Square foot or keyhole gardening would do well for small spaces. No practical experience myself with either one. But they sound good.
Square foot gardening is the practice of planning and growing all types plants in only 20% of the space of a conventional row garden. moderator's note: removed website link, see point 1.1 of usage rules
Basically it's a raised bed that is divided into individual square feet. Each section is planted with anywhere from 1 to 16 plants depending on what that plant is.....i.e. one tomato plant in a square foot, 16 radishes in a square foot, etc. We will be moving my raised bed this spring so I think I give it a try then. Should save a lot of space in my small back gardening area.
I had the book from the library years ago, then recently found a copy of the second edition. It has some good points but sometimes the author gets a little...carried away. Like saying fert once and never again. HUH? The biggest thing I took from it all is learning to space properly so the plants have all the room they need.
Rockhound, I have that book and I agree the author is a little long winded. Going to try square foot gardening in one bed this year. I started marking it out but then this weather showed up. Should be fun.
With square foot planting (really WORKS) just make SURE plants are "compatible" with each other..that is the secret with this method. Never, EVER plant fennel anywhere NEAR other plants: it MUST be isolated and kept off by itself!
According to Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte, fennel has an inhibiting effect on most vegetables including bush beans and tomatoes. However, fennel is inhibited by coriander and won't set seeds. She recommends planting fennel (a host plant for butterflies, makes a nice tea mixed with mint, and seeds are used in sausage making) away from the vegetable garden, and away from coriander and wormwood. We grow fennel, but rarely get a bulb or seeds, since the butterfly caterpillars strip the plants down to tiny green sticks!
Thanks Jane. I have some in a flower bed just for the caterpillars and plan on adding some more. Was just curious about why they were being ostracized.
