Getting the Most Out of Your Small Vegetable Garden

Getting the Most Out of Your Small Vegetable Garden
The 100 Square Foot Garden Getting the Most Out of Your Small Vegetable Garden Mary Anne Normile, Pam Hosimer, Erica Smith and Sandra Sundstrom (Design) Include the title of your presentation and the presenter name. Providing a contact is optional.

ORGANIZATIONAL FLOW CHART
This flow chart represents how the UME Master Gardener program fits into the larger University of Maryland system. The University of Maryland is the state’s flagship land-grant institution. It has 13 different Colleges and Schools. One college is the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) has three parts: Academics, Research, and Extension. Campus faculty in the College of AGNR spend their time teaching college students (Academics) and conducting Research. University of Maryland Extension field faculty (and some campus faculty) serve Maryland through outreach and education programs (Extension). University of Maryland Extension has over thirty different outreach and educational programs spanning across Maryland. In order to reach more people in their communities, faculty often teach volunteers, who can then share their new knowledge locally. One volunteer education program where this happens is the UME Master Gardener program. This program is supported by University of Maryland Extension and its mission is to educate Maryland residents about safe, effective, and sustainable horticultural practices.

UME Master Gardener volunteers are typically involved in projects focusing on one of six main topic areas. Additional focus areas (e.g., Therapeutic Horticulture) do exist. Ask a Master Gardener Plant Clinic: Outreach education about plant and pest problems. Residents get their questions answered at plant clinics typically held at libraries and farmers markets. Grow It Eat It: Teaching and promoting backyard and community food production. This also includes demonstration gardens, Grow It Eat It Preserve It, and produce donations to food banks. Bay-Wise: Better water and soil quality through smarter gardening. Pollinators: Education around integrated pest management (IPM), pollinators, and natural enemies. Composting: Also known as "Urban Nutrient Management" which includes education about backyard/community composting, soil testing and improvement, and fertilizer use. Native Plants: Education and project work around native plants and invasive plants.

Our Vision A healthier world through environmental stewardship.
Our Mission To support the University of Maryland Extension mission by educating residents about safe, effective & sustainable horticultural practices that build healthy gardens, landscapes, & communities. Our vision statement… Our mission statement

Road Map GROW100--the 100 Square Foot Garden Challenge
Small-scale intensive gardening: What? Why? Techniques 100 Square Foot Gardens By Master Gardeners On a Hill GROW100--the 100 Square Foot Garden Challenge ©2012 Pam Hosimer “Road map” Getting the most out of your small vegetable garden Highlights “small scale intensive gardening” What is it? Why is it important? How—what are the techniques? A few examples from last growing season A state-wide contest on growing intensively in small spaces

What is small-scale intensive gardening?

"The purpose of gardening intensively is to harvest the most produce possible from a given space." -- Virginia Cooperative Extension factsheet, “Intensive Gardening Methods,” 2009

Small-scale intensive gardening looks like this…
A few illustrations… Raised bed with vertical elements and containers Photo by Sam Korper 2011 (detail)

Why small-scale intensive gardening?
To save space To save time New gardener—start small Make use of odd-sized spaces Limit costs  Intensive vegetable gardening makes the most of your available resources. Why would you want to adopt small-scale intensive gardening? --Most urban and suburban gardeners have small areas available to devote to a garden. NOT large fields like those in the previous slide. Some who think they may not have room for a vegetable garden might be surprised how much they can grow in a small space. -- Most have busy lives and limited time, and don’t have lots of time to spend on a big garden. A small-scale garden, grown intensively, can be a solution. -- For new gardeners, starting small is a good strategy. Small-scale intensive gardening can help you be successful even with a small garden. -- Urban or suburban gardens frequently don’t have a single, large area ideally situated—sun may be limited by trees or neighboring houses, terrain can be hilly. Instead of a single large garden, you may have a number of small, separate spaces. -- Although vegetable gardening can be a low-cost activity, if you have poor soil or are in an area subject to heavy pressure from deer or other garden pests, keeping your garden small will help you keep down the costs of soil amendments or fencing. You can grow more than you think using intensive techniques. HOW? ©2012 Pam Hosimer

Intensive Gardening Techniques
Beds, not rows Good soil Close planting Vertical planting Interplanting Containers Succession planting Use suitable varieties HOW? Several techniques You can achieve better results in a small space by applying one or more of several intensive gardening techniques. We’ll discuss each in detail.

