How to Grow More Vegetables : And Fruits, Nuts ... - Shroomery

122 MAKING THE GARDEN PLAN
and a third bed is added. After 3 or 4 years, with improved
gardening skills, the vegetable crop can be condensed from
200 square feet to 100 square feet, leaving 100 square feet of
improved soil for protein crops (wheat, rye, peanuts, lentils,
soybeans, and rice), fibers (cotton or flax), or special interest
crops (chicken, goat, or bee forage; grapes; blueberries;
bamboo; herbs; nut trees; and so on).
Lastly, a garden plan for a family of four is shown. We recommend
using a similar 3- to 4-year progression, starting with
approximately 300 square feet for the first year, and adding 300
more square feet each year until the entire garden is developed.
Buying seeds for a backyard garden easily runs up a $10 to
$20+ bill. At our garden supply store in Palo Alto, we purchase
seeds in bulk and sell them out in jars like penny candy using
teaspoons and tablespoons to measure. You can easily buy
seeds for 6 months of vegetables in our store for less than $2.
You can take advantage of the same low prices by having your
favorite local co-op grocery store order bulk seeds for you.
Consider spacing and maturation when you develop your
plan. If you have extra plants, plant the best ones and give any
extras to a friend or save them in case of damage to first transplants.
Leaf lettuce matures sooner than head lettuce. Planting
both ensures a continuous harvest. Similarly, half of the tomatoes
should be an early variety (maturing in 65 days) for continuous
harvesting. Save space by tying tomatoes up to stakes.
Pumpkins take up a lot of space. Plant them at the edge of the
garden where they can sprawl over uncultivated areas. Corn is
pollinated by the wind; a square block of 4 corn plants in each
direction (not a row), for a total of 16 plants, is the minimum for
adequate pollination. In small plantings you may want to handpollinate
corn so all the ears fill out optimally. (See Suzanne
Ashworth’s Seed to Seed on page 205 in the bibliography.)