GardenGuru

Traditional gardening used to follow the standard farming method of planting everything in long rows. There were good reasons for it. The farm tractor would be used to plow up and till a small area near the house (usually for the wife) to garden in. Seeds were dropped in the rows and covered. Cultivating could be done with the tractor and the long rows served the purpose extremely well. If flood irrigation was used to water the garden, the rows were absolutely necessary. Long straight rows were still the way most people did their gardening when I first started. Things were done this way because that's the way Mom and Dad always did it and was the only example we had.

As garden spaces had to shrink in size people saw the row techniques as very wasteful. Over the last few years there have been many innovative ways to plan and lay out a garden. My first serious garden that had to provide food for my family, about 1974, forced this issue on me and I had to be creative in order to use every square inch of usable garden space.

As I looked at the seed packet instructions it would say something like "In rows 18 to 30 inches apart sow seeds about 3 inches apart.....". My thinking was along the lines of "what if I plant a solid area about the width I can easily reach across and whatever length I need, planting seeds 3 inches apart in the whole area?". With that in mind I prepared an area about 2 ft by 2 ft and planted radish seeds every two inches on a grid. The result was phenomenal. I had more radishes than we could possibly eat. The plants shaded the ground, reducing soil drying and weeds. Maintenance was minimal and plant growth was exceptional. I was hooked. From that point on I planned my entire garden around that model. The only crop I have experience with that cannot be planted in this way is corn. When corn plants grow too close together they tend to lodge (fall over) and the plants are ruined.

A very popular method, called square foot gardening, was introduced by Mel Bartholomew and has become widely adopted by gardeners everywhere. He suggests creating an artificial soil and creating a 4 foot X 4 foot box with planting areas set up in 12 inch by 12 inch grids. I helped my sister in California set some up in her backyard last spring. This method works very well for her. She doesn't want a large garden and the box approach is just what she needs. Its very easy to work, easy to keep weed free, and easy to plant and harvest. Here she is with the end result. The chicken wire is to keep the critters out. The artificial soil is free of weed seeds, at least initially, and is not in need of tilling or working in organic matter. Its a great method of gardening. There is a rather substantial start up cost for the building materials and the soil. My sister spent $80 on just the soil costs. It made enough to do two four X four gardens.

My grid idea evolved into doing multi mini rows in a designated area. When the seed packet says to plant in rows 12 inches apart, for example, I will make rows 2 or 3 feet long, 12 inches apart, with seeds every 2 inches, or whatever the packet instructs. So in a three foot wide X four foot long area I would have five rows three foot long (one on each end and three in the middle). By keeping the rows three feet in length or less I am able to reach across to do weeding and harvesting. I only need one walkway to work on a very large area of the garden. This frees up a lot of space that would have to be used for walking. When the garden is planted heavily like this there is very minimal area for weeds to get established and the soil is shaded to prevent drying.

As I mentioned in my earlier blog entry, I put small bark chunks on my walkways to prevent compaction and weeds. I can walk on the walkways even when the garden is muddy. At the end of the season I just till in the bark. It looks very nice during the growing season and is quite inexpensive.

By being innovative and thinking of ways to do things for your particular situation, you can have a garden that will fulfill your needs. Remember that a well kept garden that produces well and needs minimal maintenance doesn't just happen. It takes planning and experimentation. You need to have already spent the time preparing, planning, and experimenting before the time comes that you actually need your garden to produce for you.

Above all, remember to have FUN in your gardening experience. Being able to have a little corner of creation is well worth the effort.

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