General Vegetable Garden Techniques

1. The most basic gardening method consists of long, single rows of vegetables spaced widely apart. That is the way I have raised vegetables for the most part, and the way many choose. The ground is usually tilled seasonally, raked smooth and then planted. The upside of this gardening method is that the plants receive the sun, moisture and nutrients they need with good air circulation. The downside is the waste of space and the need to cultivate it more than more intensive methods.
2. Raised or lowered beds create smaller spaces that make better usage of soil amendments, gardener energy, and keep soil tilth in good condition. Drawbacks can be that they dry out too quickly or hold too much water (lowered beds). Double Digging can be practiced in permanent beds.
   
   

   Raised beds make good use of space

3. Vertical gardening, using posts, trellises, and other supports for space saving upward growth is often used with all gardening methods. Tomato cages, or stakes are commonly seen. The Three Sisters combination uses corn as a natural support for vertical growth of bean plan plants.
4. Interplanting can help keep insect and disease problems under control. This method combines more than one type of crop in the same space. Again, “Three Sisters” is an example. Plants like carrots and radishes can be planted together. This method creates a diversity of plantings
5. Succession planting is used to replace harvested crops with another to gain more production over the growing season from the same space. Lettuce crops replaced by beans, or corn after spring peas are possibilities.
6. No dig, no till gardening in a method called Lasagna Gardening, has been praised by some and panned by others. It is a sheet compost method creating by staking out the area, layering organic materials starting with something like cardboard, coir, peat moss, grass clippings, etc. adding top dressings of wood ashes, bone meal and such things. “Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding! ” is the book that gives you complete details if you are interested in this approach. A method for smaller garden scale is also available,”Lasagna Gardening for Small Spaces “
7. Front Yard Vegetable Gardening, is one of the new/old garden techniques that bring past methods back into production. Think of the old fashioned cottage garden. It was a mix of vegetables herbs, and flowering plants, all grown intensively in the front yards of people that needed to make every foot of space work for them.

delicious harvest

Vegetable Tips Next

I have snagged more than one of my finest plants this way, for much less then the usual going price. That is the only way I might have afforded them. An avid gardener has a mental list of plant prospects, and if visiting a clearance sale, just might happen upon one…or two, or three.

This is how I bought ‘Endless Summer‘ and ‘Light O’ Day‘ hydrangeas, and my beloved Hinoki Cypresses. I have also purchased many of my spring blooming bulbs this way.

Of course you can’t count on either sales, or availability of desired plants, and that is one of the drawbacks. Yet, stretching the landscaping dollar can be a boon in these times, especially when first starting your garden. Consider late fall time as your primary bargain hunting time. Another time of year for seasonal sales is in the middle of high summer, after the initial crush of spring and early summer planting is over. However, my experience is that the heat and dryness of summer can deplete plants and there is less chance of success. In fact, I do not like to plant at all at that time of year because of the high rate of loss. You just can’t tell when there might be a drought or disease problems, etc. Fall is much more predictable, with soft rains, and mellow soils stretching into December many years. Besides, mulching provides an extra layer of protection and I often apply mulch right before winter.

Still have time before the hard freezes? See if there are any clearance plants, and get them into the ground. You may be very happy in the future with a few frugal efforts today.More Tips on Frugal Gardening

plants on sale in the fall