Vertical Growing is just the beginning of high performance garden techniques that you can use to use all the space in your garden. Another method is tight spacing and succession planting. Tight spacing is only possible in a high performance garden system because there are enough nutrients for multiple plants in small spaces. In this 10th video in the 12 Quick and Dirty High Performance Garden Tips we will go over these three methods and get you started on planning the beautiful organic garden of your dreams!
Vertical Growing, Succession Planting and Tight Spacing
As you begin to use all of the space available the production in your garden will grow exponentially! In your raised beds planting closer together is one important way to use all of the space available. The wide spacing recommended for traditional row gardens was because of the large tools needed to be used in between the rows. In our high performance gardens we have concentrated the nutrients and eliminated the need for lots of tools. Another plus of growing in tight spacing is that you cut down on weeds!
There are many vegetables that you can grow vertically. Your squash, sweet potatoes, melons and tomatoes will flourish when trained to grow vertically. These vertical growing techniques require a trellis of some sort. My favorite to use in small spaces is my no tools required, PVC trellis. The great thing about this structure is that it can also double as a frame for covering my plants when it gets cold. This is a little bit of garden infrastructure you will want to spend some time on. When it comes to growing these plants vertically you can learn more about training them to grow up the trellis in my Tomato trellis series. You will really enjoy the ease of vertical growing once you start!
Succession planting is another way to use all of the space available in your garden. Leaving an empty space once one crop is finished is a huge waste of space in your garden. This is a skill that takes planning ahead and lots of practice. I am always planting a new succession of leafy greens or other veggies on my farm. It’s enjoyable to have produce all season long instead of just one crop out. To learn more about succession planting make sure to watch the training video on how to set up this system in your gardens!
Now that you know how to use these three techniques, take some time planning how to use all of the space in your garden! The extra produce that doesn’t require expanding your garden will be quite the reward!
In this new year who are you inspiring to join you in your gardening adventures? Our mission is to help develop 5,000 new High Performance Gardens this year. The best quality organic foods should be accessible to anyone. Join us in sharing the beauty of weed free gardening this year by sharing the High Performance Garden Community on social media or with your friends and family. This is the year of the best possible garden for you and your family and friends!
Until next time, may your garden be easy, fun, productive and always organic,
Lynn
Email me any questions you have about vertical growing and using all of the space in your garden.
