Hi,

I too grow in limited space with just s few beds around the yard. You don't mention what zone you're in, where you're located can make a difference in how plants do and therefore what is worthwhile to grow. Also grow the things you love the most, taste best fresh, are hard/expensive to buy in your area etc.

Tomatoes can take up a fair amount of space (depending on the variety) but I think it's well worth it as nothing tastes as good as a freshly picked, still warm from the sun tomato.

I've given up growing broccoli, it takes up a lot of space, I can never seem to get anything but tiny heads, and I don't thing it tastes much different than the ones I can get at the grocery store. So it's just not worth it to me.

The zuccini will vine all over and also take up a fair amount of space. If you can trellis it that may help.

The raspberry canes will get pretty tall and could cause some shading issues. Plus they will start spreading pretty quickly. Do you have any other areas outside of the garden bed that you can use to create a raspberry patch. Along a fence row often works well for berry canes.

Lettuce you can easily plant in, around, and under other plants. If you live in a hot area it'll appreciate the shade. For example build a tent-like trellis, vine your peas and beans over it and plant the lettuce under it. Or plant it under the tomatoes.

Depending on where you live, you can plant the snap peas first and when it gets too hot for them replace them with the beans.

You might want to do some reading about square foot garden spacing. It can help give you an idea of how many plants you can realistically fit into your bed.

Don't forget to pay attention to plants that might be harmful to your dog if ingested. You'll want to securely separate the tomatoes (the leaves and green tomatoes can be a problem for dogs) and things like onions. Ditto grapes, for instance. It all depends on whether your dog is inclined to chew on the scenery!

If you have limited space, I would suggest you grow those items which cost the most at the store, or which taste far better when grown at home. For me, I have unlimited space so I can grow anything and everything. But if I had limited space, I would grow tomatoes first and foremost, green beans next and cantelope, muskmelon and some sweet corn because IMHO these items taste far better when grown at home than when purchased at the store.

wish list: carrots, asparagus, tomato, garlic, rasberry, sweet onion, string beans, zuccini, lettuce, sweet potato, and broccoli.

Asparagus needs a permanent space and will not give you edible spears for a couple of years. Garlic needs to be planted in the Fall. Raspberries also need someplace permanent with room to spread and dont expect much the first year or two.. Zucchini can grow into 4ft x 4 ft monsters (I have never heard of vining zucchini) so 3 of them could take your whole garden! The rest are do-able.

Research sq ft. gardens also research vertical gardening.

Its surprising how much space plants take. 10 x 3 is a very small garden, but have fun with it!

I agree with the other comments but I would add that you may want to consider fresh herbs, but only if you cook with them. They are very expensive to buy but many of them take up very little room.

Also, you don't mention your zone, but where you live can have a big impact on what you plant when. You may want to google "four season gardening" for ideas on extending your gardening through time instead of space. For example, in this part of the country I grow carrots, peas, celery and broccoli in the cold season. When my November planted garlic is ready in June, I still have time for another warm season crop like beans to go in that space until I want it for another fall crop like spinach.

I too agree with the comments so far... except for trellising zukes. Also my first thought was herbs, just like alabamanicole mentioned.

You didn't mention cucumbers so I assume they are specifically not on your list. However, if they are on your list, know that they can grow straight up... several plants trellised.

Tomatoes can definitely take up a lot of space- if you plant the big dudes. There are several hybrid varieties that remain under 4' tall and are bred for patio living. Can you continue to use your patio space for these and other pot lovers?

Is it possible to seasonally convert one end of the bed to a cold frame for winter lettuces and cool weather crops? Chard, collards, and kale are great cool weather producers. When the warm weather comes back, you could remove the frame and reuse the soil as intended as a raised bed. Again, this would probably depend on your zone.

Space is limited for me too. I purchase many garden-space-hogs from local farmers as the real estate is a premium to me, but the cost in the peak of summer from a local source is quite reasonable - corn, potatoes, pumpkins, other winter squash, sweet potatoes, etc.

Congratulations on your expanding garden! Best of luck!

Erin

My tiny garden is about 7 x 3. I love it. There's just me and my husband that will eat veggies, so it's enough, together with some pots. I have a trellis at one end where I grow pole beans and I always have lettuce and spinach. This year I also planted carrots and onions, many onion sets close together and we'll use them for scallions. I also planted rosemary, basil and oregano and I'll be putting in two smaller tomato plants. I usually put a zucchini right smack dab in the middle and it takes over, so I plant the other things around the outside. The tomatoes usually go in buckets, but this year the zucchini will go there instead. I had a lot of bugs last year and I think I'll try to confuse them. :) Cucumbers go trailing down a retaining wall, but you could hang them off your deck. They'll do a hanging planter if you don't plant too many. Look for compact varieties, spacemaster cucumbers and patio tomatoes. My favorite thing ever is the Tiny Tim tomato, which literally can go in a little hanging basket and puts out tons of cherry tomatoes.

Check out the square foot gardening forum. Enjoy!

You could receive better advice and make it easier on the givers of the advice if you would disclose where you live.

If you were my neighbor, you could grow many of your desired varieties serially, in about three different seasons. In some colder places, you only have a short period to grow most of all of it in a short period.
In some hotter locations, you may have spring and fall seasons to grow your garden.

Within your listed constraints, and knowing no other facts about your situation, I would say: forget the asparagus, zucchini, and sweet potatoes. You do not have enough room to grow enough to make a difference.

If you know anybody who grows zucchini, you should get all you need just by mentioning it to anyone who grows it. People who do seem determined to see that anyone who will take it should be buried in it.

Asparagus is great to grow if you have room, and time to wait, knowing that you may get a 4-6 week harvest each year after a few years of work. (I have room, and have done the work, and am nearing the end of this year's harvest, which I have enjoyed immensely.)

Sweet potatoes? How many do you eat? I grew them for several years, too successfully. Never ate all we grew. We only ate them at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. For me, smarter to buy what I needed.

Broccoli? Not very space practical, and I long ago gave up on growing cruciferous vegetables outside. The cabbage loopers beat me. I only grow Brussels sprouts in my greenhouse in the cool seasons.

I would use the 10' strip of garden to grow 2 very productive indeterminate tomatoes, such as Mule Team or Burgundy Traveler, and maybe two sweet peppers, Brigadier if you like red, or early California Wonder for yellow. The rest of the narrow soil strip, I would use for two parallel concrete re-mesh trellises, on which I would grow several cucumbers and fill the rest with pole beans.

I know nothing about raspberries, so if I wanted some, I would buy them in a store. Also, have never grown garlic, and celery will not grow here in the great American desert, so I will not offer advice about it.

I would build at least two cedar boxes, one 12" high, 12" wide, 3' long, the other 18" high, same length and width as the first. Grow lettuce, spinach, radishes in the shorter one, carrots, beets, celery?, in the deeper one. Grow them in the cooler part of your year. If you live in a cool area, you might grow them in mid-summer, if you can place them in partial shade, especially in the hot part of the day.

I would also recommend acquiring some large planters or nursery containers, at least 5 gallons each. You can grow more tomatoes (determinates) and sweet peppers in them, even through the heat of the summer on your deck.

My favorite container tomatoes are Break O'Day, Hanky Red, Mini Rose (a determinate cherry), and Sprite (a grape tomato).