Money

High-Yield Crops for Small Garden Spaces

You don't have to have a big garden to grow lots of food. Just fill your small garden space with these high-yield crops, and you'll make a big dent in your grocery bill:

Leaf Lettuce

Photo © Flickr user sa_ku_ra

Harvest lettuce leaves whenever you need them, and more will grow right back in their place (as long as you don't damage the crown).

Some Leaf Lettuce Varieties: Oak leaf, Red Sails, Mesclun

Tomatoes

Photo © Flickr user C.P.Storm

Plant cherry or grape tomatoes, and you'll get gobs of tomatoes in compact clusters. They'll do well in the ground or in containers, so use any sunny spot that you have available.

Cucumbers

Photo © Flickr user foodistablog

Give cucumber plants a place to climb (so they don't take up a lot of space), and you'll end up with more cukes than you can pick, pickle and give away.

Want to grow your cucumbers in containers? Opt for compact or bush varieties. Their vines will only spread a few feet.

How to Grow Cucumbers

Squash

Photo © Flickr user m.gifford

Left to its own devices, squash will take over every inch of your garden, but if you grow it vertically, it will do nicely in a small garden, and still overwhelm you at harvest time.

Peppers

Photo © Flickr user Denim_Dave

Bell peppers grow up, rather than out, so they're the perfect candidate for a pint-sized garden plot. Smaller pepper varieties also do well. Tuck them into your landscaping (where they'll look ornamental), or grow them in pots on your patio.

Pea

Photo © Flickr user Andrew_Michaels

Enjoy all you can eat peas in the spring. Then, replant the space with something else for the summer and fall. How's that for making the most of a small space?

Beets

Photo © Flickr user Darwin_Bell

Plant a small plot of beets, and you can eat the beet greens early in the season and then the actual beets later in the season. Now that's productive garden space!