by Rachael Elizabeth
Photo from Needpix
There’s nothing like picking a ripe, red tomato from the vine and popping it in your mouth … yum! Garden-fresh vegetables are a treat, especially when you grow them yourself. You don’t need a large plot of land or lots of tools to spread your seeds. You can do your gardening in small spaces. Plant Utah flower and veggie gardens in small nooks or pottery — as long as they receive direct sunlight for most of the day.
Photo from PxHere
Light in Small Gardens
When it comes to plants, “full sunlight” is defined as six or more hours of direct sunshine per day. Before choosing varieties for your garden, you’ll first want to assess the growing space for light. Light-measuring instruments are available, but you can do this yourself by drawing a diagram of the plot. Upon each hour beginning at 7 a.m., jot down on paper, or use your smartphone’s camera to record which areas have sun or shade. Remember that each hour, the angle of the sun determines the direction of light, and it changes as summer begins to fade into fall.
Soil
Now that you know how much sunlight your garden space receives, all you need is soil, seeds (or seedlings) and water. Garden soil in Utah should be well-draining, loose, fertile, and have a pH balance between 6.0 and 8.4. Decaying organic matter in the soil helps plants absorb natural nutrients for feeding. Test the soil and then amend it as necessary with products from your local nursery.
Small Garden Choices
Photo from PublicDomainPhotos
Gardening in small spaces means choosing varieties of flowers, fruits, and vegetables that don’t spread sideways.
Tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and lettuce don’t take a lot of space in gardens, and you can plant these vegetables in containers. If you like cucumbers, there are two kinds; vining and bush. Vine cucumber plants will spread; crawling along the ground or climbing trellises. Bush cucumber plants are more compact and better suited for containers and small gardens.
Creative Small Gardening Locations
Why limit yourself to the backyard? Plant your small garden along the driveway; in some old, rehabilitated wall shutters; on a vertical tower; on a flat rooftop; — even on a bird feeder! Anywhere you can place a soil bed that’s in direct sunlight can be a garden. Window boxes, trellises, arbors, potted patio umbrella stands, and framed boxes are just a few ideas to bring your garden to life.
Little Patio Gardens
Photo from Pixabay
Large containers are just as effective as dirt bed gardens, as long as there’s enough sunlight and water available. A mini-garden won’t be overflowing with veggies but, there will be enough for snacks and to add to salads. Beans, tomatoes, peppers, kale, and herbs are perfect for growing in containers. Flowers are also great. Choose some of Utah’s favorites: showy goldeneye, hummingbird, golden currant, or curlycup gumweed.
Pest Control When Gardening in Small Spaces
Much like your Utah lawn, small-space gardens benefit from natural products and predators to control pests. Beneficial nematodes are micro-organisms that feed on grubs and larvae — those tiny worms that eat plant roots. These beneficial nematodes feed on more than 200 species of insects, but they don’t damage plants or roots, and they are not harmful to people or animals.
Slugs and snails are garden-loving pests that enjoy chewing on lettuce, cabbage, strawberries, and other leafy plants, but “normal” pesticides usually don’t work on snails and slugs. Therefore, you have to get creative.
A beer trap is just what it sounds like — snails and slugs like to belly up to the bar. Fill a small, flat container with beer but don’t let the liquid spill into the soil. Slugs and snails are attracted to the beer, go for a sip, and then fall in and drown. Place a beer trap every 3 feet or so in the garden for this method to be effective.
When gardening in small spaces, don’t forget that natural predators such as those microscopic nematodes will destroy slugs and snails in their early stages. Birds eat them, too!
Gardening space is all relative. You don’t need more than a few basic tools and a little bit of space to experience the wonderful benefits of gardening. Make the most of your limited growing area with color, scent, and taste. That small space is waiting for your green thumb!
About the Author
Rachael Elizabeth is a gardening guru and writer. She takes pride tending to her small space garden that is constantly flourishing with fresh herbs and florals. When she’s not practicing her green thumb she can be found exploring nature on a hike or swimming in the lake.
With Father’s Day just around the corner I’ve been thinking about useful gift ideas. My kids always love to give their dad his favorite candies, handmade cards/notes, a new tie, etc…all of these gifts are always greatly appreciated and graciously accepted. I thought it would be fun this year to put together a Gardening Tool Box and thanks to my local Western Gardens I was able to knock out most of my shopping in one place. I did get the Husky Bucket Jockey online (
Check out all of this they have in stock, and this isn’t even everything. It was a great place to start our plan. There is a gift in the bag from each of the kids. It includes 2 different types of shovels, gloves, small rake, pruning shears, and weeder.
We loved the bucket jockey because it has pockets all on the outside and the inside to help keep everything organized. He can use the inside pockets to separate and organize seeds (the kids and I are each excited to pick a few different varieties to include in the kit) and being inside will keep them protected from the elements. Once the seeds are all planted the bucket can be used to easily gather weeds while out gardening or as a seat when needed.
To top off the gift I created this Father’s Day tag perfect for the Gardening Tool Box. I designed it in black and white and it can be colored by the gift giver. It’s all all drawn and cut by the Cricut Explore which makes it an easy tag to make.
I’m pretty sure it’s a proven fact that anything is automatically cuter when it’s small. That fact holds true with this Mother’s Day Porch Planter Box. I am completely smitten with how cute it looks sitting on my steps and can’t wait to make it a couple of sisters. You’re going to love me when I tell you how easy this was to make too.
Here is a good photo of the box assembly. The fencing is less than $2 a board and the stakes we had on hand but I’m pretty sure were around a dollar each. I used just over 1 fencing board and 2 stakes for one box. I think with 4 boards and 7 stakes you could make 3 planter boxes, including nails I think you’re looking at 3 planter boxes for under $20, pretty awesome if you ask me!
I used our miter saw to cut my pieces, if you don’t have a saw at home here is your cut list and the people at the home improvement store can cut them for you.
Can’t you just picture a few more of these darling little planter boxes leading all the way up the stairs. I can’t wait to get them all finished and filled with beautiful flowers from my 
I took matters into my own hands and made a mini fire pit out of a terra cotta pot for our front porch! I took my husband, who is definitely the brains of our family, into 
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