The Compacting Garden Part I

Now that you have gone through the seed catalogs and placed your order, you should think about where and how you will be planting. Pick up an organic gardening or a companion gardening book and begin to cross reference your vegetables. A pattern will begin to emerge, and you will be able to plan out the best method to plant.

Because of the timing, our garden will only contain the basics. I don't want the garden to be neglected because of our building a house. The planning stage must be done carefully, so that I can use the full potential with minimum maintenance. This means I need to compact.

The easiest way to accomplish this is by using double rows. Instead of a single row holding only single lined up veggies, I can double my yield and do less weeding by simply creating the double row. This method also saves on mulching, makes it easier to harvest, allows for cool weather crops to grow in the heat, and improves the quality of the crop.

Once you have blueprinted you garden, you will need to transfer it to the yard. The simplest way is by using string. Mark a stake at the end of your row and the take it down the length, trying it off to another stake. Check you line to make sure it's straight, and then repeat with the second line to mark the width of your row. In this manner, the only soil work you need to do is within he row itself instead of tilling the entire garden. Just make sure that the width between rows is large enough to run your lawnmower or weeders {geese} down.


Broadcasting your seeds over a wide row, will be thicker than a single row. Anywhere from 10 inches to 3 feet. Thinning and weeding once they have began to sprout is a matter of running a rake down the length of the row. While harvesting is a matter of sitting and plucking everything that you see is ready before moving on to the next plant.

As you can see, I prefer the wide row. Of course the option is up to you, and you should always experiment with techniques to determine which way is the best for you.