How to Plant a Compact Vegetable Garden
What makes this compact garden so productive is that you will be placing plants close together in squares instead of traditional rows. You can continue to plant as you harvest.
What You’ll Need
- Hammer
- Saw
- Shovel
- Wire cutters
- Tape measure
- 4 4-foot 2-by-10’s
- 16d galvanized nails
- 2 6-foot 2-by-4’s
- 4-foot 2-by-4
- 49 feet of 12-gauge galvanized wire, cut into 7 7-foot lengths
- 8d galvanized nails
- About 1/2 cubic yard or 14 cubic feet of good garden soil
- A sunny spot for your garden
What You’ll Do
Frame
1. Using the 2-by-10’s and 16d nails, hammer together a 4-foot square.
Trellis
2. Nail the 6-foot 2-by-4’s to the back of the frame.
3. Nail the 4-foot 2-by-4 across the back of the uprights.
4. Attach the 7 wires on the back of the trellis by wrapping wires around nails.
Planting
Fill the frame with good garden soil. Divide it into 16 squares. The smaller the mature plant, the more you can plant in each square.
A Helpful Garden
Nail 5/8-inch or heavier exterior plywood to the bottom of the frame and lift the frame to table height by placing it on sturdy saw horses or legs. Once filled with soil, it will be easily accessible to a person in a wheelchair or someone who is more comfortable sitting than kneeling.
I have a table garden like this. Something to keep in mind is that you need to be sure to water frequently– more frequently than if the garden was sitting on the ground. The soil does not retain as much of the moisture as it would if it could leach moisture from the surrounding area.
this is a square foot garden – check out the book called All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. Brilliant ideas! promise success if you use his recipe for filling the container – 1part vermiculite, 1part compost (mixed from different sources) and 1part peat moss. Makes for a light, fluffy fill that roots love and plants thrive in – plants grow like you can’t imagine! so worth it!!!
Will be trying this!
Any ideas for small apartment living spaces 🙂 I have house plants and they always seem to get a pesticide. If I can grow indoors or in a hallway area with lots of light,I will try it!
Why does it say 2×10 in the directions but not the supply list
Good catch. The supply list has been fixed.
Been waiting for this. This is great.
Hmmm…Any recommendations for type of lumber that won’t rot after one season? Maybe composite or something? I’ve seen some reaised bed kits made of composite/resin but they’re pretty expensive. Would love to built one myself but I want to be sure I’m building something that will last. Thanks!
We used marine treated wood for our raised beds. We also lined the bottoms with 1/2″ mesh stapled to the inside bottom of the boxes to keep moles and voles out.
Pressure treated redwood will last for years and will withstand termites too! Redwood alone is great too:)
Pressure treated wood used for gardening will leach arsenic into soil & plants. Arsenic is used to pressure treat wood. There are other choices like cypress & redwood for example.
Awesome idea! I think there may be a typo in the supply list? It say 4 – 2×4’s but in your instructions it says 2×10’s.
The compost and compost tea from the compost barrel works great as the soil for this garden.
You can make this garden smaller in size if you combine it with hydroponic gardening. I used a system like that to get my FFA State Farmer Award Philadelphia.