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Plan And Scheme Your Way To A Productive Garden Plot

A drawn plan on paper of gardens and lawn with colored pencils.
EVAfotographie
Whether they be in rows or scattered, you can plan your garden plots to be more productive.

Though “planting schemes'' may sound like a devious plot hatched by your zucchini, it is actually just planning how you want your garden to look in terms of what gets planted where. And now is a good time to start planning out your vegetable, flower and herb gardens.

We'll learn about planting in straight rows, broadcasting seed, block planting and polyculture planting, and which techniques to use to boost production in raised beds and gardens. 

So, while there is still snow on the ground and chill in the air, get your garden plot and raised bed plans on paper with these new planting methods to try!

All in a row

This method of planting in rows is most commonly seen on large farms and enormous gardens. Straight rows work best when you’re tilling, weeding and harvesting using a horse-drawn plow or tractor. But in a home garden, especially in a raised bed, planting in straight rows actually minimizes your planting space. Instead, try blocks or broadcast seeding.

Block planting and broadcasting

The method is as simple as sprinkling your seeds in blocks or grids that you’ve sectioned off in your garden soil or raised bed. Once the seeds are broadcast, cover with a light layer of potting soil or compost and watch them grow. This technique works well for root crops, like carrots, beets and radishes, and for all kinds of leafy greens.

Polyculture

Polyculture is defined as growing more than one plant at the same time in the same space. This garden scheme imitates how plants, flowers and herbs grow in nature.

You can take advantage of this technique in your raised beds with great success using the polyculture methods known as interplanting and succession planting.

Interplanting involves growing a warm season and a cool season crop of veggies next to each other. For example, you could plant lettuces, Swiss chard and such in between your taller, sun-loving tomatoes.

Also, take advantage of nutrient-sharing amongst your plants. The nutrients that your growing plants embue into the soil will be used to feed nearby veggie plants.

Succession planting is just what it sounds like; you'll be planting, harvesting and planting again in succession.

For example, if you've got a small plot of arugula, every couple of weeks or so, harvest what’s grown and then plant more arugula seed. This ensures your garden or raised bed produces continually throughout the growing season.

Q: We heat our house partially with wood and empty the wood stove ashes every week or two. Which plants would benefit from the ashes and which ones should we avoid? — James, in Wolcott

First, you might want to test your soil. Because wood ashes are high in potassium and can also affect PH levels, knowing which nutrients your soil is lacking (or has too much of) will help guide you. 

Knowing that wood ash is high in potassium, keep it away from evergreens and blueberries bushes. The ashes are fine to use around asparagus, though. Aim for a five-gallon pail of wood ashes to cover a thousand square feet. 

Next week, we’ll answer your questions about planting raised beds! What’s worked for you in the past and what hasn’t? Send your questions for Charlie to answer.

All Things Gardening is powered by you, the listener! Send your gardening questions and conundrums and Charlie may answer them in upcoming episodes. You can also leave a voicemail with your gardening question by calling VPR at (802) 655-9451.

Hear All Things Gardening during Weekend Edition Sunday with VPR host Mary Engisch, Sunday mornings at 9:35.

Have questions, comments or tips?Send us a messageor get in touch by tweeting us @vprnet.

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