Best options for a small garden

[Cherie]

If you had limited space, and could only plant 4 or 5 different vegetables, what would you chose? I was thinking, tomatoes, onions, some type of lettuce, cucumbers, and maybe bell peppers. I feel like I'm missing something important! LOL! This spring is going to be the first time since childhood that I've actually had a yard and I'm pretty over the moon about it. I can't help but to start planning my garden even though there is 6 inches of snow outside and it is 10 degrees!!

 

[marlingardener]

Cherie, welcome! You are going to enjoy having your own vegetables, grown in your own garden, and picked by your own hands!
If I were you, with limited space, I'd skip onions. They are pretty cheap in the grocery, and are available almost all year 'round.
Lettuce, especially leaf lettuces, are great--mix them up with the red leafed, oakleaf, green frilled, and you'll have great salads. These don't only look different, they taste different!
Cucumbers can take up a lot of space, but there are bush types available that even lend themselves to containers. Depending on your taste, a bush squash can give a lot of produce from a small amount of space. If you don't like squash, don't plant it!
Tell us more specifically where you are and perhaps someone here can make recommendations about the variety of tomato/cucumber/lettuces/bell pepper that will do well for you.

 

[Cherie]

Thank you so much for the reply! I live in Western PA (near Pittsburgh). I picked onions because we eat a ton of them but you are right about them being cheap to buy. We love garlic too but do you think that they would fall more into the onion category? We do love squash (butternut and acorn anyway!) so I will definitely think about that!! I picked cucumbers because my kids love them and are very excited about them, so they may have to stay. Maybe instead of onions, do you think the garlic or carrots make sense. I love the idea of mixing up the lettuce varieties...maybe even some kale?

 

[elenamarie]

Cherie, welcome! You are going to enjoy having your own vegetables, grown in your own garden, and picked by your own hands!
If I were you, with limited space, I'd skip onions. They are pretty cheap in the grocery, and are available almost all year 'round.
Lettuce, especially leaf lettuces, are great--mix them up with the red leafed, oakleaf, green frilled, and you'll have great salads. These don't only look different, they taste different!
Cucumbers can take up a lot of space, but there are bush types available that even lend themselves to containers. Depending on your taste, a bush squash can give a lot of produce from a small amount of space. If you don't like squash, don't plant it!
Tell us more specifically where you are and perhaps someone here can make recommendations about the variety of tomato/cucumber/lettuces/bell pepper that will do well for you.

I agree. I'd say plant whatever is your favorite and quite rare (something you can't buy in the market all year round). The lettuce and mixed vegetables are practical, you can just just go out and pick them in your garden and voila! you'll have yourself a nice meal and healthy too with no chemicals whatsoever.

 

[headfullofbees]

The important thing you're missing is that your garden is three dimensional, not two.
Climbing peas and beans can give huge crops from a small area, and if you have fences, you can hang half-moon baskets from them.
I grow cucumbers vertically and last year had a bumper crop.
Ask ChanellG about ideas for vertical gardening. She's the biz.

 

[Trellum]

If you had limited space, and could only plant 4 or 5 different vegetables, what would you chose? I was thinking, tomatoes, onions, some type of lettuce, cucumbers, and maybe bell peppers. I feel like I'm missing something important! LOL! This spring is going to be the first time since childhood that I've actually had a yard and I'm pretty over the moon about it. I can't help but to start planning my garden even though there is 6 inches of snow outside and it is 10 degrees!!

If it was me I'd plant at least 2 different types of chillies (because I don't feel so well eating the chilies from the grocery store, most likely because their skin is so thin they offer no protection against the pesticides), so yes, I'd plant two different types of chilies (the ones I use the most), I'd plant also tomatoes and the rest would be herbs like cilantro (again mostly due my worry about pesticides). That's what I plan to do

 

[claudine]

Cherie, I don't have much space either. All my plants grow in containers
If I had a tiny garden, I'd plant tomatoes, because I can't live without them They're so delicious! Also, I'd choose green peas, salad and radishes.

 

[Cherie]

All great ideas! Although I won't be able to have a huge garden,space is not so limited that I have to worry about choosing climbing plants or using containers. Honestly, I really want this to be an experience for my kids so I am very motivated to plant veggies that they like. I just remember being pretty young and gardening with my dad. It was fun and it was a special time for us...especially now that he is no longer in the picture. I guess that I really want my kids to have those memories with me when they are older.

 

[CanadianLori]

The important thing you're missing is that your garden is three dimensional, not two.
Climbing peas and beans can give huge crops from a small area, and if you have fences, you can hang half-moon baskets from them.
I grow cucumbers vertically and last year had a bumper crop.
Ask ChanellG about ideas for vertical gardening. She's the biz.

I second this. I have limited space and made the mistake of planting ,sprawlers, in one of my gardens.

As buzz said, onward and...