Plant in beds, not rows Row gardening a holdover from agriculture
Large unplanted areas are inefficient Bare soil an invitation to weeds Soil compaction in paths We’re all familiar with row gardening. Row gardening a holdover from field-crop agriculture—wide paths between rows to leave room for tractors. We don’t use tractors in our gardens, but this method has persisted. Widespread use of tillers or cultivators may have kept this practice alive. Row gardening wasteful and inefficient—large areas are left unplanted in between rows—paths can be as wide as 2-3 feet wide Wide paths are unproductive areas and create problems--walking on soil in paths compacts soil, and bare soil is an invitation to weeds ©2013 Pam Hosimer

Plant in beds, not rows With raised beds, you control the soil
Better drainage, warms sooner in spring Work in bed without stepping in it Less soil compaction Wide rows another variation A better solution is to grow in beds. Raised beds shown in the photo have many advantages—better drainage, less soil compaction, better control of the soil as you can adjust the soil to your needs. You can control weeds in between beds by putting down newspaper or cardboard and covering it with wood chips. If you use a raised bed, make sure to build it from wood that isn’t chemically treated. Raised beds do have a few disadvantages—mainly, the labor and expense of installing them. Also, the good drainage that is your friend in the spring means that the soil will dry out more quickly in the summer heat. [Planting medium in raised beds—mixture of topsoil and compost—will talk about soil in a few minutes. EXCELLENT VIDEO ON HOW TO BUILD A RAISED BED ON HGIC SITE—SEE HANDOUT OF “RESOURCES”] Beds don’t have to have sides—can mound up soil or have at-grade beds. Size of beds important—should be able to reach into center—about 4’ wide works well for most people. Colorado State University Extension

Close planting Plant tightly—no wasted space
Leafy canopy reduces soil moisture loss Keeps weeds down, moderates soil temperature Plant yield may be lower, but yield per square foot is higher How close? Once you have the bed established, make the best use of planting area by planting closely. Because you don’t need to walk in the bed, vegetables can be planted throughout the entire bed instead of in traditional rows. -- Plant vegetables more tightly than what is usually recommended on seed packets. -- Create a leafy canopy -- reduce moisture loss -- keep weeds down -- moderate soil temperatures. Yield per plant not the same as yield per square foot! Yield per plant may be lower but total yield for the garden is higher. How close? Rule of thumb: when vegetables fully grown, leaves barely touch each other, creating leafy canopy. Resources will provide information on how close to plant—publications, some seed packets, articles on intensive vegetable gardening, online vegetable garden planner (available through some magazines and seed catalogs). but not too close—don’t want to create an environment conducive to disease. Photo by Erica Smith

Close spacing--illustration
Diagram illustrates effect of close spacing. On the left, traditional spacing: wide paths left between rows. On right—intensive spacing—planted area increased, get more plants in the same space. Intensive spacing reduces wasted area left unplanted in traditional row gardening. Resources (at end of presentation) will provide guides for spacing of plants in an intensive gardening scheme. Rows with traditional spacing Same area with intensive spacing

Vertical planting-grow up!
Stakes, trellises, cages can support plants Peas, pole beans, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, squash can be grown vertically Saves space on garden floor Another way of maximizing output in a small growing space is vertical planting. Use stakes, trellises, cages, fences to support plants. Most vining plants can be grown vertically—examples: photo shows peppers grown on stakes. Placement important—don’t want to shade other plants in garden. Usually placed toward the back of garden where they can take advantage of sun without shading other plants. Photo by Melissa Smith

Vertical planting A few more examples of vertical planting—tomatoes in cages, plants grown on trellises. Photo by Bob Nixon Photo by Erica Smith

Interplanting—mix it up!
Plant fast- and slow- growing plants together Tall plants shade heat- sensitive plants Alternate rows of plants in bed Mix plants within a bed What is interplanting? In the vegetable garden, planting things together with different cultural requirements. Planting fast- and slow-growing plants together Tall plants shade heat-sensitive plants (lettuce in between tall tomato plants) Alternate rows of plants within bed, mix plants within a bed. Examples: lettuce and cabbage (photo), radish and carrots, scallions and tomatoes, parsley and leeks. Planting some plants in different locations throughout the bed or garden may help reduce spread of insects or disease. Photo by (used with permission)

