'Density planting' is
new gardening trend
Garden
Plan now fo r sum m er's crops
by STEVE HUNTER
of The Outlook staff
To grow or not to grow a vegetable
garden may be the question and
some East County experts have the
answers to why a garden is worth the
tim e and effort.
"Growing a garden is a lot of fun,”
said Judy Berg of Drakes 7-Dees
Nursery
"Most everything grows well in
this area,” said Lindy Pero of
Original Landscapes and Garden
Center
In order to be a successful
gardener, however, preparation is
needed.
“ Planning is real im portant," said
Berg “ You need to pick a spot with
as much sun as possible — with south
exposure.”
Berg said a small garden, about 10
by 10 feet, can handle tomatoes, lett-
tuce, beets and other small crops.
But a large garden, with about 200
square feet, is needed to handle such
large crops as corn and potatoes.
Once the garden site has been pick
ed, the soil must be prepared for the
crops.
“ The best thing to work in is
o rg a n ic m a t t e r , " s a id P e ro .
“Sawdust, barkdust, peat moss and
manure can all be used .”
Berg said the clay soil in this area
should have about two inches of
organic m aterial worked into it. She
advises to test the soil before working
it, because if it is too wet, it is hard to
work with.
"Take a handful of the soil and
squezze it,” said Berg. " I f the soil
JUDY BERG
Planning is important
crumbles, it ’s okay to work. I f it,
forms together like a snowball — i t ’s
too e a rly .”
Pero recommends designing the
garden rows from east-to-west for
m axim um sun exposure. She also
said to be sure to plant the taller
crops, such as corn, in the back of the
garden so it does not shade the other
crops.
Some crops — called cold-weather
crops — can be planted now, such as
lettuce, peas, broccoli and cabbage.
The warm -weather crops such as
tomatoes, squashes, beans, com,
peppers and others should be planted
in M ay,
“ It depends on the kind of sping we
have,” said Berg about a planting
date. " If we have a cold, wet spring
— i t ’s best to wait until the end of
M a y .”
“ I f tomatoes are put in too ea rly,”
said Berg, “ the cold can stunt their
growth.”
Tomatoes and some other crops
can be started inside now and moved
outside when the weather warms.
Tomatoes and other vegetable plants
can be started from seed, which costs
about 49 cents a pack or they can be
bought already started for a slightly
higher price.
Corn does take quite a bit of space
and Berg believes to grow it suc
cessfully at least five rows are need
ed for pollenation.
Berg said when planting seed it is
important to fertlize the row, too, and
after about six weeks fertilize it
again. She said com needs a lot of
fertilizer, but tomatoes should only
be fertilized once.
The seeds should be watered when
planted and kept moist while under
ground. It takes most of them about
seven to 14 days to germinate.
Pero suggests to also use insec
ticide when planting seeds to kill the
insects that are in with the seeds She
said liquid or powder slugbait can be
put around the vegetable rows and is
real effective and safe to use.
A couple of uncommon crops that
Pero believes more persons might
like to plant are asparagus and a r
tichokes. Both grow back every year
and look more like small shrubs than
vegetables
How often should a garden be
watered?
Both experts agree that it depends
on the rainfall, but about once a week
should do it. Tomatoes, however,
need more water than the other
crops. It is best to w ater the garden
in the early morning.
Pero said numerous books are
available on how to garden and how
to grow specific crops.
If your garden plot is a little sm aller than you would prefer
and you want increase the vegetable yield, try density plan
ting this year.
Density planting is just what it sounds like, says Ray
McNeilan of Gresham, an Oregon State University Extension
home gardening agent I t ’s a m atter of putting more plan
tings in a sm aller area during the growing season
Here are some density planting techniques.
Use closer spacing between rows and within the row. Close
spacing calls for more fertilizer and w ater than normal spac
ing. It also means watching carefully to make sure the
vegetables aren ’t too crowded, which could keep them from
maturing.
Rather than plant radishes and lettuce in rows 2 Vk feet
apart, leave only one foot between rows. You may want to
lim it the row length to 5 or 6 feet to allow access for weeding,
thinning and fertilizing and harvesting. Or, leave the rows at
their traditional width, but instead of planting the seeds in
single file, scatter them over a 3 or 4 inch strip within the
row.
Use succession planting Plant one crop several times by
spacing the plantings a week or more apart This w ill keep
the vegetables from maturing at the same tim e and yield
fresh vegetables for the table at a manageable rate. Sweet
com, beans, leaf lettuce and turnips are some crops suited to
this type of planting
Another type of succession planting calls for replanting an
area of harvested vegetables with a new vegetable. This
works best with early and late crops An early crop of peas
could be followed by a late crop of cauliflower, broccoli or
kale. Lettuce, onions and radishes could be followed later in
’ he summer by crops of carrots, spinach, chard or cabbage.
Plant fast and slow growing crops in the same row For in
stance, plant radishes between cucumbers, lettuce between
hills of com. Just be careful that the fast-growing vegetable
doesn't grow so tall that it shades the slower-growing one.
Use stakes or trellises to get bushy, sprawling plants such
as tomatoes and cucumbers up in the air.
Choose vegetables varieties that take up less space, such
as bush-type squash If they are available, dw arf and
m iniature varieties — for example, miniature watermelon —
can be used •
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