Imagine how proud you will feel when you harvest several pounds of beautiful, tasty organically grown vegetables from your 20-by-20-foot plot. Your garden yield could be pounds of tomatoes from a 5-by-25 foot bed or pounds of carrots from just 25 square feet of garden.
While this may seem impossible, achieving yields like these is far much easier than you may realize. The main secret to productive organic gardening is to take your time in planning strategies that will work for your garden. Below are five high yield methods gleaned from organic farmers who have learned to make maximum use of their garden space.
1) Build up the soil
Building up your soil is the most important thing when trying to pump up your yields. Having a deep, organic soil encourages extensive growth of healthy roots that can reach water and nutrients more easily. Making raised beds is the most common way of building up the soil.
The soil in a raised bed is looser and better aerated. They take up less of your time since they require very little in terms of maintenance operations. Plants also tend to grow close in raised beds thus shading out any competing weeds; this saves you the time you would have otherwise spend weeding the garden.
2) Round out the beds.
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How your beds are shaped is also vital. The efficiency of raised beds is increased if they have rounded tops that form an arc. The arc creates a planting surface that is wider and longer than the flat bed. For large gardens, you can easily create a lot of extra space using this method.
3) Space smartly
How the plants are arranged plays an important role in determining your yield from each bed. Avoid planting your crops in square rows or patterns. Instead, use triangular patterns to stager the plants across the garden. Farmers who do this often fit about 25 percent more plants into each bed.
However, take care not to space the plants too tightly. Some of them don't thrive in overcrowded conditions and won't reach their full size or produce their maximum yield. Do some research for each plant species you have in the garden to ensure that you use just the correct spacing, this way, each plant will be able to yield it's maximum harvest weight.
4) Grow up
Regardless of how tiny you think your garden is, you can also grow more plants by going vertical. The trick is to grow vining plants such as pole beans, tomatoes, peas, squash, cucumbers, etc. then use fences, stakes, cages or trellises to support them.
This technique will also save you time since maintenance and harvest will take a much shorter time being able to see exactly where each fruit is. Upward growing plants are also less susceptible to fungal diseases due to the better air circulation around their foliage.
5) Mix them up
By inter-planting compatible crops, you will be able to save a lot of space. The perfect example is the classic American combination of beans, squash and corn. The pole beans will be supported by the sturdy cornstalks while the ground below will be free for squash to grow on and shade out potential weeds.
Other popular combinations are basil, onions and tomatoes; peas or brassica and leaf lettuce; beets and celery, radishes, carrots and onions.
Conclusion
Many people have achieved great yields from their organic gardens by using the tips provided in this article. By following these tips, you will watch as your garden becomes more healthy and productive; producing fresh fruit and vegetables free from toxins while needing a minimum effort on your part.
While this may seem impossible, achieving yields like these is far much easier than you may realize. The main secret to productive organic gardening is to take your time in planning strategies that will work for your garden. Below are five high yield methods gleaned from organic farmers who have learned to make maximum use of their garden space.
1) Build up the soil
Building up your soil is the most important thing when trying to pump up your yields. Having a deep, organic soil encourages extensive growth of healthy roots that can reach water and nutrients more easily. Making raised beds is the most common way of building up the soil.
The soil in a raised bed is looser and better aerated. They take up less of your time since they require very little in terms of maintenance operations. Plants also tend to grow close in raised beds thus shading out any competing weeds; this saves you the time you would have otherwise spend weeding the garden.
2) Round out the beds.
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How your beds are shaped is also vital. The efficiency of raised beds is increased if they have rounded tops that form an arc. The arc creates a planting surface that is wider and longer than the flat bed. For large gardens, you can easily create a lot of extra space using this method.
3) Space smartly
How the plants are arranged plays an important role in determining your yield from each bed. Avoid planting your crops in square rows or patterns. Instead, use triangular patterns to stager the plants across the garden. Farmers who do this often fit about 25 percent more plants into each bed.
However, take care not to space the plants too tightly. Some of them don't thrive in overcrowded conditions and won't reach their full size or produce their maximum yield. Do some research for each plant species you have in the garden to ensure that you use just the correct spacing, this way, each plant will be able to yield it's maximum harvest weight.
4) Grow up
Regardless of how tiny you think your garden is, you can also grow more plants by going vertical. The trick is to grow vining plants such as pole beans, tomatoes, peas, squash, cucumbers, etc. then use fences, stakes, cages or trellises to support them.
This technique will also save you time since maintenance and harvest will take a much shorter time being able to see exactly where each fruit is. Upward growing plants are also less susceptible to fungal diseases due to the better air circulation around their foliage.
5) Mix them up
By inter-planting compatible crops, you will be able to save a lot of space. The perfect example is the classic American combination of beans, squash and corn. The pole beans will be supported by the sturdy cornstalks while the ground below will be free for squash to grow on and shade out potential weeds.
Other popular combinations are basil, onions and tomatoes; peas or brassica and leaf lettuce; beets and celery, radishes, carrots and onions.
Conclusion
Many people have achieved great yields from their organic gardens by using the tips provided in this article. By following these tips, you will watch as your garden becomes more healthy and productive; producing fresh fruit and vegetables free from toxins while needing a minimum effort on your part.
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