Container planting Plant where the sun is
Grow food on patio, porch, balcony, rooftop Use space-saving varieties Barrels, planters, tubs, pots, wading pools … Use your imagination!! If you attended this morning’s presentation by Robin Ritterhoff on starting a vegetable garden, you learned about the basic requirements for successful vegetable gardening. One of these is sun. You will need at least 6 hours of sun each day for most vegetables. Using containers will allow you to move your growing area to where you get the best sun. Planting in containers lets you take advantage of the space that you have. As with raised beds, you can control the soil, and like raised beds, they will dry out more quickly than if planted in the ground. [Methods to keep moist involve either slowing down moisture loss by mulching soil or moving plants into the shade, or methods to add water when you’re gone—plastic bag waterer for a few days, group containers together and use irrigation system or small sprinkler on a timer.] When you’re being creative about containers, just be careful not to use any made with toxic materials like treated wood. If you’re interested in container gardening, the May 3 Grow It Eat It open house will feature a presentation on container vegetable gardening. Photo by Sam Korper 2011

Photo:http://www.dogislandfarm.com (used with permission)
Succession planting Have something growing throughout the season After harvesting one crop, replant space Cool season  warm season  cool season plants Requires some planning! Idea of succession planting is to have something growing throughout the season. After harvesting one crop, replant space. Successive sowing of same plant to keep harvest going. Continual sowing every few weeks (lettuce, arugula, bush beans, radishes, carrots, scallions, spinach)—photo shows 3 successive plantings of arugula Staggered planting -- Example: early cabbage and broccoli might be followed by snap beans or zucchini. Replace spring lettuce, radishes, and spinach with a planting of carrots or beets. Transplant Brussels sprouts or fall onions into the space left after harvesting peas. Photo: (used with permission)

Succession planting- example
Succession planting is sometimes called “three-season planting” Chart shows crops planted in each of 3 seasonal gardens -- considerable overlap—in a small garden, will need to do interplanting (plant seeds or seedlings of next season’s crops in spaces in between maturing crops) -- planting dates are those recommended for Central Maryland in HG-16 fact sheet (see List of Resources handout) Crops to plant one after the other: Peas followed by Corn Radish followed by summer squash Green Onions followed by Peppers Cilantro followed by Beans -- Can have 3 or even 4 plantings in same bed. -- Need to plan—start seeds ahead of time. E.g., will start some seeds for fall garden in July. May need to plan seed purchases for the year—can be hard to find seeds in garden stores in fall, really hard to find seedlings.

Choose your varieties High-yielding crops
Compact, small-space varieties “Cut-and-come-again” greens Economic value: grow crops that are expensive to buy in store To get the most of a small space, choose high-yielding varieties. “Cut-and-come-again” greens allow you to harvest outer leaves, while the plant continues to grow from center ©2013 Pam Hosimer

Choose your varieties High-yielding: Tomatoes Peppers Onions Eggplant
Beans Cucumbers Summer squash Lettuce and greens Less efficient use of space: Long-vining crops: melons, pumpkins, winter squash Large heads: cabbage, cauliflower Some examples of High-yielding plants – lots of produce on small footprint (especially if grown vertically)—SEE HANDOUT Lettuce and greens: We grew all of these in the Master Gardener 100 Square Foot Garden Long vining crops take up a lot of space for relatively small output, heavy fruit make it difficult to grow vertically Large single-head crops (cabbage) take up a lot of space But: grow what you love—it’s your garden!!

Importance of soil Soil preparation the key to successful intensive gardening Deep fertile soil high in organic matter Holds nutrients and moisture Plants better resist pests and disease Replace nutrients used by intensive growing Photo by M. Tulottes, Wikimedia Commons This item should be first, not last—soil preparation is done before anything else in the garden. Soil preparation is the key to successful intensive vegetable gardening. In intensive gardening, soil preparation is a constant process. Intensive gardening uses nutrients in the soil—planting closely, planting vertically, and replanting--need to replace nutrients as you replant. Ideal: deep fertile soil high in organic matter (min. 6-8 inches of soil) Holds nutrients and moisture Plants better resist pests A word about fertilizer: intensive growing uses nutrients. Even for very good soil you will need to restore nutrients used up by intensive growing by adding compost or other organic fertilizer. [Compost is the gold standard, which adds organic matter at the same time it adds nutrients. Organic fertilizers feed plants while building the soil. [Other organic fertilizers include: well-aged manure, guano, blood or bone meal, fish emulsion, shellfish meal, greensand, or rock phosphate; also leaves and grass clippings to add organic matter] Get a soil test—soil table in the Multi-Purpose Room will have information on how to get good soil and how to test your soil.

