As an urban or suburban farmer, you will need to learn how to get the most out of your small backyard. With limited space, you will have to be creative in order to have a successful harvest.
If you’re someone who likes to spend time outdoors entertaining or using your backyard as extra living space, you’ll need to figure out how to make the most of your garden without letting it take over your whole yard.
You can have both a functional space for growing your own food and a comfortable outdoor living area in even a small backyard.
The majority of people who live in urban areas and have gardens do so not with the intention of growing all the produce they need, but rather to save money, eat locally grown food, reduce their negative impact on the environment, or have complete knowledge of how their food was grown and what was used in the process.
How to Maximize Garden Space: Determining Your Priorities
One of the most important first steps in designing your backyard landscaping is determining your priorities.
When designing your space, keep in mind how you want to use the space and how many features you want to include. This will help you determine how much square footage you can allow for each component.
If you want to be able to entertain guests outside, then you should allocate more space to patios, walkways, a built-in barbecue grill, or an outdoor kitchen. These features will make your yard more inviting and comfortable for your loved ones and company.
If you want to grow your own food, you will need to dedicate more space to installing a garden or planting fruit trees.
Make a list of the features you want in your backyard in order of priority, then use this list to determine how much space you should dedicate to your urban farming area, depending on how important this space is when compared to the other ways you want to use your backyard.
How to Maximize Garden Space: Designing Your Garden Space
Garden design can help you get the most out of your garden, even if it’s small.
Here are some design elements to consider when coming up with a plan for your garden area:
- Include small walkways.
If you have more than a few rows of fruits and vegetables in your garden, you will need to create walkways in between your plantings in order to be able to easily pick your harvest.
Although the traditional style of row gardens with a pathway between each row is considered to be wasteful in terms of space, it is still seen as the best design for modern gardens in small, urban areas.
The number of rows of plants you can fit in between your walkways when planting them in the ground without using raised garden beds depends on the size of the plants you are growing. You should be able to fit two, three, or even four rows of plants.
When creating your walkways, you should make them as narrow as possible while still providing enough room to comfortably carry your gardening supplies.
You can create more space for plants in your garden by reducing the number and size of the walkways.
- Install raised garden beds.
Raised garden beds are becoming more popular among city farmers as they make it easier to grow and harvest your own food.
This is a great way to have better control of the soil in your garden, ensure proper drainage, limit weed growth and make your garden more visually appealing.
If you’re looking to add some flair to your backyard and make your veggie garden more presentable to guests, raised garden beds are a great option.
A vegetable garden can take away from the look of your yard if it is not well kept.
If you want your garden to look tidy and attractive, raised garden beds are a good option.
You can make your garden beds long and narrow so that they take up less space.
- Add trellises, pergolas, and arbors to your raised garden beds.
To make the most out of a small vegetable garden, you will need to focus your attention on it.
Training your plants so that they grow upwards rather than outwards is a type of vertical gardening which is much more space-efficient and leaves more room for planting additional fruits and vegetables.
A raised garden bed would be the ideal place to start, then you could install a trellis leading up to a stable pergola-like structure.
The trellis is ideal for training your plants to grow upwards, and you can also hang planters with herbs or vegetables from the top.
You could also install a strong arbor to give your plants a place to climb and some room at the top to put hanging planters.
Remember that a lot of plants that are normally left to grow on the ground can be taught to grow up a trellis.
Any plant that vines can be grown in this way, including pumpkins, beans, squash, cucumbers, and some types of melons.
If you train your plants to grow up trellises instead of letting them grow on the ground, you will end up with more attractive produce and plants that produce more fruits and vegetables.
Hanging planters can be used to grow a variety of fruits, vegetables, or herbs, such as strawberries, lettuce, or other plants.
- Turn your fence into a vertical garden.
Most homeowners place their garden in a corner of the yard, along a side or back fence, as a way to separate it from the rest of their outdoor living spaces.
Most people have a fence next to their vegetable garden by chance.
You can use these fences to grow more plants if you want to make the most of your garden.
Vertical gardening is a popular gardening method that is used to save space. This method can be used for both indoor and outdoor plants.
You can turn your fence into a vertical garden by buying a pre-made growing wall. It will come with a watering system already attached.
One way to turn a fence into a growing wall is to attach small planters to it.
Once you have built your fence garden, you can fill the planters with soil and plants vegetables or herbs. This is a great way to save space in your garden.
- Incorporate your garden into your landscaping.
by spreading things out Sometimes the best way to save space is Instead of packing everything into one small area, try spreading it out over a larger area. This will help you to save space and keep things organized.
While it may seem like a better idea to have all your fruits, vegetables, and herbs in one spot in your backyard, it may be better for you to spread them out as part of your overall landscape design.
Paving stone patios can be made more attractive with the addition of dwarf fruit trees planted in containers. Lettuces can add texture and visual appeal to garden borders.
Vegetables or strawberries grown in hanging pots can be used to create privacy screens around seating areas or trellises.
