Planting distance.

Why don't you go down the square foot gardening route? I think that you would be able to get more in that way. I don't know a lot about it but I am sure someone will be along soon who does.

I would plant spring onions 2" apart & beetroot 4" apart. If you go down the Sq Ft route, here are a few pointers:

Hi Natalie.

I have thought about this and have given up. The thing to remember is that most veges will "fight" for their own space. A beetroot "seed" is actually a clump of seeds and some germinate and some don't. what you have to remember is that most veges will need and stand thinning. So you can make meal of the thinnings and those left in the soil will develop. So you could sow 20 little gem seeds about 2 inches apart for each seed. As they grow you could take out say every forth plant. Then take out every second plant (of the original plants). You can eat the thinnings. Tlhose remaining will fill the space and develop. I plant three or four onion seeds per module and plant each module out at 3 inches. The onions will not be large but that is not a problem for me. In the right conditions onions will grow well and "push " each other out of the way.

The beetroots develop at a different times so you can pull small beetroots and the ones left will grow into the space left. Somethings need other considerations, like cabbage, some cabbage can be grown fairly close and still produce a cabbage of family size. again picking cabbage will give more space for others to "fill". The F1 type cabbage may not be suitable as they all develop at the same time. Some older types will develop as space allows.

This is an interesting subject and you will find that most work has been done to find the optimum spacing to grow the "right" sized produce (as determined by the marketing men). I wish you good luck in your endeavour.

regards
Bill

Growing in containers I am always tight for space.

For spring onions of all sorts I use a method advised on here. Take a 3" pot and sprinkle a good pinch of seed in it. When it germinates let it grow on until the seedlings are about 3 to 4 inches high and then plant out. No need to thin they will just push each other out of the way as the grow. Using a trough 6" wide x 6" deep "x 20" long I have at least 50 spring onions in that.

Beetroot I plant the seeds 3" apart and when they germinate leave one seedling at each station. Though I know some folks who just let them push each other out of the way too.

Being tightly spaced you will have to be more careful about watering and feeding but you will get a much larger crop.

when come beets seed you can avoid clumping by buying a mono-germ variety

I've got HUGE beetroot this year and never thinned them just let them get on with it and fight for space. I pulled the little ones as I wanted them.