[davesellars]

I have two beds.   1 is already set with carrots / beetroot and the other with a variety of chards / perpetual spinach, cauilflower.  All are spaced at the recommended row distance as stated on the seed packet.  However.  For me, it does seem to be wasting rather alot space as surely i could take advantage with a different crop between rows that would not affect the initial crop?    For instance between rows of chards, could i sow some parsnip seeds?   and where I have sown carrots could i sow some more cauliflower seeds?   my allotment is small 9m x 6m approx so i want to take advantage of all the space I can!

[mumofstig]

between rows of chards, could i sow some parsnip seeds?   and where I have sown carrots could i sow some more cauliflower seeds?

No and No.....both of the crops you have queried would be in the ground too long, and be detrimental to the original crop

.....but you could sow some quick growing crops like lettuce for eating young or radish

[Aunt Sally]

NO and YES

The spacing between plants is recommended because that is the spacing at which they do best.

Parsnips between chard would not be a good idea as both are big leafy plants that need to be in the ground for a long time and will heavily compete with each other.  Cauliflower is a very hungry feeder and will not suffer any soil disturbance by removing other plants.

While the plants are young you could put in some catch crops such as raddish or lettuce spring onions between them.

Edit: snap

[davesellars]

Thanks for the responses.  Any other quick growing plants that would be suitable?

[Aunt Sally]

Yes, I've already mentioned spring onions.

There are 3 good RVS articles abour catch cropping here:

http://www.nvsuk.org.uk/growing_show_vegetables_1/intercropping.php

[mumofstig]

baby turnips, coriander, rocket....running out of ideas now  

[Kristen]

Slight tangent, probably no help!, but if you raise your crops in seed trays, and prick out to pots / modules, many take as much as 2 months before they are ready to plant out (and the fastest, such as Sweetcorn, will take a month), so you can start them off in good time before the ground becomes free, and then they are ready to plant as soon as the previous crop is harvested.

Requires some planning to get it right though! I use a slightly-larger pot (e.g. 3.5" instead of 3") for such crops which means that they don't "run out of pot" if they have to be held back for an extra week or 10 days before the ground comes clear to plant)

[Endymion]

If you've got enough space somewhere nearby for the plant, maybe you could persuade a winter squash to ramble between the cauliflowers etc., that way you'll get the ground cover but it won't take anything out of the soil. If you haven't got room in the ground, maybe you could even plant a squash in a deep container next to your brassicas?