The Master Gardeners’ 100 Square Foot Garden
How to pull it all together? Next, we’ll discuss two examples that make use of small-scale intensive vegetable gardening techniques. Both are 100 Square Foot gardens. Why 100 Square Foot? Rosalind Creasy, the author of Edible Landscaping, took a 5’ by 20’ area from her lawn to demonstrate what could be grown in as little as 100 square feet. Maryland Grow It Eat It network has developed a challenge to home gardeners to see what they can grow in 100 square feet—more on that later. How to visualize 100 square feet—about the size of an average size bedroom. Might sound large to some, but when you take those dimensions outdoors and start adding plants, you will see how quickly you fill up a 100 square foot area. First example is the 100 Square Foot Garden of the Montgomery County Master Gardeners, in the demonstration garden outside and up the hill. The demo garden is open for tours today. Not a lot going on in the vegetable garden yet, work gets underway on Tuesday. Photo by Lauren Greenberger

Design of the Garden N Total area was 10 x 13, or 130 square feet.
Divided this into beds that totaled 100 square feet of growing area. Each bed 4-1/2 x 5-1/2 feet---total of 99 square feet Added a container with 1 sq ft footprint  100 square feet growing space

Design of the Garden-SPRING
Started with south-facing beds (highlighted in green)—planted spring crops—mid-April Also interplanted fast-growing/early-maturing crops and slower-growing/late-maturing crops e.g., carrots and onions, lettuce and radishes

Design of the Garden-SUMMER
Later--mid-May--added summer crops—tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumbers, basil, squash and tomatillos.

Design of the Garden-FALL
Replanted the beds with fall crops in September  example of succession planting—something growing from April through early November.

Laying out 100 Square Feet Important points:
Level area, beautiful soil well-amended by compost, full sun 100 square feet is in close-by beds Use of paths to delineate beds, avoid walking on garden areas (paths could have been wider) Beds 4-1/2’ wide, could reach into the center of bed from path or outside the garden. Photo taken in early spring, just getting started with spring crops and hardy herbs Photo by Mary Anne Normile

Spring bed a few weeks later…
One of the spring beds, a few weeks after planting (May?) Spring crops: lettuces, radishes, broccoli raab, spinach, onions, beets, chard, parsley—in an area slightly less than 25 square feet! Demonstrates what you can achieve with close planting. After spring crops, added compost to the soil, and replanted with summer crops. Photo by Darlene Nicholson

Intensive techniques…
Succession planting (fall garden follows summer) Container garden Vertical gardening Interplanting We used all the techniques we discussed in the Master Gardener 100 Square Foot Garden close planting, succession planting, use of beds, interplanting vertical planting used trellises to support tomatoes and pole beans -- used stakes for peppers containers: grew eggplants, later fall greens and herbs in a container Photo by Melissa Smith Photo by Erica Smith

…yielded big rewards! The garden produced over 170 pounds of produce from 100 square feet Vegetables and herbs donated to Manna food center Next, Pam Hosimer is going to talk about her home garden and highlight the GROW100 challenge. Photo by Mary Anne Normile

The 100 Square Foot Garden On a Hill
SLIDE 37 Not every garden is a flat square bed. My yard has a 13 foot drop My garden is terraces My yard also has a 20+ herd of deer foraging in it And I have a small budget ©2013 Pam Hosimer

Design of the garden Garden Plan-
©2013 Pam Hosimer Garden Plan- 100 square feet of vegetable garden using six raised beds and two containers Vegetables in center of each bed Perennials on either end of each bed SLIDE 38 For my 100 square feet I had: 6 beds – ends perennials and middle edibles 2 containers I also had a pallet garden as an experiment

