There are many ways to grow enough vegetables to feed a family and even a few flowers for the centerpiece in a very small area. The concept is called “intensive gardening.”
One method of intensive gardening is called succession planting. In early spring, plant crops that like cool weather and are ready for harvest early. These include peas, kohlrabi, spinach, lettuce, radishes, mustard, onion sets and turnips. When these come out of the ground, use the space for crops that will occupy the area for the major portion of the growing season, crops like bush beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins and squash.
In late July, any empty spaces can be seeded for a fall crop with beans, beets, endive, kale, kohlrabi, radishes, spinach, turnips and lettuce.
Another way to increase your garden’s output is by interplanting. This involves planting quick growing vegetables between rows of slower growers and harvesting the quick growers while the others are just beginning to make good progress.
The slower growers will fill in the empty spaces as they mature. For example, radishes, spinach, early beets, peas and leaf lettuce can be planted between rows of cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, tomatoes and cabbage.
Europeans save space by planting vegetables in beds rather than rows. The seed packet might instruct you to plant seeds two inches apart in rows one foot apart. But the seeds don’t know or care which way the row goes. Why not plant a grid of seeds two inches apart in each direction? Just make sure that you can reach into the center of the bed for weeding and harvesting purposes.
Trellises, cages, stakes and teepees conserve precious space by making plants grow vertically rather than spreading across the ground. These methods are good for peas, beans, cucumbers, squash, melons and tomatoes.
You can also plant flowers amidst the vegetables and vice versa. A few tomato plants or bean among the foundation plantings around your home look just fine. Parsley, kale and other herbs add texture to a more formal flower bed. How about edging your flower bed with a row of tender green leaf lettuce?
If you truly have no area that can be dug for a garden, almost every vegetable and flower crop can be grown in containers. In fact, many vegetables have dwarf varieties developed especially for containers.
The main thing to remember when practicing intensive gardening is to keep your soil well supplied with nutrients. After harvesting early crops, throw all plant wastes on the compost heap and dig some well-rotted compost into the soil before planting the succession crop. A few applications of compost tea during the season will help as well.
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