Space-Saving Salad Beds: Grow More Greens in Less Space

Want to Grow Fresh Salads in a Small Space?

If you love eating fresh salads, but only have a small growing space, you’re in the right place. Many crops commonly used in a healthy salad grow well together and don’t need much space. 

Why grow your own? 

• Save money at the grocery store 

• Know where your food comes from 

• Cut waste 

• Eat the freshest, most nutritious veggies! 

We’ve put together this guide for beginners, busy families, and small-space gardeners who want to grow salad ingredients year-round. It covers supplies, tips for keeping plants healthy, and creative design ideas. 

Planning Your Space-Saving Salad Garden

Even if you only have balcony space, a tiny backyard, or a small patio, you have plenty of room to grow salad ingredients. Assess your available space, track the sun to find the right spot, and ensure you have access to water. 

Salad garden essentials checklist:

• High-quality seeds or seedlings 

• Seed-starting trays

• Hand tools 

• Pruners 

• Harvest knives  

• Watering can or irrigation system 

• Fertilizer 

• Plant protection 

• Containers or sunny garden plots 

• Vertical supports, if needed

• A plan!

Best Space-Saving Salad Bed Setups

Make the most of every inch with square-foot gardening. This method is excellent for beginners because you can plot out each foot. Use this method in garden beds and wooden or metal raised beds. 

If you love growing in fabric bags, our 100-gallon and 200-gallon grow bags are great alternatives to raised beds. Find a sunny spot, fill it with soil, and plug in your transplants. Large bags can even host a small tree!

Learn more about the square foot gardening method in Mel Bartholemew’s book. 

In-Ground Beds 

Create narrow rows and plant intensively, especially if you only have a small space. Leave enough space around the edge and down the center for easy pruning and harvesting. 

Bootstrap tip: For vertical support, pound a few T-posts and attach cattle panels to create an arch. Climbers like cucumbers, squash, nasturtium, and tomatoes will appreciate it! 

Raised Beds 

These are perfect if you want to bend over less while gardening or need to bring your plants up to you. They also give beginners a nice template for planning. For easy planning, measure your raised bed and create a grid using jute twine or PVC across the top surface. Then, add plants using the proper spacing. 

VIDEO: Are Raised Beds Worth It? Raised Beds vs. In-Ground Gardening

Fabric Grow Bags

100-gallon grow bags are a great alternative to raised beds for shallow rooted crops like lettuce and kale. The 4 foot circle holds just over 10 cubic feet of soil, giving you plenty of room to create a salad bed. Grow bags drain easily, naturally air-prune roots, and are reusable for many years. Grow Bags vs. Plastic Pots - Planting Containers provides more information. 

For deeper rooted crops like tomatoes and cucumbers consider using 200 gallon bags. They are the same 4 foot circle but twice as deep. A 4 foot circle gives you just under 13 square feet of planting space. 

Other Options 

Get creative by using wall planters, 2- to 10-gallon grow bags, large pots, or upcycled, food-safe plastic bins- no yard needed! Consider adding a low tunnel to protect your crops from the weather and extend your growing season. 

Check out our DIY DWC Kit for a hydroponics option.

Choosing the Right Crops for a Compact Salad Garden

Now it’s time to decide what to grow in your compact salad garden. 

• Fast-growing greens are a staple. Select those with flavors you enjoy. Mustard and arugula will offer a spicy salad base. Butterhead lettuce and spinach are much milder. Baby kale and frilly lettuce will have a more earthy flavor and different texture. 

• Add crunch with salad turnips, radishes, and baby carrots. 

• Intercrop alliums and compact herbs, such as flat-leaf parsley and sage. Bootstrap tip: Fennel doesn’t play well with others, so put it in a container by itself. New to companion planting? Here’s an article all about how it works.  

• Plan out successions to ensure a continuous harvest. This is an effective technique used by many small-scale market gardeners. 

• For best results, select crops well-suited to your soil type and climate. 

Bootstrap Tip: Our favorite lettuce and greens varieties, ‘New Red Fire,’ ‘Malabar’ summer spinach, and ‘Little Gem’ romaine, can withstand extreme heat. To give them some relief, water them consistently and place the lettuce in the shade of taller plants. 

Step-By-Step: Building and Planting Your Space-Saving Salad Beds

Build and execute your salad bed plans in these five easy steps. 

1. Gather Supplies

Whatever setup you choose, gather the necessary supplies. If you’ll be starting seeds, you’ll need seed-starting pots and containers, potting mix, and a heat mat.

