[Chrysalis]

Hi All,

Just signed up for this lark and loving reading your helpful tips...but please can someone tell me how closely to plant stuff in a deep bed planter?

We've bought very expensive, but massively attractive (!) bags and wicker crates for our home allotment and the planting plan to match.  It says how many to grow and all that, but 'spacing' is exercising my little grey cells - how close can you grow? Any ideas?

For example the potato planter is 40cmX40cmx50cm and the plan suggests five plants.  Sound really cramped to me.....
 Thanks Chryalis.

[Yorkie]

You should get away with 5 plants in the planter, just put one at each corner and one in the middle.  I imagine they are not a maincrop variety?

I don't know about spacing in beds - John has written a book on growing in small spaces but I can't put my hand on my copy at present to find out if he covers it in there.  Someone else will doubtless be along with either their copy or their experience to help further.

[Ice]

You can grow things closer closer together.  For example, if the seed packet says grow 8" apart, I will grow mine at 6" apart.  Also, you can use equal spacings all round.  Use vegetables that don't have a spreading habit and form tight heads like Greyhound cabbage.

[Chrysalis]

Oh Thanks.  Will try and see what happens.  I thought the exhortation to put in broad beans in October was a bit loopy, but they're doing OK, so maybe I'll trust the plan a bit more!

I thinks I'm becoming obsessed   Glad I bought Greyhound cabbage seed...

When things start to grow a bit more, I'll post a proud photo..

[Yorkie]

Glad to hear you're succumbing to the addiction 

Don't forget to water planters more often than you would the open garden.  Also, if you're using multi-purpose compost rather than soil or John Innes #2 or#3 compost, you will need to add fertilisers after about 6 weeks to keep the plants fed.

[tallulah]

Good question!  I was wondering only today, how close you could plant up leeks in a raised bed - for example, could you get your whole crop of 60 - 90 in a bed of say 6' x 4'.

[solway cropper]

could you get your whole crop of 60 - 90 in a bed of say 6' x 4'.

Yes, I grow my leeks 6 inches apart both ways so you'd get 96 in a 6x4 bed if you left some space round the edges. And they are a good size as well. If you do a search for 'square foot gardening' you'll get lots of info on close spacing of veg. but you do need a fertile soil if you go down that route.

[Salmo]

Joy Larkcom gives spacing for all crops in "Grow Your own vegetables"

She says plant at 9 inches on the square for big leeks or closer if you want slim ones.

Planted 9 inches apart in 9 inch rows your 6' X 4' bed would have 8 X 5 = 40 leeks .

Planted 6 inches apart in 6 inch rows  12 X 8 = 96 leeks plants.

With most crops grown in multi-row beds you will get an edge effect. i.e. the plants in the outside rows will grow bigger than those in the middle rows at the same spacing.

Commercially this is overcome with crops such as carrots by spacing the seeds in the outside rows closer than those in the middle rows. This achieves an even size demanded by supermarkets.

Does anyone do this in beds?

Maybe it is better to have variation in size for the kitchen?

[Kristen]

"Does anyone do this in beds? "

Hmmm ... "not really" would be my answer.

I have 4' wide beds.  I plant the number of rows according to plant type - 2 rows for spuds, 3 for parsnips, 5 for leeks ...

I do work on the assumption that the paths provide more "growing space"

One thing I tend to do is to put the weakest plants on the outside, but I've never really considered whether they catch up more, or not!