Four ways to grow
Raised beds
I have grown a huge variety of vegetables in raised beds over the years, including broccoli, chillies, courgettes, salad leaves, kohlrabi, aubergines… the list goes on.
I find the best use of space is to put a climbing vegetable such as beans or peas at the back of the raised bed so that it grows vertically up against the fence or wall. This means I still have the majority of the raised bed space for non-climbing veg.
If your space doesn’t have a wall or fence, simply put two raised beds about 1m-1.5m apart and add a couple of arches across them – this will give you the same vertical growing space. I have a two-tier raised bed where I like to put fast-growing crops such as pak choi and radish in the front bed so that I can quickly and easily fill the gaps as and when I harvest something.
The only flaw to this two-tier design is that the back tier can be a bit tricky to plant, so I tend to fill it with slower growing vegetables or plants that produce multiple crops such as broccoli or courgettes. This means that
I don’t have to replace it over the growing season.
Ideal for: broccoli, pak choi, runner beans, salad leaves
Containers
Pots are great for growing veg in a small space and I use a lot of them on my patio. Depending on the size of your container you can grow almost any vegetable in them. I always grow my potatoes in pots, otherwise they take up too much space. I’ve also grown cucumbers, tomatoes, spring onions, mint, courgettes, peppers and, of course, flowers in pots of various sizes.
The best thing about growing in containers is that you can move them around so that sun-loving veg such as tomatoes can be soaking up the rays as much as possible. I also like how you can change the way your space looks over the season simply by moving a few pots around. Also, once you have finished with a container it is easy to pack away so that your space stays neat.
It’s a good idea to fill a few pots with flowers to attract pollinators and make your overall space look even more attractive. Containers also make pest control really easy. I put one strip of copper tape around each one to help keep slugs at bay. If the veg you’ve grown attracts butterflies – and hence caterpillars – you can also easily cover them with netting to prevent the butterflies from laying their eggs.
Ideal for: flowers, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes
Troughs
I use a trough on my patio area to grow herbs, and I love this little growing space. It sits just outside my kitchen door so that I can pop out and get any herb I want as I’m cooking. One trough has provided enough space to grow all the perennial herbs my family needs, such as chives, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme.
I also love growing Vietnamese coriander; it’s much easier to grow than normal coriander and looks and smells amazing. I’ve enjoyed growing herbs in troughs so much that I’ve got a second one for the coming year, which I am going to fill with more tender herbs such as different varieties of basil and coriander – I can’t wait.
The best thing about troughs is that you don’t have to bend down to them as they are raised high above the ground, making planting and harvesting easy. They also provide storage space underneath for things like watering cans, empty containers or anything else you need to have on hand. You can even use this extra space to grow veg such as Swiss chard or radishes in containers underneath.
Ideal for: herbs, kale, lettuce, radishes, spring onions
Vertical spaces
When space is limited, making use of vertical areas such as walls and fences is a must – they’re ideal for growing climbing vegetables such as beans, peas and cucumbers. You can also do this with containers by creating a wigwamlike structure out of three bamboo canes for climbing veg such as cucumbers to clamber up. This works really well as it keeps the cucumbers off the ground so they are less likely to get damp and rot. It also looks great to see loads of cucumbers hanging from the vines.
I also like to make use of hanging baskets, especially for growing strawberries. This is a great method since it keeps slugs off them, although you might have to cover the fruit from birds. This year I’m looking forward to trying out a type of tomato that has been specially bred for growing in hanging baskets.
I’ve also recycled an old pallet by positioning it against a wall and transformed it into a vertical herb garden. It looks beautiful and is practical too, giving me a cheap and recycled way of growing more crops. Ideal for: beans, courgettes, cucumbers, strawberries