Gardening is more than just planting flowers, but there are many ways to make it easier and more enjoyable. Here’s how:
Build Up Your Soil
The importance of building up the soil cannot be overstated. Healthy, organically rich soil encourages healthy root growth and allows plants to better access water through their roots, which results in extra lushness for your crop above ground as well!
Raised beds can yield up to four times more than the same amount of space planted in rows. They also save time!
One researcher found that he needed only 27 hours out from mid-May until October, yet was able produce 1,900 pounds fresh vegetables – enough for a year’s supply for three people!! WOW!
Weeds compete for sunlight and water resources. They also spread quickly, so having a plant between your crops will save you time in weeding!
Round Out Your Beds
Raised beds are an excellent way to maximize space and time.
The rounded tops of the bed create more planting surface area, which can help you save on your gardening efforts by giving yourself a larger yield for every square inch planted!
Space Smartly
To help you get the most from your planting, it is important to avoid planting in squares or rows.
Instead of spacing plants too tightly and crowding them together, stagger their positions by staggering triangles of crops within a bed so that each one has enough room for full growth without intrusion from others nearby!
Grow Up
Your garden may have a small footprint, but it can grow more by going vertical.
Grow space-hungry vining crops such as tomatoes and pole beans up the wall with support systems, like trellises or fences for easy access to harvesting fruits when they are ready, without worrying about fungi diseases getting them first!
Mix It Up
Interplanting compatible crops is a great way to save space and have more diverse crop rotation. Consider the classic Native American combination ā corn, beans, and squash; as well as tomatoes with basil or onions in their rows for best results!
There are other examples like leaf lettuce planted alongside peas on one side of your garden bed along with carrots & radishes in the next one.
Succeed With Successions
Succession planting is a great way to ensure that you get the most from your garden.
You can grow more than 1 crop in a given space over time, which means many people are able to harvest 3 or even 4 crops with just one area! To make this work best:
- Use transplants.
- If you are able to, choose fast-maturing varieties.
- To keep your plants happy and healthy, make sure to give them plenty of nutrients by replanting with a Ā¼-to-Ā½ inch layer each time you replace the soil.
Stretch Your Season
If you want more time to enjoy the pleasures of summer, add a couple weeks at both ends.
That’s enough for growing another succession crop like leaf lettuce or kale while still having your end-of season tomatoes come in strong when they’re ready!
For even the coldest of days, you can keep your plants warm by using mulches or row covers. This will help them resist frost better and grow into beautiful plants!