Grow Your Own Garden Even if You Have Limited Space by James Tebbart

No matter what type of lifestyle and housing people
choose, the fact that they love to garden never changes.
It is common to believe that if you live in an apartment,
condo or other home that doesn't have much of a yard or
land to grow a garden on is that gardening simply isn't an
option. Fortunately, some very creative gardeners have
discovered a number of different ways that allow one to
grow a garden in a very limited space so that anyone can
enjoy their own fresh plants.

For full use of the area an idea called the 'inter-
cropping system' should be used. In order to be successful
you must study the plants and vegetables that you most want
and decide on ones that need just 4 - 6 inches per plant.

Vegetables that usually work well with inter-cropping
include beets, chard, kohlrabi, lettuce, carrots, parsley,
green onion, spinach, radishes and turnips for the green
and roots. Another benefit to these vegetables is that
they are typically tolerant of occasional frosts. This
means that they can be planted earlier than other
vegetables (like peppers and tomatoes). They can be
planted between 4-6 weeks before the frost-free point and
will have the quality of being able to germinate and grow
their best in cold soils.

Any plants that offer the chance to obtain a multiple
harvest, such as tomatoes, peppers, spinach, parsley, kale,
herbs, green onions and celery are also a key strategy in
the plan and vegetables that offer a one-time harvest, such
as cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, garlic, radishes and
onion bulbs need to be carefully considered. There will
always be a trade to consider; the vegetables you want as
opposed to the efficiency of the space at your disposal.

When you have chosen the vegetables you wish to grow and
are familiar with their needs, you need to do your best not
to crowd too many plants in one space. The growth of the
best kinds will be of lesser quality or even fail by
crowding. Most plants come with information on their
height and space they will reach upon full maturity. You
need to take that into consideration when planting your
inter-cropped garden.

There are some plants which sprawl with growth. If you
grow these around a circle of wire or stake them out you
will gain space and also keep the plants off the ground for
a cleaner and more abundant fruit.

By considering your options with inter cropping you will
inevitably grow more and a better fruit or vegetable within
a small space.

James Tebbart is the editor and webmaster of
"Big On Gardening".
A premier gardening and home gardening
information site on the Internet. For more information
please visit www.bigongardening.com.