How can I clean up my garden and utilize the small space I have?

[GracePoultry]

I am still a teenager so I live with my parents. I have been looking a lot into all of the chemicals in store bought produce. (maybe a bit too much lol)

I have a really old raise bed garden back from when I was 10! My mom isn't interested in gardening whatsoever but has given me permission to use that space. It's only 3' by 6'. It is completely overrun with weeds! I don't really know much about gardening but I would like to plant a bit of produce in spring to be a bit healthier. How do I winterize it? does it need to be winterized? what types of food can grow well in the small garden?

 

[GodLovesU]

If I were you I would wait for the cold to kill the weeds.Then ,in spring, I would pull up the weeds,put down new soil,and fertilize.Next I would consider what plants do you use a lot?.Do you want herbs,tomatoes,etc.Squash or Watermelons would be kind of large for that bed.You also need to pay attention to what grows best at what time in your zone.Good luck!Also here’s a link to one of BackyardChicken’s sister site for gardening. https://www.theeasygarden.com/

 

[SmiYa0126]

Hi! What veggies do you like?

 

[GracePoultry]

@SmiYa0126
I love broccoli and lots of different peppers! those along with carrots, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers are my favorites!

 

[GodLovesU]

Cherry tomatoes would be great for a bed!You could probably only have a few cucumber plants.As for Broccoli and Carrots ,depending on your zone, they needed to be planted in late winter,I believe.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Broccoli is a cold hardy plant, you can start seedlings inside and then plant I'm March and then also August. Carrots can be direct seeded once you're in April month. You can also plant lettuce while you wait for the carrots, they have a very long germination. For cucumbers, if you get the vining ( not bush) a trellis will help a lot. It can be as simple as a teepee style. Succession planting can keep your harvests going. It means that you plant more seeds while you already have plants growing. Also I highly recommend planting flowers, zinnias, pansy, marigolds. Also some herbs, pollinators love them and they also have ability to ward off bad bugs.

 

[Sally PB]

Pull out the weeds now, get all the roots you can. Some weeds die in the winter, but some are perennial.

What is the soil like? Sandy? Hard clay? Rocky? What color is it? Dark and rich looking, like coffee or chocolate, or pale like it's had the life sucked out of it by the weeds? What does it feel like in your hand?

Post a picture of this raised bed, so we can see how it's built. Which way is the long side oriented, north-south, or east-west? East-west would be better.

Can you put a trellis on one side, to support a vining plant, like a cucumber? If you can, that will allow you to have more plants, as the ones on the trellis won't take much space in the bed. Putting a trellis on the north side won't shade the rest of the bed.

Very important, how many hours of daylight does it receive? That's one thing that is difficult, if not impossible, to change.

 

[Nym]

I want to applaud you for being motivated to grow some food! It's amazing what you can grow in small spaces. Also check out the hugelkultur gardening method for raised beds. All the best to you!

10 Compact Vegetables That Can Be Grown in Small Spaces

 

[tlcmurphy]

I used to keep a very small raised bed garden. Tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers grew very well! I also grew strawberries and a few summer squash. Best of luck!

 

[Klutch]

Get a weedeater and mow those weeds down and start burying all your kitchen scraps in there. I would dig a hole and bury. A lot of county landfill's have free compost for the taking.