Imagine being able to harvest over half a ton of beautiful vegetables from a garden that is only 20-foot-long. Yields like this are far easier than you think to achieve and the secret lies within the strategy you use. If you want to make sure that you get the best result out of your garden, then take a look below.
Plant in Raised Beds
Expert gardeners all agree that it’s super important to build up the soil. If you are able to have a deep and organically rich soil then this will encourage the growth of extensive roots. These roots then have a higher chance of being able to reach a lot more water and nutrients. The vegetables that you can then harvest will be extra tasty and way more productive. If you want to be able to take advantage of this then you need to make sure that you have some raised beds. Raised beds are able to yield up to four times more produce when compared to plants that are in spaced rows, not to mention that you have way more room to grow them as well. When you do have a raised bed, you will also find that they can save you a lot of time. Your plants will grow much closer together and this will crowd out any competing weeds. That means more produce for less time! If you are wondering what you are going to do with all of your extra vegetables then why not grow tomatoes and make this sugar free tomato sauce recipe? You can also plan out a home-grown thanksgiving dinner if you start early enough too.
Round out the Soil
The shape of your beds can make a huge difference. If you want to make more room, then try and gently round off the top of your soil so that it makes an arc. A rounded bed that is just 5 feet wide then becomes 6 feet wide. This might not seem like a lot but when you do it across all of your beds, you will soon find that it makes a huge difference. You can expect to gain around 20% more space when you do this, and if you want some plants that are good to sow on the edges then simply focus on spinach, lettuce and other greens.
Pay Attention to the Arrangement of your Crops
If you want to get the maximum yield from every bed that you have then you need to pay attention to how your plants are arranged. Try and avoid planting in a square pattern or even in rows. Instead, try and stagger your plants by arranging in triangles instead. If you do this then you may find that you can plant up to 10% more plants in each bed. Be careful though because you don’t want to pack your plants too tightly. If you do, then you will compromise the yield. If you crowd too tightly then this will also stress your plants out, making them way more susceptible to disease.
Grow Climbing Plants
It doesn’t matter how small your garden is because you can grow way more if you choose to grow vertically. Grow-hungry crops include peas, tomatoes, melons, squash and pole beans. Growing vegetables vertically will save you a lot of time because it makes maintenance way easier too.
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