Space Saving plants

During the busy, mid-late spring period of the gardening calendar, the extended daylight hours and warm soil permits all those routine plantings and special treats to be sown or planted. It is inevitable that every enthusiastic gardener soon lacks space to fulfil completely those planting ambitions. However, the resulting tough decisions to exclude some crops can often be avoided if thoughtful space saving techniques are used.

Traditional row planting frequently provides numerous unnoticed small spaces between rows and amongst the slowly maturing plants. These spaces provide an opportunity for gapping up with beneficial companion plants or quick maturing, opportunistic plants.

In the organic vegetable garden, lettuces are one such quick maturing plant that flourish amongst developing crops of tomatoes, capsicums, and beans. Lettuces, which are actually from the Daisy family (Asteraceae), have varieties like Cos, Oak-leaf, Mignonette and Iceberg. These all grow rapidly within the small-protected sites offered by these host crops. By planting each lettuce into enriched soil, using a few handfuls of manure rich compost, they will be ready to eat, well before any shading or nutrient competition eventuates.

Due to the already rich soil prepared for young celery, broccoli and leek seedlings (from the Apiaceae family) lettuces also thrive as an interplant crop without supplementary compost.

Another space saving option is to sow, tasty salad radish seeds, either directly in the same drills or in-between the rows of carrots, parsnips (Apiaceae family members) and/or beetroot (a Goosefoot or Chenopodiaceae family member). Radishes germinate quickly shattering the soil crust, which otherwise can inhibit these slow to germinate seeds. With careful thinning, radishes can protect or act as sacrificial pest fodder for the above tender seedlings, whilst producing a delicious salad bonus.

Non-invasive herbs such as parsley and dill (also Apiaceae family members), or basil and sage (Mint family or Lamiaceae) can also be planted in the same manner utilising the less rich soil environments between the very slow maturing crops such as onion or garlic (Lily family or Liliaceae). Other common space savers to remember are basil interplanted with tomatoes or pumpkins and cucumbers seedlings planted amongst an early crop of maturing corn plants.

When applying this space saving technique with more invasive herbs such as marjoram, tarragon, thyme, rosemary and mint (Lamiaceae family), place them in bottomless plastic pots to control their spreading roots and stage them amongst any of the root or onion crops. Be prepared to snip back their foliage frequently, to ensure their leaves remain tender and succulent ready for fresh summer salads.

Not only does this space saving technique increase the capacity of the traditional organic veggie garden, but it can also be used in an organic bush tucker garden setting.

By Phil Watson