Getting the Most From a Small Garden

I have a big, 2,500 square foot garden, but sometimes I wonder - what would I grow if I, like most people, only had a a small, 4' x 8' garden plot?

For a number of years I used to pick my kids up after work at a community center where they had an afterschool recreational program. Oftentimes when I arrived, the kids would be outside on the playground, which was adjacent to a number of community garden plots that people could use for a small fee.

What would I do if I could only plant in one of these?

Each of these plots was approximately 4’x8’ (122cm x 244cm) in dimension. While waiting for my kids, or sometimes just letting them play a little longer, I would often ponder the question of what I would grow in such a plot if that was the only option available to me for gardening. I would also make note of what people chose to grow in those plots, and ponder the pros and cons associated with those choices.

My goal as a gardener

For every vegetable that I have ever grown, the goal has always been the same: grow as much food (output) as possible with as little money, time and effort (input) as possible. I call this the output/input quotient - which should always be greater than one with a good garden plan (i.e - 1.1 means you took out more than you put in, whereas 0.9 means that you took out less than you put in). In keeping with that principle, the remainder of this article is about getting as much food as possible out of a small plot. Some people just want to plant stuff and watch it grow for the sheer enjoyment of being connected to the natural world, and that’s fine, but that’s not the thrust of this article. If you are of that latter category, that’s fine - but maybe read on and and toss these ideas around in your head… perhaps you can convert that simple pleasure into a few meals one day :)

What most community plot gardeners do wrong

The most common “garden plan” that I see being employed by community gardeners is what I call the “everything garden”.