Small space gardening tips

Kat Lavers lives on a 280sq m block endearingly named ‘The Plummery’ in inner Melbourne. Her productive garden uses just 100sq m or so of space but she squeezes in herbs, vegies and fruit, and raises quails for eggs, too.
Kat focuses on growing as much as she can for her household. She prioritises high production crops like herbs and leafy greens, which tend to be expensive to buy (and have a high carbon footprint in transport) but are quick and easy to grow.
Because of lead contamination in her soils (a common issue in inner urban areas), she utilises raised garden beds and imported soil to grow her vegies. Her fruit and nut trees are grown in the ground, though, as lead contamination does not transfer easily to these crops.
In Kat’s best gardening year, she managed to harvest 450kg of fresh produce from her small space.
I love how Kat has truly mastered the art of making the most of the space she has, through lots of observation and experimentation. She too sees gardening in small spaces as a gift, as it allows her to observe the garden closely, learn about her garden’s microclimates, and
hone her design skills.

Kat’s top 3 small space gardening tips

1. Get to know your soil – boosting organic matter levels is important for improving your soil and adding nutrients to it. It needs to be replenished regularly and homemade is best.
2. Find out what other parts of your crops are edible and make the most of these parts, too – for example, when it comes to cauliflowers or broccoli, the entire plant can be eaten, not just the head. The leaves are like kale, the stems are like kohlrabi.
3. Get to know edible weeds growing in your yard – don’t let plants, such as chickweed, purslane and dandelion, go to waste.

Kat’s top small space friendly plant

“It’s hard to go past silverbeet because it’s such a versatile vegetable that grows well even in part shade and produces reliably for a whole year if planted in spring and managed correctly. In my garden, Fordhook Giant is the tried and tested variety that I prefer.”

For more tips on small space gardening from another successful inner city gardener, get a copy of our Winter 2025 issue (OG 158). Connie Cao has written about the many creative ways she makes use of the space in her urban patch. Order a copy and have it delivered to your door here.