block planting

[serenity]

anyone use this method? I have aprox 15 sq metre ground plus pots so thought I might try this method to get the most from the ground available. I understand I must add the row distance to the recommended planting distance and then divide this by two to get the distance between plants

[madderbat]

anyone use this method? I have aprox 15 sq metre ground plus pots so thought I might try this method to get the most from the ground available. I understand I must add the row distance to the recommended planting distance and then divide this by two to get the distance between plants

I'm lost already. Sorry, no help from me. mr Mb asks where the hippopotamus is!

[smallblueplanet]

supersprout on the thread about compost baffles me with talk about it - think they're gonna try it.

[Digger-07]

anyone use this method? I have aprox 15 sq metre ground plus pots so thought I might try this method to get the most from the ground available. I understand I must add the row distance to the recommended planting distance and then divide this by two to get the distance between plants

Thats right. If it says 6 inches between plants and 18 inches between rows then you add 6+18=24 divide by 2=12 so each plant should be 12 inches from the next. In effect you are now planting at 12 inch spacing on rows 12 inches apart. You can get more into an area if you stagger the plants on each row. Then the rows can be closer than 12 inches because you can measure on the diagonal to the nearest plant.

Does that make sense?

[vicki lorraine]

Thanks for that Digger. That can be done on any plot to increase planting potential cant it? Thanks for the calculations. Will use this method for some crops as i seem to have been a bit seed happy this year (as a newbie i have bought a bit of everything to try)
Welcome buttercup!

[Digger-07]

I always use block planting for sweetcorn, broad beans, turnips and swede and brassica plants. Although I don't use beds as a rule I try to keep the block planting to an area that I can get into without too much treading on the soil.

[Snadger]

I always use block planting for sweetcorn, broad beans, turnips and swede and brassica plants. Although I don't use beds as a rule I try to keep the block planting to an area that I can get into without too much treading on the soil.

Go for the 4'0" bed system and block plant it and you need never walk on the soil again!

[dexterdoglancashire]

I knew you could use this method with sweetcorn but didn't realise you could do it with other veg. Will bear it in mind. DDL

[crivens]

Are there any veg that this method will not work with?

[Digger-07]

I would imagine things like runner beans will be hard to see in the middle of a block.

[supersprout]

Go for the 4'0" bed system and block plant it and you need never walk on the soil again!

You can plant very closely in blocks, and it seems to work well and smothers weeds. A great space saver.
Not for climbers; worth it for dwarf varieties. If you want to experiment, figure out how you're going to harvest from the block

For succession companion planting, you can sow across the bed in short rows every ten days or so, alternating mini-blocks of carrot, beetroot, Spring onion etc. Very pretty and 'companionable'. When you have lifted the baby carrots or whatever, you can sow or plant in the new spaces straight away. Much neater than gappy rows.

For e.g. broadies and dwarf beans; sow a block every 2 weeks or so during their growing season and you'll have a succession of fresh beans.

I compromise; because it's tricky to wedge mulch into a 4-inch gap between small plants, I often space plants a little larger than the recommended 'intensive' distances. That means I can keep topping up the mulch during the growing season to preserve the water in the soil.

[Snadger]

I would imagine things like runner beans will be hard to see in the middle of a block.

I suppose you could grow a single, or two, runner beans up a single bean pole!