Spring garden planning

Plan the planting
In addition to fertile raised beds, an attractive and productive kitchen garden depends on three other key ingredients: block planting, succession planting and crop rotation.

Block planting: To plant seed in blocks, follow package directions with regard to spacing between individual plants, not rows. For example, plant bush bean seeds 5 cm apart in a 60 by 60 cm block. For smaller seeds, such as carrots, scatter into a similarly sized block and, after germination, thin out selectively, giving each plant about 2.5 cm of space all around for root development, says Crawford, "When the plants get going, the look is more pleasing and productivity higher."

Plant tall crops, such as corn, where they won't shade short plants, such as beets. Use shady spots for crops such as lettuce that prefer cooler conditions.

Block planting decreases, but does not eliminate, weeds. Crawford's advice is to pull weeds by hand (when they're young, before they've gone to seed) rather than hoe, which can disperse seeds or leave the root systems intact to regrow. "Hand-pulling saves a lot of energy in the end," she says.

Succession planting: Try to stagger plantings of the same vegetable about a week apart to space the harvest out. "This is most effective," says Klose, "with plants grown from seeds that are quick to reach maturity; for instance, crops such as beans, beets, radishes, salad greens or spinach. Succession planting can also fill gaps created after cool season crops such as spinach, radishes or peas are harvested.

Crop rotation: When Crawford planned the kitchen garden, she began by studying layouts from previous years to ensure proper rotation of crops. "Crop rotation helps prevent depletion of soil nutrients and minimizes disease and insect problems, which can build up if the same plants grow in the same space year after year," explains her instructor. "One way of doing this is to group crops by plant family. Plants in the same family tend to use up similar nutrients and are vulnerable to the same pests and insects."

For example, follow peppers, tomatoes or potatoes -- all members of the nightshade family -- with a crop from the legume family, any type of pea or bean.