I’m a big fan of acknowledging that anyone can grow something, no matter what kind of space they’re working with. While large backyards make it easy to plant bountiful vegetable gardens and vibrant flower patches, raised beds and containers make it possible to create gardens on sunny balconies and tiny patios.
However, growing on a big plot of land isn’t the same as growing in a condensed space. Utilizing intensive planting can help you make the most of your small space and enjoy a diverse harvest.
The Short Answer
Intensive planting forgoes planting crops in widely spaced rows often found in traditional gardens. Instead, growers pack different types of plants closely together to save space. When done well, it can lead to healthier plants and larger harvests.
This planting method is part of a larger growing system known as intensive gardening or the French intensive method. Growers who utilize this method use permanent raised beds, companion planting, and succession planting to maximize harvests in small areas.
The Long Answer
Intensive planting is one part of the intensive gardening method. While many growers utilize all components of this method, you can plant intensively without following the other elements of intensive gardening. I’ll cover the advantages and disadvantages of intensive planting to help you decide whether it’s right for you.
The History of Intensive Gardening
It is a great method to grow more vegetables in small spaces.
The French intensive method emerged in the 1500s on the outskirts of Paris. Growers outside the city limits were looking for ways to grow a lot of vegetables in a small space so they could provide city dwellers with the produce they craved. Since these growers took their produce into the city to sell, their plots became known as market gardens.
Over time, this growing method expanded throughout the world and became popular with growers working with small spaces. In the 1960s, English gardener Alan Chadwick began utilizing this intensive method at the University of Santa Cruz farm.
His work at the farm helped popularize intensive growing in the U.S. Today, many home gardeners and market farmers have successfully utilized some or all of the properties of the French intensive method.
Principles of Intensive Growing
Close spacing is just one principle of intensive growing. All of the following are parts of this method.
Permanent Raised Beds
When creating raised beds, double digging can help with aeration.
Traditionally, growers utilized double digging to create deeply aerated raised beds. This practice involves removing the top 8-12 inches of soil with a shovel and then using a digging fork to loosen the lower 8-12 inches of soil.
After the bottom layer is aerated, growers add organic matter in the form of compost or manure and then mix in the removed topsoil. The deep aeration leads the beds to sit above the untouched soil.
However, intensive growing doesn’t necessarily involve double digging or raised beds! Environmental conditions shape the ideal growing space. For example, areas with long, wet winters benefit from raised beds, while those with hot, dry environments benefit from flat or sunken beds.
No matter which type of bed you choose, minimal disturbance and a focus on high organic matter is essential. Once you form the beds, avoid tilling and walking on them. Adding compost increases the soil organic matter and encourages a healthy soil microbiome.
Intensive Planting
Using this method, the crops fill the beds as they mature.
When you’re growing in closely spaced raised beds, long rows and wide spacing are out of the question. Instead, growers space crops so they fill the garden beds at maturity.
Let’s look at kale as an example. In traditional row crop systems, farmers may plant multiple rows of kale with three or four feet between each row. The crops would be spaced about 18 inches apart within the row. This spacing allows for easy harvest and also provides plenty of space for large machinery to navigate.
In intensive planting, growers would space each kale plant 10-12 inches apart. They may plant in three rows spaced a foot apart or stagger the crops to arrive at the proper spacing. When the plants are mature, they will cover the entire bed surface.
Companion Planting
Pairing species can offer various benefits, such as pest control.
The intensive method also involves planting multiple species together. When you plant the right pairings, you can enjoy benefits like decreased pest pressure, increased numbers of beneficial insects, and improved soil. However, knowing which species to pair together is a key part of enjoying the benefits of companion planting.
Planting multiple crops together also helps you make the most of your growing space. You can sow lettuce or bok choy seedlings in between rows of carrots or beets to fill in the few inches of empty space.
When the greens begin to crowd the root veggies, the roots will be ready to harvest. You can also plant shade-tolerant crops like lettuce and beets beside taller crops like tomatoes and peppers.
Advantages
When done correctly, packing many plants into a small area can lead to bigger harvests throughout the growing season. But why? Here are some of the advantages of this method.
Less Weed Pressure
The shade of closely planted crops can minimize weed germination, possibly reducing maintenance.
When you space crops closely together, a larger portion of the soil is shaded. This inhibits weed seed germination and slows weed growth. That means your crops will face less competition for nutrients, water, and light.
The no-till practices associated with intensive growing also decrease weed pressure over time. Although you may deal with a flush of weeds in the first few years of growing, the weed seed bank should diminish each year.
Conserves Water
There is less evaporation when crops are close to each other, helping them conserve moisture.
When soil is left exposed to the light, water readily evaporates. Close spacing leads to increases in the percentage of shaded ground, thereby decreasing evaporation. Increasing the amount of organic matter in the soil will also increase the soil’s water-holding capacity and help limit the amount you need to water.
Growing multiple crops with varied root systems can also help increase the amount of water used by plants. For example, lettuce and bok choy have shallow roots, while carrots and tomatoes can reach water deep in the ground.
Helps Limit Pests
Plant crops and flowers strategically to steer beetles and worms away from vegetables.
Growing multiple types of crops in a single area increases the biodiversity of plants and, therefore, the biodiversity of insects. While cabbage worms and flea beetles may flock to brassicas like broccoli and radishes, flowers like sweet alyssum and calendula help attract predatory insects like tachinid flies and parasitic wasps.
Challenges
Although intensive gardening provides multiple benefits, it also comes with challenges. Keep these in mind while trying out this growing system.
Limited Airflow
They can suffer because of too much stagnant moisture.
When plants are packed tightly together, air has a harder time making its way between leaves and stems. This leads foliage to remain wet and increases the likelihood that fungal diseases develop.
Using drip irrigation is one way to keep the leaves dry. Ensuring your crops have access to the necessary nutrients and the soil is rich in beneficial microbes will also help them fight off diseases.
Timing
Using proper timing is key for successful intercropping.
Intensive planting often involves intercropping and succession planting. The success of both of these practices relies on proper timing. If you plant lettuce seedlings next to carrots a few weeks too early, the crops will crowd each other. But when done right, this interplanting can benefit both crops!
Paying attention to how fast each plant develops can help you create an ideal planting schedule. And don’t forget to pay attention to the days to maturity listed on the seed packet.
Competition for Water and Nutrients
The soil may need more water and fertilizer to prevent competition.
As you add more crops to an area, you’ll often need to supply more water and nutrients. Since different plants require different amounts of each nutrient, it can take some time to learn how much of each nutrient to apply. Keeping track of which amendments you add and how your plants look can help you determine if and how you need to alter your fertilization practices.
