Grow food in small spaces, by the numbers

Crops & herbs

• Tomatoes

  Bush vs vining types, spacing, stakes and cages, timing, pests and disorders.

• Peppers

  Sweet vs hot, soil-temperature timing, spacing, containers, blossom-end rot and sunscald.

• Lettuce

  Spring and fall timing, succession sowing, heat and bolting, containers.

• Spinach

  Cool-season sowing dates, day length and bolting, containers, overwintering.

• Kale

  Spring and fall timing, cold hardiness, containers, cabbage pests, row covers and trap crops.

• Carrots

  Types by root length, soil and container depth, slow germination, thinning, harvest and rust fly.

• Radishes

  Days to harvest by source, sowing temperatures, spacing, containers, flea beetles, root maggots and trap-crop use.

• Bush beans and pole beans

  Bush vs pole habit, soil temperature for sowing, spacing and supports, containers, heat and flower drop.

• Peas

  Shelling, snow and snap types, early sowing and soil temperature, spacing, trellis heights, containers and the fall-crop question.

• Cucumbers

  Trellis vs ground spacing, soil temperature, slicing, pickling and seedless types, container sizes, pollination and cucumber beetles.

• Zucchini and summer squash

  Types, soil temperature and planting dates, spacing, container sizes, male and female flowers, hand pollination and squash vine borer.

• Potatoes

  Seed pieces, soil temperature, depth and spacing, hilling, 10–30 gallon containers and grow bags, harvest, curing, storage and greening.

• Basil

  Night and soil temperatures for planting, seed starting, spacing, containers, where to pinch, cold damage, downy mildew and resistant varieties.

• Parsley

  Why seed takes 2–5 weeks to come up, soaking and sowing, start dates, spacing, 4–6 gallon pots, cutting, the second-year seed stalk and swallowtail caterpillars.

• Cilantro

  Why it bolts in heat and long days, spring and fall sowing dates, re-sowing every 2–4 weeks, spacing, 1–3 gallon pots, leaf harvest and coriander seed.

Planting times & zones

• USDA hardiness zones

  What zones measure, every zone's temperature range, what changed on the 2023 map, and why a zone is not a frost date.

• Planting calendar by frost date

  Enter two frost dates; get sow, transplant and fall cut-off dates for 25 crops.

• Frost dates: where to find them, how to read them

  Where the numbers come from and what "average" means.

• USDA zone 5

  Average winter low −20 to −10°F; frost dates and season lengths for six zone 5 cities.

• USDA zone 6

  Average winter low −10 to 0°F; frost dates and season lengths for six zone 6 cities.

• USDA zone 7

  Average winter low 0 to 10°F; frost dates for six cities from Philadelphia to Boise.

• USDA zone 8

  Frost dates for six cities from Dallas to Eugene and fall and winter cool-season planting dates.

• USDA zone 9

  Freeze dates and odds for six cities from New Orleans to Seattle and the fall and winter vegetable season.

Containers, beds & layout

• Companion planting chart, with the evidence

  Common pairings with the evidence rating for each.

• Raised bed soil calculator

  Length × width × depth to cubic feet, cubic yards and bags.

• Container sizes for vegetables

  Minimum gallons and depth for 25 crops, two extension scales compared.

• Square foot gardening spacing

  Plants per square foot for 35 crops from three charts.

• Growing tomatoes in containers

  Pot size, compact cultivars, water, support, blossom end rot.

• The gardens: four small-space garden types compared

  Raised beds, containers, in-ground and vertical side by side.

• Miniature and dollhouse gardens with kids

  A one-pot project for children, with plants that stay small.

• Balcony gardening: sun, weight, wind, containers and rules

  Sun hours by crop type, weight and wind, container materials, railing planters, lease and HOA rules.

• Grow bags: fabric vs plastic pots, sizes and potatoes

  Fabric bags vs plastic pots: sizes by crop, drying rate, root temperature, air pruning and potatoes in bags.

Backyard homestead

• Gardening with kids: tasks by age and easy crops

  Tasks by age and crops that reward short attention spans.

• Backyard goats: space, fencing and zoning basics

  Space, fencing, shelter and an example city ordinance.

• Backyard chickens: the short version

  Typical city rules, coop space, feeding, hygiene.

• Farm stand rules: produce, cottage foods and where to check by state

  What applies to selling produce and home-made foods, with a state table.

• 15 herbs grown for and around backyard chickens

  Container sizes, garden roles and the thin poultry evidence.

• Going full-time: planning a move to homesteading or market gardening

  Land, costs, income sources, rules and USDA/SBA help.

How this site works

The More One Sows is a reference database, not a blog. Pages are written in a neutral voice and built from US extension services, federal agencies, state statutes and peer-reviewed or institutional publications, each listed under "Sources" at the end of the page. Where sources disagree, both figures are shown. Read more on the about and methodology pages.