Planting Time

It is that time of year - I have to get out and get my little veggie garden started. The good news: I have learned how to get the same harvest with a garden 1/3 the size. And the harvest lasts an extra 5-6 weeks. Now, anything that results in less time working the garden is something this old man can appreciate.

The secret? Wide rows. Instead of planting all crops in single rows, I now scatter seed in a wide row (about 16" wide). Once the seeds sprout, I thin just a little. The objective is to have enough plants growing close enough together to have their tops form a canopy that keeps the soil cool and moist, and prevents weed growth. In this fashion, I get three times as many veggies in the same space as single-row planting.

As a side note, I make my wide rows as raised beds because they are easier to maintain, easier to fertilize, and promote stronger root growth. And I leave 30" between rows, because my rototiller is 30" wide.

More important, I can begin harvesting earlier, picking the first to gain in size, which allows more room for the smaller ones to grow. These early, young vegetables are usually much sweeter and tastier. As each week passes, I just keep picking the biggest. This extends the harvest by up to 6 weeks, because of the sheer number of plants, and because this thinning process results in some plants maturing at different times.

Most crops can be planted in wide rows, but a few should stay in single rows, such as corn, potatoes, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers.