Container Gardening

Hi there I'm looking for inspiration for space saving ideas for my tiny corner of Yorkshire. I'd love to grow my own fruit and veg and so am looking for some innovative ideas and suggestions on clever space saving ideas and of course types of fruit and veg that work well in such an environment.

 

My advice for veg. growing applies equally to container / small-space gardening I think.

Grow things that you cannot buy in the shops, or are expensive to buy in the shops, and only grow things that you like!

So no point growing maincrop Spuds which are cheap-as-chips (Sorry!) in the shops, and the Farmers have chilled-storage so the ones you buy won't be sprouting mid Winter, unlike the ones you harvest and try to store in your utility room ...

For limited space you may have to compromise on some things - for example an Asparagus bed is probably out! but in other circumstances that is an excellent "value" crop.

Runner beans are prolific, and expensive in the shops (labour intensive to pick). Similarly Raspberries.

Strawberries will grow in tower-planters, so good for container growing. You'll find varieties that are lower yielding, but have great flavour, that you probably won't find in the shops.

For container growing you might grow some early Spuds. These have superior taste, and are reasonably expensive in the shops, although beware that you won't get much yield from each bag or tub. (I reuse my Bags/Tubs for a later planting [beginning of August] to have new spuds for Christmas)

Supermarkets sell varieties that suit the Supermarket and the Grower, quite often that is something that can be harvested all-at-once, or has (for example) a thicker skin so that it doesn't bruise easily. "Taste" may be low down their list of priorities. You can thus beat them hands down, and you can buy seed for varieties that you would never find in a shop - so if you have a favourite variety grow that, if not grow a selection over the years until you find a favourite

For a small garden its probably not a good choice, but we love to grow Sweetcorn. Straight from the garden, and into the pan only minutes after picking, it is SO much sweeter than Supermarket cobs that have travelled to the shops (and then been in the fridge for a couple of days waiting for Sunday Lunch ...) [there is a chemical reason why this is the case, so Supermarkets can NOT achieve this ...] But yield per-unit-area is not good for Sweetcorn, so its a poor choice on that count.

For gardening in a bed, rather than containers, but with only a small area available look up "Square Foot Gardening" for ideas on maximising productivity from a very small plot.

 

A good list from Kristen.
I would echo the Runner Beans suggestion. The also provide a bright red flower before developing the Bean.
Streawberries and Tomatoes (tumbling Toms) can be grown from hanging baskets in the shelter of a yard. Subject to the Sun position the Toms. may need to be finished off inside - especially later in the year.