Intensive Vegetable Gardening

Interplanting
Planting two or more different crops in the same row or bed without overcrowding is called interplanting. For example, mature pepper plants need a 12-inch spacing. After a pepper transplant is set into the garden, there will be space between plants that won’t be needed until the pepper plant matures. This leaves room between the peppers to plant a fast-growing crop, such as radishes, leaf lettuce or spinach. Remember that two or more of these planting methods may be combined. For instance, by combining succession planting with intercropping, beans can be sown a week or two before early cabbage is harvested and a staggered planting of broccoli would allow an interplanting of lettuce seedlings.

Growing Vertically
Tomatoes and vine crops, big space-wasters when allowed to sprawl along the ground, can be trained upward on trellises. Pole beans, which climb by spiraling around supports, and tall peas and cucumbers, whose short tendrils cling to supports, are naturals for growing vertically. Others, such as melons, pumpkins, and squash, can be trained to grow vertically if they are tied to strong supports.
Spiraling vines (pole beans) can be supported by a 6-7 foot high frame with top and bottom stringers of heavy gauge wire. Lace strong twine vertically, and train the tendrils as soon as they are long enough to wind a round two or three times. From then on, only occasional training will be ecessary.
Clingers (peas, cucumbers) can get by with shorter supports 5-6 feet in height. Chicken wire stretched over a vertical frame works well.
Strong, tall support structures and slings to support individual fruit are needed for melons and winter squash. Since these vines do not climb, they must be trained upward to drape over supports.
Tomatoes can be forced to grow up using cages or stakes. For vigorous tomato hybrids, cages should be 5-6 feet in height and 2 ½ feet across. Invest in large mesh, galvanized fence and form it into a cylinder by bending it around a barrel.
Staked tomatoes should be pruned to one or two main stems and loosely tied to a 5-6 foot high stake with strips of cloth or other material. Staking usually produces large, cleaner fruit than flat grown tomatoes, but yields per plant are lower.

Download file here

Incoming Search Terms : interplanting guide, interplanting chart, vegetable interplanting chart