Our seed starting kits make succession planting easy. Sow quick-maturing greens every few weeks. The roots will naturally prune, preventing root boundness that occurs in some traditional trays.

2. Prep Your Soil 

Loosen the soil by broadforking or tilling. Remove old plant debris and run a hoe through the surface to get rid of tiny weeds. Test the soil and determine the necessary amendments. Add amendments and compost, then work them in with a tilther. 

3. Plot Your Grid 

Consider space requirements, succession planting, and the mature height of your plants. Add vertical trellising for indeterminate tomatoes, cucumbers, and other climbing crops. Combining crops that grow up with those that grow out will maximize space. Bootstrap tip: Make the grid squares the same size to make transplanting quick and easy. 

Stagger your plantings of radishes, carrots, and green beans for a continuous harvest. Certain herbs may enhance crops with large fruits' root systems and flavor. Plant them where space allows. 

Bootstrap tip: Grow early-season peas where you plan to grow leafy greens later. They’ll benefit from the affixed nitrogen in the soil. 

4. Sow Seeds or Transplant Seedlings 

Follow recommendations for seed-starting indoors or direct seeding outdoors for your selected varieties. While some do well with both methods, some seed packets strongly suggest one or the other. Start warm-weather annuals like basil, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers indoors 8 to 10 weeks before your last expected frost date. 

Need inspiration? Get our free salad mix guide here.

5. Set Up Irrigation 

Grow diverse crops with various root systems and keep the soil covered to minimize watering needs. Watering less is more when you plant densely (but not too densely!). Install a raised bed drip irrigation kit and customize it to your garden plot. You can even use these draped over the top of fabric grow bags! 

Drip irrigation tubing or lines direct water to the root system, reducing evaporation. For peace of mind, add a watering timer to your system. 

VIDEO: How to Install a Drip Irrigation Kit in a Raised Bed

Maintenance and Care: Keeping Your Salad Garden Thriving

Maintaining your salad beds is crucial to a long, fruitful season and healthy plants. Find tips below to control pests, extend the growing season, and fertilize your plants.

Control Those Pests

Wondering how to control pests without using toxic chemicals? Try these solutions: 

• Surround greens with alliums to deter pests naturally 

• Use sticky trap cards until your plants need pollination. 

• Attract beneficial insects 

• Plant diverse flowering plants and herbs

• Hand-pick bugs and scout for eggs early

• Use insect netting as a physical barrier 

• Spray spinosad, neem oil, or a garlic solution before things get out of hand 

Extend the Season with These Tricks 

Who doesn’t wish our plants would last longer so we could harvest more? Extend the season with these tips:

• Install a few of Bootstrap Farmer’s durable low-tunnel kits. Use them to protect crops during sudden temperature dips or spikes. 

• Keep pests out with a layer of insect netting. 

• Invest in high-quality shade cloth. Cover heat-sensitive spinach, cilantro, and arugula to prevent bolting. 

• Deep water frequently reduces stress during long, hot spells and drought conditions. 

• Frost blankets decrease damage from high winds and low nighttime temperatures. They also keep frost off delicate plants. 

Harvesting Techniques For Continuous Harvests 

The more you harvest, the more your plants will provide. As you harvest, the plant has more energy to produce more. Signals are sent to the plant to reallocate resources, extending the harvest window. Pick those tomatoes and prune your plants so they will continue to thrive well into the fall. 

Use sharp, clean harvest knives for peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers for healthy harvests. 

Fertilizing for Peak Flavor

Heavy feeders like peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes need consistent nutrition throughout the season. Feed them with a well-balanced fertilizer when they flower. Then apply it every few weeks. Stop fertilizing after your first harvest.

Consult your soil test results to determine the correct fertilizer and NPK amount. If needed, contact your local extension office agent for help. 

Year-Round Salad Harvests in Small Spaces

Succession Planting 

Year-round salads require succession planting. How often you sow depends on the life of the crop, your harvest rate, and if it’s a cut-and-come-again variety. Create a sowing schedule you can easily follow when the season gets busy. Follow these tips on how to year-round garden on the homestead. 

Overwintering Greens

Many greens and brassicas are hardy enough to survive frosts and cold winters with some protection. The key is getting them in the ground with enough time to establish a strong root system so they’re prepared for the cold. To ensure they have enough warmth to survive, use low tunnels or layers of frost blankets. 

Homesteading Without Land 

You don’t need much to grow your own food, not even land. Throughout cold months, grow microgreens, shoots, nasturtium blooms, herbs, and mushrooms indoors. Learn how to get started here. 

