Do you enjoy growing your own food but don’t have much garden space? With a few clever tricks, you can grow plenty of food no matter where you live. In this article, horticulture expert Matt Dursum shares intensive planting tips to maximize food production in minimal space.
Gardening is all about fun, self-sufficiency, and making the most of your space. Even with limited room, you’ll be amazed at how much you can grow using these intensive planting techniques!
If you don’t have space for a large landscape garden, don’t worry. Let’s explore these intensive planting tips so you, too, can grow more in less space.
Step 1: Practice Cramming
Lactuca sativa leafy heads with curled bright green leaves packed closely in a shallow wood planter.
Pack lettuce tightly and harvest often to grow more efficiently in less space.
Cramming might sound bad, but we’re not talking about college-level trigonometry or Japanese. For gardeners, it’s about maximizing space.
If space is limited, place garden beds closer together. As long as you can move around and work, your garden will thrive.
You can also cram plants like lettuce a bit tighter inside beds. Just harvest regularly to prevent competition for space and resources. It requires a little extra care, but it’s a great way to grow more food in less area.
Step 2: Square Foot Gardening
Brassica oleracea and Cucurbita pepo with large green leaves and vines growing in a tilled raised bed.
Square foot gardening boosts productivity by dividing space into small squares instead of rows.
This easy method turns gardens into highly productive zones. Divide beds into square-foot sections instead of rows.
For large plants like zucchini, plant one in the center and leave surrounding squares empty. Smaller plants like arugula can grow in bunches within a single square.
This system maximizes food production in minimal space. For more details, check out easy-to-follow resources like this one.
Step 3: Succession Planting
Neatly arranged rows of Lactuca sativa lettuce growing in a raised bed with dark soil.
Succession planting provides multiple harvests by rotating crops through seasons like an assembly line.
Imagine harvesting tomatoes repeatedly or enjoying fresh lettuce from spring to fall. Succession planting makes this possible.
Start seeds indoors in spring. When the first batch is ready for planting, start the next indoors. Repeat every few weeks. As you harvest one crop, the next is ready to transplant.
Think of it as an assembly line—instead of one harvest, you get multiple yields throughout the year.
Step 4: Vertical Gardening
Phaseolus vulgaris climbing string trellises above dark soil with neatly spaced seedlings below.
Use bamboo teepees for climbers like pole beans or train vines upward with wire or containers.
Vertical gardening is key for small spaces. Whether using vertical planters or trellises, you can build structures easily.
Make bamboo teepees for pole beans and nasturtiums. Try mixed bags or chicken wire potted gardens.
HDPE 2 plastic bottles work too—they’re safe for gardening and great for stacking vertically. Any vertical setup saves tons of space.
Step 5: Inoculate Mushrooms
Stropharia rugosoannulata with wide maroon caps and white stems growing in woodchip-covered ground.
Mushrooms like wine caps thrive in damp, shady spots where vegetables struggle.
Grow mushrooms in garden areas where plants don’t do well. Shady, damp corners are perfect for wine caps.
Place logs outdoors for shiitakes or grow oyster mushrooms indoors. These varieties take little space and produce abundantly.
Step 6: Start Your Seeds Indoors
Allium cepa seedlings with narrow green shoots growing in white plastic trays indoors.
Get a head start by sowing seeds indoors.
If space is limited but you have a sunny window, patio, or greenhouse, start seeds early indoors. Most vegetables and flowers do well when transplanted as seedlings.
By spring, your seedlings will be ready. In longer growing seasons, you might even get multiple harvests in one year.
Step 7: Use Your Indoor Spaces
Capsicum annuum in white containers with red and orange fruits near a sunlit indoor window.
Most vegetables thrive indoors with enough light—use south-facing windows, patios, or kitchens.
With sufficient light, grow almost anything indoors. Plant in containers and place them in kitchens, living rooms, or patios.
If natural light is scarce, install grow lights—they provide enough light for any indoor plant.
Step 8: Plant Edible Groundcover
Sunlight bathes a dense mat of purple creeping thyme blossoms, casting shadows on lush green leaves.
Edible groundcover protects soil, retains moisture, and supports underground insects and microbes.
These low-maintenance plants act as living mulch, preventing soil dryness and sheltering beneficial insects.
They grow in spaces other edibles can’t. Here are some great options (prioritize non-invasive varieties for your area):
- Creeping thyme
- Nasturtium
- Oregano
- Strawberries
- French sorrel
- Dandelion
- Rosemary
- Purslane
Step 9: Practice Companion Planting
Brassica rapa leafy greens growing beside a grassy lawn.
Three sisters planting (corn, beans, squash) maximizes soil use while plants support each other’s growth.
Companion planting means growing compatible crops together. Some species complement each other, boosting yields and soil health.
The best space-saving example is the Native American “three sisters” method:
- Beans add nitrogen and climb corn.
- Squash shades the soil, protecting microbes.
Many herbs (sage, oregano, thyme, rosemary) also grow well together.
Step 10: Grow Productive Varieties
Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme in small terra cotta pots with ripe red fruits.
Compact indeterminate tomatoes keep producing without taking up much space.
Not all crops are equally productive. For small spaces, choose high-yield varieties.
Beans, nasturtiums, and collard greens produce repeatedly. Some compact tomato varieties yield multiple harvests without crowding beds.
Skip novelty crops—grow what provides the most food for the longest time.
Step 11: Use Grow Bags
A black fabric grow bag filled with soil, sprouting leafy greens and herbs.
Grow bags can be folded, moved, and placed anywhere—even rooftops.
These versatile bags come in many sizes, are eco-friendly, and fit tight spaces. Carry them by their handles and arrange them as needed.
Turn barren patios, yards, or even docks into productive gardens. Michigan gardeners have even used them on rooftops!
Step 12: Harvest Frequently
Lactuca sativa young starts being planted into small brown pots.
Frequent harvesting encourages more growth—just leave enough green for photosynthesis.
Harvesting leaves, spears, and fruit is like pruning—it stimulates new growth.
By harvesting often, you signal plants to keep producing. As long as they can photosynthesize, many plants will yield multiple harvests.
Step 13: Create a Healthy EcosystemGrow comfrey to loosen soil, add nutrients through composted leaves, and attract beneficial pollinators.
Symphytum officinale broad leaves sprouting in dark soil beside an empty pot.
Grow comfrey to loosen soil, enrich compost, and attract pollinators.
A healthy garden ecosystem includes microbes, insects, fungi, and worms. Attract pollinators by planting flowers near fruiting plants.
Comfrey is a powerhouse—its deep roots loosen soil, and its leaves add nitrogen to compost. Its flowers attract pollinators. (Note: It can be invasive in some areas.)
Step 14: Choose Compact Varieties
Solanum lycopersicum with small red fruits in an orange plastic container.
Pick “patio” or “compact” varieties for small spaces—they often taste just as good (or better).
If space is tight, miniature versions of your favorite crops are ideal.
Step 15: Grow Native Edibles
A tree with drooping leaves and clusters of creamy, custard-like fruits.
Native edibles like prickly pear or pawpaw thrive with minimal care and space.
Every region has native edibles—they’re easy to grow and need fewer resources.
- In California: Try prickly pears or golden currants.
- In the Midwest: Grow pawpaws.
