2 meter gardens too... I think it is wonderful, and it has given me some GREAT ideas for my small (But not that small) garden space!

Love Val

I definitely recommend "Square Foot Gardening". It gives some great information on how many plants you can plant per square foot.

As for the plants its really a matter of personal preference.

There are 2 different kinds of cucumbers so if you want them to climb, make sure to get the vineing kind and not the bush variety.

I think eggplants make a pretty plant but they also take a long time to fruit. Are you planning on planting from seeds or plants?

Have you thought about peppers? I usually plant some bell peppers and one or 2 hot pepper varieties (atleast) and my 3 year old likes to eat banana peppers straight out of the garden so I have to have those too.

Have you thought about herbs. We plant basil with our tomatos. And the rest in designated herb beds.

Just a thought.

Thank you, everyone! These are all great suggestions. I think I just need to look through my stock of seeds and make a list of what I need to get at the store. It's time I started planting some things! Thanks again, and I'll post back to tell you how it goes.(((((

Originally posted by RocketScientist
Have you read "Square Foot Gardening" by I think Mel Bartholomew? Great for discussing gardening in small areas.

Right now I'm using under 40 square feet of space and I have 8 tomato plants, 32 green bean plants, 6 cuke plants, 32 carrot plants, 32 onion plants, and several herbs. :) Haven't even planted the strawberries, flowers, etc yet!