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Home > Guides > Urban Gardening > Square Foot Gardening > Small Space Garden |
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Small Space Garden |
Efficient  Small Scale Limited Space |
It is little secret that an overwhelming proportion of the food we consume on a daily basis is grown in rural areas. These locations offer an abundance of space and natural sunlight, which facilitates the rapid growth and maturation of the vast majority of common edibles. Urban areas, on the other hand, are generally not considered ideal environments for the cultivation of edible fruits and vegetables because of the small space available. Such environments have limited space, are dominated by concrete and glass rather than soil, and setting up spaces devoted to growing edible plants requires careful planning in making the most of every available square foot to get the maximum yield possible.
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Square Foot Gardening
 Despite the obstacles to gardening in confined spaces, increasing numbers of city dwellers and suburbanites are looking for ways to produce their own food. Whether borne of curiosity, necessity, or a desire to be more active in providing sustenance for themselves or their families, such individuals are discovering a new source of power and self-sufficiency in growing food. No longer dependant on large-scale commercial agriculture, they are learning practical skills that are sure to enrich their well-being for years to come.
 Fortunately, there are more resources available than ever to the space-conscious home gardener looking to become more responsible for the food they eat. Authors and teachers such as Jon Jeavons, Mel Bartholomew, Rosalind Creasy and others have devised thoughtful and often ingenious new techniques to make the most of limited space, soil, and sunlight and other resources in urban settings. In addition, a pioneering wave of home and indoor gardeners have done much to advance the science of hydroponics, or soil-less growing techniques, in the last several decades.
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Small Space Garden
 Perhaps the single most important step a gardener can take to become a successful small scale gardener is to shift their expectations to better reflect the strengths and deficiencies of their individual growing space. Before sowing, careful and realistic assessment of available light, soil, water and other resources is essential to fully reap the fruits of their labor come harvest time. If your "small space" consists of a suburban or rural location with ¼ of an acre of more (or any available ground space for growing), you have considerable options, and with some creativity you can make the most of your space with vertical growing, succession gardening and other 'tricks'.
 If your growing space is restricted to the confines of an urban apartment or similar environment, you will likely have make the most of any available outdoor locations such as balconies or windowboxes to take advantage of available light. A wide variety of containers can be purchased or created to accomadate unique spaces. Additionally many plants can be grown in hanging baskets, including cherry tomatoes, many types of beans, strawberries, and many types of herbs. Urbanites and other growers with limited sense can find worthy harvests by growing sprouts, microgreens, baby greens, and other low-light crops indoors.
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