You can also make your outdoor entertaining areas more interesting by adding color and texture with hanging planters or specially designed planters that fit securely over the railing on your deck or patio. This will also make cooking more convenient, as your herbs will be close at hand.
You may want to put your herb garden indoors on a windowsill to save space in your outdoor garden and keep your herbs close to where you cook.
More homeowners are becoming interested in growing their own food in suburban and urban backyards, making edible landscaping increasingly popular.
It’s perfectly fine to mix edible plants in with your regular landscaping, or to use edible plants as ornamentals in your flowerbeds.
If you decide to grow your food plants around your yard, make sure to use only natural pest control methods and organic fertilizers.
Raised Bed Trellis Ideas For Saving Space
If you’re looking to add some structure to your garden, a DIY trellis is a great option. Trellises are extremely versatile and can be customized to fit your specific needs. You can make a chicken wire fence with just a couple of stakes. Alternatively, you could go all out and build a wooden one. What you do with this information is entirely up to you! We’re just here to provide it.
Why Do You Need A Raised Bed Trellis?
A trellis is a great way to maximize space in your garden. Your plants are no longer limited to the horizontal space in the raised bed. Now that you’ve added vertical supports, they can grow up as well as out. They can now grow up! If you follow these tips, you will be able to produce more food while also making your garden look great.
A trellis is necessary for plants that grow by creeping or climbing, such as beans, peas, and tomatoes. Some plants that are typically found growing on the ground can also be great climbers, such as cucumbers, winter squash, and even pumpkins. Other plants like peppers and raspberries that don’t climb well can still grow with support.
Additional benefits of trellis gardening include ease of harvest. Most of the produce will be easy to reach without having to bend over.
Types of Trellis
Climbing plants will attach themselves to practically anything while they grow, so you can be creative with your trellises. You can build many different types of trellis, but you can also modify them to suit your needs. Choose a design for your raised bed keeping the structure in mind. Some planters should be attached to the beds, which is suitable for a wood build, while others should be standing in the soil. Also, consider what plants you’ll be growing and how much vertical space they will need.
Here are some of the most common DIY trellis types you can use:
Rectangular trellis
The design is simple, yet still allows for a lot of personalization and customization. This is probably the most popular design because it is simple, yet still allows for a lot of personalization and customization. The frame is long and rectangular and goes all the way across one side of the garden bed. Chicken wire or cattle fencing is attached to the frame, providing sturdy support for the vines.
Although this trellis is easier to make, it has the disadvantage of blocking an entire side of the bed. This makes it difficult to reach the soil. If you’re bed is large, you can center the trellis across it, leaving the outside edges free. This will leave the back of the garden free so the plants don’t get in each other’s way.
String trellis
The design is similar to a rectangle, but with one side curved. Instead of fencing, you’ll use a heavy-duty string. You will be able to choose the size of the grid by weaving the string yourself. You can change the size of the grid to better accommodate the plants you plan to grow. This one will take some time to put together, but it’s not difficult.
Trellises made of string are only suitable for growing light plants. Heavier plants such as cucumbers could be too heavy for the trellis. String just doesn’t give the same support as wire. You can use this for tomatoes or peppers, but it’s not the best choice for winter squash.
Fan-shaped trellis
This garden bed does not take up much space at the soil level, so it will not get in the way of your other plants. This text is discussing the benefits of plants having a lot of space to grow above the ground. This is especially beneficial for plants whose central stem splits into many vines, such as passion fruit or grapes. This trellis is a great option for gardeners with smaller beds.
This trellis could easily become top-heavy and fall if it’s not secured well. It is attached to either one side of the beds or a wall.
Archway trellis
I love this look for a raised bed garden, and I think you will too. For this project you will need a long wire fence that is curved into an arch. This type of garden can span an entire bed or be placed between two beds. You can create a tunnel of vining plants by planting them several feet apart!
An archway trellis provides both vertical and horizontal space above a raised garden bed. You need to pick your veggies at the right time, or they might fall on you while you’re walking underneath the plant!
Ladder trellis
This support is just that: a wooden ladder. Each side must be set inside the raised bed. If it’s on the outside, it’ll take up a lot more space on the ground than the bed. The rungs on this type of fencing are spaced much farther apart than on chicken wire, so it is better for covering with larger vines.
A-shape trellis
This trellis has two sides that come together at a point above the bed, similar to a ladder. The sides of the ladder are made of chicken wire instead of wooden rungs. This design is pretty sturdy and could support most plants.
Triangular string trellis
The string technique isn’t limited to rectangular frames. This design has the strings tied vertically across an A-shaped frame. It’s a good idea to plant small vines that will climb up solitary posts, like beans.
Cover trellis
This one is cheating a little. Chicken wire or string can be easily attached across the center of a raised bed cover. This way, you have a great 2-in-1 design!
Tomato cages
If you do not feel like doing it yourself, you can always put some tomato cages in the soil and call it good. Although this isn’t the best option for long-term support, it can help for smaller plants.
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