Does it take much room?

Truly you do NOT have to have a "back 40" acreage to have a productive garden!  Trust me on this one.

A great big garden would be wonderful but if all you have is limited space, there is still a lot you can do with it.  Take a walk with me.

I have one out in the back yard that is approximately 5' x 16' and here is what I have planted in it.

Green beans - which are producing so much that we can't eat them fast enough - pickled green beans in the offing.

Beets and Swiss Chard - just a taste of the beets but enough Swiss Chard to share.

Basil - I have some in pots also but put the extras along in front of the Swiss Chard and they are flourishing.

Jalapeno peppers - one plant of the giant version and one of the regular.  Enough to heat up a lot of salsa!

Cayenne peppers - one plant with enough peppers to make hot sauce for a year.

Habenaro peppers - again, one plant will heat up the whole year's worth of salsa and crock pot pork chops.

Ancho pepper plant - my walk on the wild side for this year.  Not sure what to do with the peppers but they are huge!

Nasturtiums - cause I like them.

Marigolds - for decoration around the edges & since they are supposed to repel pests they do double duty.

There is a lot in this space....

Hopefully this walk around the yard will be food for thought and will help you consider (even if it's for next year) having a garden that can produce an amazing amount of food.  Food that you know doesn't have poison on it and that hasn't traveled many (many) miles to get to your table.

Daily we hear more and more stories about what is actually in or on our food.  Personally I'd rather grow as much as I can and I hope that perhaps this will head you in the same direction!

P.S. " I hate Swiss Chard" is no excuse - so put in a couple of zucchini plants instead or plant carrots there or a tomato plant...you catch my drift?