Small Space Gardening

Lesson 3: Plants

Determine Plant Spacing

Remember the basic square foot concept: Plant only as much as is needed and space the plants/seeds the proper distance to begin with. Look on the back of your seed packets or on the labels accompanying the plants you purchased. It should tell you the distance necessary between plants to allow the plant to develop to its mature size.

Here are some examples from my current collection of seed packets:

Carrots: plant the seeds 3 inches apart. How many seeds can you plant in the 1 foot square? The answer is 4 rows of 4 seeds each. Divide your square into 16 smaller squares and plant the seed in the middle of each square. This allows enough distance between plants to let them grow to maturity. See example 1 for an illustration of this plant spacing.

Feverfew: The package suggests thinning the plants to 6-12”. I want these plants to attract butterflies and other insects to my vegetable garden to help insure adequate pollination takes place. Therefore, I’ll choose the 6” spacing which allows me to plant 4 per one-foot square (see example 2).

Yellow Coneflower (Echinacea paradoxa). This plant takes two years to reach flowering size. The plant grows 2-3 feet tall and needs 1-2 feet between plants. Butterflies and other insects adore this plant. Since it will spread a bit as the plant matures over several years, I’ll allow the maximum space. A 4-block square will be allowed with the seed planted in the corner where the 4 blocks meet. As discussed in an earlier lesson, the space left during the first year or two will be used for crops needing less space. This way space isn’t being wasted. See example 3 for an illustration of this spacing.

If you have plants that require 18” spacing, simply divide a row of the 12” squares into half. See example 4 for an illustration. Alternatively if you have plants needing 24” spacing, see example 5.

Vine crops are planted in a 1-foot wide trench at the base of your trellis. If the plant needs to be spaced 12” apart, do so. You don’t have to worry about leaving a 12” ring surrounding the seed because you will be training the plant up the trellis instead of letting it sprawl. Example 6 illustrates this concept.

I suggest not being overly concerned with letting the plants grow to full maturity. Sometimes you actually get more harvest by letting more plants grow to a smaller size. This is particularly true of plants such as peas or beans that produce multiple seed pods per plant.

Once you have determined proper plant spacing for each plant, you need to divide the square foot section into the right number of spaces. Just use your finger to draw lines in the dirt. They don’t have to be perfect. You may even want to cut a piece of wood 1 foot long. Then you could just tip the wood on its edge and gently press it into the soil to make your lines. Refer to the spacing examples above to see where to draw your lines.

My Herb Garden

<”Plants” may mean either a seed or a single transplant>

1. Borage, 6” spacing, 4 plants
2. Lemon Thyme, 6” spacing, 4 plants
3. Nasturtium, 4” spacing, 9 plants plants
4. Garden Cress, 1” spacing, 144 plants
5. Onion sets for green onions, 2” spacing, 36 plants
6. Lemon Basil, 4” spacing, 9 plants
7. Lemon Basil, 4: spacing, 9 plants
8. English Thyme, 6” spacing, 9 plants
9. Oregano – 3 per square, plant in triangle shape
10. Garlic, 4” spacing, 9 cloves
11. Chives, 2” spacing, 36 seeds or 4 plants
12. Silver Thyme, 6” spacing, 4 plants
13. Nasturtium, 4” spacing, 9 plants
14. Purple Basil, 4” spacing, 9 plants
15. Onion sets for green onions, 2” spacing, 36 plants
16. Dill, 6” spacing, 4 plants

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