There are windowsills all over the world filled with small edible plants, usually a few pots of fresh herbs. A city cook with a longer, wider sill might even sow a few flats of microgreens as well.
But let’s say there’s a sunny patch of yard, as little as 10 feet by 10 feet, where several soil-filled planters could surround a sitting area. Fill them with a few tomato plants, annual herbs such as basil, rows of cut-and-come-again lettuce, and you’ll have a summer of modest salads.
Take away the chairs and plant the whole thing with food, and there’s room for a more productive salad operation. Peppers are good compact plants for summer, along with staked or trellised cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and pole beans. Sow spinach and arugula for cool fall days. Make a border of parsley, scallions and alpine strawberries.
If you want a wider range and have the space, expand the garden to, say, 20 by 20 feet. I’ve had gardens that size and found room for a zucchini plant or two, despite their tendency to sprawl. I followed early crops with later ones such as broccoli, carrots, onions and beets.