Monday, May 16, 2011

More on gardening

Continuing with my topic from yesterday where I gave the number of plants in a 100 foot row and how many plants are suggested to be grown per person, I’m showing the difference in growing in rows compared to intensive gardening in pots or square feet in a garden bed.  Now just because I show how many plants you can put into one square foot doesn’t mean that you can plant a 4x8 planter bed with 32 different square foot items.  While the bottom of the planting may only take up a square foot, the top may spread to two or three feet or more.  On the other hand, if you mix your plants up and plant short plants next to tall plants (plants that need shading next to plants that provide shade) you can come close to planting in extremely tight spacing.

This year, my huge garden is being replaced by 10 garden boxes.  I’m sure that I’ll add more next year, but for now, I’m going to see how much space I can save by not planting in the normal 100’ row with a three foot spacing between rows. 
Vegetable
Spacing in rows in inches
Number per square foot
Asparagus
12
1-2
Beans, snap bush
3-4
6-9
Beans, snap pole
4-6
9-12
Beans, lima bush
3-4
6-9
Beets
2
25
Broccoli
12-24
3
Brussels sprouts
12-24
2
Cabbage
12-24
2
Carrots
2
50
Cantaloupe
12
1
Cauliflower
12-24
2
Celery
6
4-6
Chard, swiss
6
9
Collards and kale
6-12
4-6
Corn, sweet
12
2-4
Cucumbers
12
1-2
Eggplant
12-24
1
Garlic
2-4
36
Lettuce, leaf
2-3
6-9
Mustard
6-12
9
Okra
12-24
1-2
Onions
3-4
16
Parsley
6-8
16
Parsnips
3-4
25
Peas
6-12
25
Peppers
12-24
4
Potatoes
10-15
1
Soybeans
3-4
10-12
Spinach
3-4
4-9
Squash, summer
18-36
1
Squash, winter
24-48
1
Tomatoes
18-36
1
Turnip greens
2-3
20
Turnip roots
2-3
20
Watermelon
36-72
1

1 comment:

  1. I think you'll enjoy your raised beds. I gardened in 100 foot rows for 10 years...then in the late 80's I started using raised beds using timber. In 2009 I switched to cinder blocks on heavy duty landscape weed-barrier cloth filled with 100% compost. My garden produces year round, is easy to water, and I almost never have a weed. Gardening has been a dream. I feed a large and extended family with enough left over to can, dry, freeze and sell at our small produce stand in front of our home.

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