More and more people are trying their hand at vegetable gardening and reaping the benefits of their harvest. Not everyone has a large plot of land though, and we are going to share some creative gardening methods to help you produce more vegetables from a small garden.

Grow Upwards, Not Just Outwards – Growing your vegetables vertically, and not just horizontally on the ground, allows you to maximize your space. All kinds of material can be used as a trellis medium, to include wooden poles, netting, rope or wire. A few added benefits to growing your vegetables vertically are: easier harvesting, better management of pests, and minimizing fruit and leaf rot because of better air circulation.

Test Your Soil – There are many types of test kits you can purchase to check your garden soil for acidity/alkalinity, moisture, and fertility. These kits will give you the results you need and directions on how to improve your soil if needed. Test kits can be ordered online or bought in most hardware and department stores that have a gardening center.

Fertilizing and Crop Rotation – The soil in a small garden is depleted at a much faster rate than in larger gardens or farms. We encourage you to use organic compost to enrich the soil. You can also practice crop rotation and not plant the same crop vegetables in the same spot every year. Healthy soil helps to grow healthy plants which can resist pests and diseases.

Plant Vegetables That Complement One Another – You can do some easy research about traditional gardening methods to find out what vegetable plants complement one another. This type of planting helps ensures better overall plant health and assists to enrich the soil nutrients. For example, corn and potatoes will grow well together.

Ensure Your Garden Is Conducive To Pollination – You want to be sure that you create an environment that attracts pollinators such as butterflies, honey bees and bumble bees. One way of doing this is to mix colorful flowers with some of your vegetables. Pollinators are one of the most valuable allies your vegetable garden can have.

Companion Planting – To maximize space, grow extra crops, and increase yields, apply companion planting to you gardening plans. This involves planting root vegetables with above ground vegetable plants. For example, you can plant carrots under tomatoes and beets under cucumbers.

The key thing to remember is, never let a lack of space limit your vegetable gardening abilities. Some creativity is all that is required to increase yields and enhance your entire gardening experience.