Tomato transplants in May…
Close planting in beds Tomato transplants in May… …staked in a bed… ©2013 Pam Hosimer SLIDE 39 Close planting Need to keep plants staked and pinched Need to be sure they get enough light – talk about the peppers ©2013 Pam Hosimer

…are ready to harvest in August!
SLIDE 40 This creates a full bed at harvest You need to also keep good air flow to reduce disease and pest issues ©2013 Pam Hosimer

Vertical Planting-an A-frame
Maximize your growing space by growing on both sides of an A-frame structure. SLIDE 41 Use just about anything from trellis’ to bamboo poles to scrap lumber (NOTE: be sure anything you use is safe to grow food on!) It can be any size and width Remember it still needs good air flow and light ©2013 Pam Hosimer

Vertical Planting-an A-frame
Pickle cucumbers climb… …and take over their support SLIDE 42 Sometimes it is hard to see ripe vegetables until they are HUGE ©2013 Pam Hosimer ©2013 Pam Hosimer

Pallet gardens filled with herbs and annuals
SLIDE 43 This was really inexpensive and used items in my garage It is hard to keep watered so needs to be soaked daily big difference between success on east side and west side Talk about safe logo to look for on pallets, have sample at table ©2013 Pam Hosimer ©2013 Pam Hosimer

Vertical Planting-Trellis
Set up the trellis in May… ©2013 Pam Hosimer …plant beans close together… ©2013 Pam Hosimer SLIDE 44 Trellis must be sturdy This is bolted on so it can be removed and stored at end of season The beans languished all summer in the heat, but went gangbusters when the weather cooled down Don’t give up on a plant unless it’s dead

Interplanting Mix it up in your beds by planting perennials, like Phlox (right) and Helenium (left), next to vegetables like these hot pepper plants. ©2013 Pam Hosimer It helps attract pollinators like bees and butterflies. SLIDE 46 Interplanting of edible, perennial and annuals is a great idea for all season color Phlox, hibiscus, marigolds, mums Important for pollinators

Sturdy patio tomatoes…
Container Planting Sturdy patio tomatoes… …grow robustly in a pot SLIDE 47 patio varieties, this one was just labeled “Patio” extremely compact needed staking every couple of days fruits very heavy problem free ©2013 Pam Hosimer ©2013 Pam Hosimer

100 square feet can yield big rewards …
©2013 Pam Hosimer 7 tomato varieties Chard 4 pepper varieties Peas Cucumbers Zucchini Carrots yellow squash 3 bean varieties 15 herb varieties Asparagus potatoes SLIDE 48 Grew: 7 tomato varieties 4 pepper varieties cucumbers carrots 3 bean varieties asparagus chard peas zucchini yellow squash 15 herb varieties potatoes

…and look beautiful too!
This 100 Square Foot garden yielded a whopping 167 pounds of produce in this small economical space. SLIDE 49 really productive for only the summer season And for managing to produce despite hungry critters (deer, rabbits, groundhog) RESOURCES: Show a couple of books for adults And show a couple of books for kids Mention a specific focus for each book and WHY I chose it ©2013 Pam Hosimer

Resources extension.umd.edu/hgic extension.umd.edu/learn/ask-gardening marylandgrows.umd.edu extension.umd.edu/mg Take a food gardening class Find local community gardens Learn about youth/school gardens RESOURCES The Home & Garden Information Center develops and delivers science-based, sustainable gardening and integrated pest management education for better human and environmental health. Use their free Ask an Expert service to submit a plant or pest question to their Certified Professional Horticulturalists. Follow their blog at marylandgrows.umd.edu. UME Master Gardener volunteers reach thousands of Maryland residents each year with their classes and events. To learn about the classes and events in your area, go to the Master Gardener website and click on Local Programs. You may also be interested in ordering the Maryland Master Gardener Handbook. It has over 600 pages of information covering a wide variety of horticultural topics. Grow It Eat It is one of the six main topic areas in the UME Master Gardener program. A number of Master Gardener volunteers teach and promote the local, sustainable production of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. extension.umd.edu/growit

This program was brought to you by
University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener Program Montgomery County Remember to put in the name of your county. Created by Jon Traunfeld, Extension Specialist, UME; 2014; revised 2/15/15; revised 12/19/16; revised by Beth Bukowski 01/18/2018; revised by Alicia Bembenek 01/25/18

Getting the Most Out of Your Small Vegetable Garden

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