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Vegetable gardening in small spaces
Thirty years ago vegetable gardeners planted large plots of 20 feet by 50 feet or larger. They planted them in single file along long rows with wide expanses of cleanly cultivated soil between the rows. This makes sense on farms where there is plenty of land and machines to cultivate the soil. The urban gardener needs a method that uses space and time more efficiently. According to Rodale’s ‘gardening by the inch’ booklet, by implementing intensive gardening techniques, a 25 square foot garden (5 feet by 5 feet) can produce 200 pounds of vegetables or more. A 100 square foot garden can yield enough vegetables to feed a family of four. Intensive beds are small areas for growing closely spaced vegetables; even inches apart. The garden or gardens need not be rectangular or square, so it can fit in almost anywhere. The small size makes them easy to prepare and they require less watering and weeding than in a large garden. Vertical space allows you to use the area above the garden.
This is the time of year to order seeds and plan where to put the bed. The size of the garden will depend on the space you have available and what you decide to grow in the space. Plant only as much as you will actually use and choose varieties that offer the most produce relative to their garden space. Fast-growing crops, such as radishes and summer squash, provide a quick harvest. Compact varieties, like dwarf and bush plants can be planted closer together, but they may produce less than standard varieties and they tend to mature all at once.
Beginners should start with a bed or two between 5 and 10 feet long and a width of 4 feet so that you can easily reach the center. If you don’t have at least 25 square feet available, mix vegetables in your flowerbeds or plant several odd shaped spaces around the yard. Choose a site with full sunlight (8 to 10 hours), a southern exposure and good drainage. Avoid spots that are shaded by buildings or near trees that will not only shade, but also compete for nutrients and water. Avoid low, wet areas and place the bed close to a water supply. Plant your garden on paper, choosing a block or row pattern. In block planting, one type of plant is concentrated in a single area. Whole beds, bands that run the length or width of a bed, or squares within the bed form blocks. It can be a pie shape in a circular bed. These are easy to care for and harvest. The alternative method is the narrow row pattern resembling a miniature row
garden with only inches between rows. Several crops are grown together in a bed. This method allows alternating leaf and root crops so that the underground space is used efficiently.
In either method, the object is to space the plants so that their outer leaves touch one another when 3/4 mature and virtually carpet the bed when they are fully mature. They should be spaced slightly under the distance given on the seed packet. You may space plants so that the centers are equally apart or space them equidistantly, which means the plants are staggered, moving them even closer together.
Growing plants close together means that your soil has to be in excellent condition to support all the growth. Digging the beds is the hardest work you will have. Since deep, fluffy soil is the trick, you will need to add plenty of organic material, especially compost.
Raised beds are good as they keep you off your hands and knees, look neat and warm up faster in the spring. Pull back the sod from the spot and put it on the compost pile. Dig down 10 inches, putting the soil off to the side. Nail together a frame of rot resistant wood (not pressure treated) for the border. Fill the frame with layers of compost and original soil and add extra soil to fill up the bed.
Interplanting means planting long-term crops between quick-maturing crops or combining short and tall plants such as corn and squash. Plant green onions, lettuce, radishes, spinach and turnips several weeks before the last frost. Then at the proper time plant slower broccoli, cabbage, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and winter squash. Thin out the quick-maturing plants enough for the new crop. Your garden will also look nicer.
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