Sometimes I long for a bigger vege garden, but truth is you don’t actually need a lot of space to have a productive patch. This week I’ve got tips on how to grow more with less, even if you only have a balcony.

My space to grow edibles is roughly 2m x 2m, plus I have a concrete patio space. I’m currently growing: raspberries, rhubarb, runner beans, four different kinds of tomatoes, spinach, over a dozen ‘cut and come again’ lettuces, mesclun, tomatillo, broccoflower, courgette, cucumber, chives, borage, coriander, rosemary, sorrel, sugar snap peas, thyme, nastursiums, allysum, echinops and honeywort to bring in the bees, basil, kumara, capsicum and chillis.  

So if you only have a small space, don’t be put off!

SMALL SPACE TIPS FOR EDIBLE GARDENS

• Extend your space with pots. Most veges are happy in a pot with good quality growing mix (with water retention crystals and fertiliser) and regular watering.  You can also move them around to the sunniest spot. Big pots are best and will accommodate stakes.
• Analyse your site – with a small space you often don’t get to choose where you plant, and conditions aren’t always ideal. TIP - lettuce, chives, mint, silverbeet, coriander, rhubarb and spinach will all tolerate some shade.  Put heat lovers like tomatoes and chillies in your sunniest spot.
• Go up – use walls, posts, trellises and mesh for cucumbers, pumpkins, beans and tomatoes.
• Double duty – plant basil around the base of your potted tomatoes, and put ‘cut and come again’ lettuces around any bare pot space. Pots dry out quickly (especially black ones), and the foliage will help prevent soil moisture loss. Plus they look pretty!
• Use mulch where you can and check your plants regularly for wilting. Pea or barley straw is light, clean and easy to use.
• Pamper your plants - to ensure a good harvest feed regularly with a liquid fertiliser.  Dig loads of organic matter in to your garden soil, it DOES make a difference!
• A few deep waterings a week are better than a daily sprinkle.
• It’s tempting to cram plants up against each other in a small space. Try and allow good air circulation to discourage fungal diseases.
• Grow overhead - sling wires across a pergola or between structures and grow grapes or rampant cherry tomatoes!
• Choose cultivars that are compact such as ‘Red Robin’ tomatoes and Cucumber ‘Snacker’.
• Position your tall plants and climbing supports so they don’t block the sun for other crops.
• Plant flowers in the gaps to bring in the pollinators.
• Grow what you eat most often – you can’t go wrong with salad greens.