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, | 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 |
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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