Organic Vegetable Gardening

Lots of Vegetables, Small Space

Organic vegetable gardening can yield a bounty all season long. Use a raised bed and organic soil.

Next, using the square foot method, by Mel Bartholomew divide your bed up into 1 foot square sections. You can use a chalk line, stretch a length of string across, or scratch the lines in with a stick.

The philosophy behind square feet instead of rows is that square feet lets you utilize all the space you have. Rows were set up for plows and machinery.

Plants will need a varying amount of square footage. For example, squash needs 3 feet, tomatoes and peppers need 1 each, and lettuce can be planted 4 per square foot.

Place taller plants and climbing vines to the north. Place the shortest plants along the south edge. Most plants will need 1 square foot each.

If you are unsure about when to plant seeds or seedlings, please read what's my hardiness zone.


Due to the high quaility soil the plants can really be crowded.

It’s always a good idea to mulch in your plants, but it isn’t absolutely necessary if you use a soil mix like the one described here. The best mulch is whatever you have readily available: tree bark, newspaper, sawdust, cotton hulls and the like.

Be sure to water your plants in after transplanting. I like to side dress with bat guano and then fertilize with fish emulsion throughout the season.

Organic vegetable gardening in a raised bed requires so much less work, stress and effort than the traditional method. You'll get much better yields too. Try it for yourself and see.

Tomatoes

Growing tomatoes upside down seems to be all the rage. I'm trying it this year. I'll let you know how it goes.

Potatoes

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