Find out how to grow a vegetable garden with a high yield, with these handy tips.
You can make a perfectly productive vegetable garden and grow 50 lbs of produce in a plot as small as 18 square feet, with a little know-how. We recommend starting a garden journal, which needn’t be fancy in any way if you do not require it. All you need is a small pocketbook to note down dates of final frosts, planting days, trimmings and other important information to refer back to at a later date.
Prepare Your Soil
Time invested in preparation is time well spent. This is never more true than with a high yield vegetable garden. Not only will you increase the chances of success with your garden, you will be reducing the amount of garden maintenance that will be required throughout the growing season. So, dig several inches of compost into the topsoil of your patch. This will enhance the drainage of heavy soils, and improve the water-holding capability of a fast draining soil.
Not sure what kind of soil you have? Ask the local gardeners in your area, and make some green-fingered friends in the process. Consider slow-release fertilisers, too, as these will lessen the need for a regular application of fertiliser.
Budget for Quality Seeds
Growing vegetables from seeds will increase your confidence as a gardener and will save you money, too. Begin by potting seedlings indoors in biodegradable pots early in the season to give them a headstart when the warm weather returns. Choose your seeds from a dedicated gardening shop or garden centre and look for characteristics, such as disease resistance and high yield.
Suppress Weeds
Once your seeds are planted, cover the surrounding soil with a layer of shredded leaves and composting materials, such as grass clippings (weedkiller-free), or evergreen needles. This layer will suppress weeds and retain moisture in the soil. Naturally, as this layer degrades it further enriches the soil. Doing this in the first few days of your high yield patch will save maintenance tasks throughout the summer, when weeds are blooming everywhere else.
High Yields
By planting seeds in high density you can grow a lot of produce in a very small space, but you have to be smart about it. By splitting the plot into smaller square plots you can track which vegetables are growing where and locate them using small but tough plant signage. Combine this with cleverly placed trellising in the centre of your plot and you will be able to grow climbing plants like tomatoes, and vine plants in among the low lying vegetables and herbs.
The Best Plants for High Yields
- Aubergine
- Basil
- Beans
- Beets
- Butternut squash
- Collard
- Cucumbers
- Parsley
- Summer squash
- Tomatoes
For more tips on how to grow a vegetable garden with a high yield, you can find ready made garden plans online. These are great for initial ideas and you will be able to adapt them to your garden area and resources. Have fun making your high yield garden, and make sure to reuse the plot each year to improve your produce with every growing season.
