Growing Vegetables

When planning the layout and planning of your vegetable garden consider crop schedules that will produce the largest yields from your space. Some crops can be harvested slowly over a long period of time; others will mature all at once. You need to know the harvest range of your vegetables in your initial planning stage in order to get the most from your garden.

A simple practice to pace your harvest is to plant short rows. Even though a ten foot row appears short but ten feet of radishes ready at once is more than most people ever need, while ten feet of parsley will supply your friends and family with enough all season. You need a garden plan that strives to eliminate excess of crops.

Another method is to use several varieties of the same vegetable.  This will let you get two or more harvests from the same area using succession planting. After you harvest the early season crops you replant your garden with a new crop. You can start with the cool season crops and end with warm weather crops. This is a good method for using trellis space effectively.

Companion planting is another way to double up on planting space. You plant short-term crops between the plants that take longer to mature.  The short-term crops are harvested long before the long term crops need the extra room.