Vegetable gardens come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. They can be as big or small, simple or elaborate, or high effort or low effort as you like. All you need is a little creativity, and you too can grow some healthy and delicious vegetables in your own backyard. 

Not too long ago, gardens were simply referred to as a garden. Often in the front or backyard, the garden consisted of an intermix of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, chosen according to their usefulness or aesthetics.

However, people have now become a lot more creative with their gardening. You can now create productive little vegetable garden patches or a conversation piece to plant some flowers. You don’t even need a big space for this purpose. 

A set of old drawers can be repurposed as a planter if you arrange it on a ladder or ladder-like structure. Usually, drawers are deep enough to provide sufficient space for the roots of most vegetables to grow, and may even have enough room for a small tomato cage. 

With some smart tactics and patience, you can make the best use of the space you already have and create your own little vegetable garden. Here are a few small vegetable garden ideas that will help you get started.

Mini Garden Inside a Box

If you have no prior experience with gardening, this would be an easy place to start. All you need is a simple crate to plant salad greens. A crate that is as small as 4 by 3 feet is enough to feed you for weeks. Since this mini garden is small and self-contained, it is easily portable, allowing you to move it wherever the sun is shining. 

It may be heavy if you try to lift it, but adding wheels to it can solve this issue. This type of garden is especially useful for people who don’t have a yard or space for gardening. 

Aside from salad greens like kale, lettuce, spinach, and chards, you can also use this idea to plant vegetables that are harvested frequently, such as onions, carrots, and chili peppers. The constant harvest will thin the plants out, preventing the crate from overcrowding. 

Grow Vegetables in Containers

Another way to solve space issues is by using containers as an alternative. Anything that holds soil can be used to grow small plants, including old metal wash buckets and fabric grow bags. The only thing you need to ensure is that it provides good drainage. Remember that plants grown in containers need more water than those grown in the ground to prevent them from drying out. For best quality plants, use organic fertilizers and be sure to fertilize them during growing seasons. 

When growing edibles in containers, opt for patio or dwarf varieties of vegetables and shallow-rooted plants. These include garlic, lettuce, radishes, leeks, etc. You can also grow tomatoes, peppers, and basil seeds in containers if you put in a little more effort. 

Edible Landscape 

If you do have enough space to plant a sufficiently sized garden but have no clue how to begin and what to do, think about creating an edible landscape. It is a creative and productive solution to growing vegetables in a front yard or other conspicuous spaces. Not to forget, it can look very aesthetically pleasing if done right. 

You can try mixing ornamental vegetables and herbs into a perennial garden or tuck them into containers. However, if you combine various colors and textures, vegetable plants can look attractive on their own. Artichokes, eggplants, beans, onion, garlic, chives, peppers, and all kinds of herbs can add aesthetics to your edible landscapes. You can also add edible flowers and garden structures like obelisks and trellises to add interest to it.

Hanging Garden of Vegetables 

Who says that hanging baskets can only contain flowers? Not only do most vegetables thrive in hanging baskets, but they are also more productive and look great on walls. In fact, you may even get a better yield of vegetables due to the heat that will get reflected off the wall. There are many ways you can create a mini hanging garden. You’ll never run out of creative ideas to work with it. 

Any kind of container can be used, including simple old buckets, recycled soda bottles, old plant pots, etc. If you’re feeling fancier, you can invest in expensive ceramic bowls. However, you need to keep in mind that once the container is filled with wet soil and fruiting plants, it is going to get reasonably heavy. Therefore, you need to choose something that is strong and sturdy. Additionally, you need to create strong boards to hang the baskets on.

Shelf Garden

Who wouldn’t want a functional garden that you can easily show off? Well, that’s exactly what a shelf garden will let you do. You don’t need to buy any hangers or spend a lot of time digging for this purpose. All you need is a shelf and some containers that fit on the shelf. 

You can add as many containers as you like with various vegetables such as carrots, beetroots, potatoes, peas, radishes, tomatoes, salad turnips, salad onions, leafy greens, and herbs, etc. Since all plants will be planted in separate containers, it would be easier to take care of them too. Keeping this shelf right outside your kitchen in a sunny area will result in you getting fresh harvest any time you need, as it will literally be an arm’s length away. 

It takes some effort to get into gardening, especially if you believe you don’t have sufficient space, resources, or time for it. However, once you begin a small garden, you’ll realize that it requires much less maintenance than you may have initially assumed. 

So use the above ideas to start your own vegetable garden and see where it takes you.