Storing and Using Your Homegrown Greens

To avoid waste, wash your greens and allow them to dry completely before storing them. Store them in airtight containers or bags. Add a cloth or paper towel to absorb excess moisture that can lead to premature spoilage. Store them at 38° to 42°F (3° to 5°C), or in a crisper drawer. Storage and Preservation of Garden Vegetables provides storage tips for garlic, potatoes, and more. 

Troubleshooting: Common Salad Garden Problems and Solutions

Here we cover some common salad garden problems and what you can do to prevent them. 

Weak Growth 

Potential causes: Resource competition, insufficient nutrients in the soil, and lack of sunlight

Solutions

1. Ensure proper spacing.

2. Feed the soil as needed.

3. Ensure plants receive 6 to 8 hours of sunlight each day. 

Premature Bolting 

Potential causes: Stress, extreme heat, or the end of the season 

Solutions

1. Cover plants with shade cloth during prolonged periods of drought.

2. Reduce competition for resources. 

3. Remove spent plants to replace them with new ones. 

Fix Pest Issues Without Spraying 

Potential causes: Uncovered plants during a pest hatch, failure to rotate crops, and debris left in the garden. 

Solutions 

1. Add insect netting over low hoops.

2. Plant native wildflowers and plants that attract beneficial insects. They will keep pests in check. 

3. Companion plants with herbs and flowers that are known to deter pests and critters. Examples are onions, garlic, marigolds, nasturtium, and lavender. 

Overcrowded Plants 

Potential causes: Failing to account for space requirements when plotting the grid. 

Solutions 

1. Use the recommended space for each crop. With experience, push the boundaries and note the results. 

2. Thin direct-seeded crops to promote healthy growth. Remove the weakest seedlings. 

3. Avoid adding too many heavy-feeding, competitive crops in one small area. 

Dealing With Fluctuating Temperatures 

Potential causes: 

• Elevation

• Your USDA growing zone

• Unforeseen storms

• Temperatures dropped lower than expected overnight

Solutions

1. Ensure frost blankets are available in early spring, late fall, and winter to shield plants during cold snaps. 

2. Use shade cloth during long, sunny days to prevent sunburn, bolting, flower drops, and stress. 

3. Mulch can help the soil retain moisture and maintain a consistent temperature.

FAQs About Space-Saving Salad Beds 

What salad greens work best in limited space?

Arugula, mustards, baby kale, lettuce, and spinach are quick to mature, and you can harvest them many times. These will give you the most bang for your buck in limited space. Butterhead and romaine lettuce, full-size kale, and Swiss chard also do well in square-foot gardens.

Can I grow salad crops indoors or on a balcony?

You can grow many salad crops indoors and on balconies. Grow cut-and-come-again greens and lettuce blends and compact tomato varieties. Use containers for easy watering and transport. 

How often should I water densely planted salad gardens?

When it comes to watering densely planted salad gardens, less is more. The foliage creates a canopy that protects the soil below, reduces evaporation, and keeps weeds at bay. Water every three days or so, and check the top two inches of soil for moisture. If needed, water more often. 

What’s the easiest way to keep pests away from tender greens?

Plant densely and intercrop herbs and flowers to create a diverse root system and a healthy ecosystem. Flowers naturally attract predators that feed on aphids and caterpillars. 

How do I keep salad beds productive all season?

• Harvest often 

• Protect against pests and bad weather 

• Practice succession planting 

• Keep the soil covered 

• Watch for signs of disease and take action if they are suspected. Remove affected plants immediately. 

Do I need special soil for container-grown salad greens?

Use loose, loamy, nutritious potting soil for container gardening. Avoid using dense garden soil. 

Related: How to Make Your Own Potting Mix (and Why You Should DIY)

What are the best crops to pair together for a salad mix?

Lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, herbs, sweet peppers, and carrots grow well together. Try rotating add-ins to include green onions, beans, and fennel to change up the flavors. 

Can I use homemade compost in small salad gardens?

Homemade compost is a great way to repurpose garden debris and kitchen scraps. Over time, they’ll convert into organic matter for your garden. Apply some at the start of the season, during crop rotations, and as needed throughout the season. Applications will help with soil erosion, moisture retention, and boost fertility. 

How can I harvest salad greens so they regrow?

Cut greens like arugula, baby kale, spinach, and mixed lettuces about 1 to 2 inches above the soil line. This keeps the basal point intact, allowing new growth to occur. 

Is it possible to grow a salad garden year-round?

Yes, if you protect your crops and maintain healthy soil to grow salad gardens year-round.