How Does Your Garden Grow?

Mary, Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow? Many of us grew up with this nursery rhyme and we learned that she grew her flowers all in neat little rows. That was okay for Mary, but today’s gardeners have a lot more options in their garden styles. Here are some of those options.

Planting in Rows

Many gardeners still plant the same way that commercial growers grow their gardens. Some vegetables actually do best using this method. Corn and tomatoes typically are planted in single rows, allowing the corn to be picked easily and for tomatoes to spread upward and outward when staked.

Wide Rows

When I was about twelve years old, I discovered that wide rows improve on how garden space is use.

I still usually plant bush beans in wide rows, just narrow enough that I can straddle to rows when I am picking. This makes hand harvesting easier because I don’t have to go down long narrow rows to pick the beans.

Vertical Gardening

I like using vertical gardening. I learned that I can use space by planting along a fence row. I can also erect fences down the center of two garden rows and grow tomatoes on one side and peas on the other. I can at the same time grow other vegetables beside the peas and tomatoes like onions…