When planting vegetables in your garden or allotment it is important to know how to get the best from them and the soil that they occupy. Growing vegetables is not – as some people may think – simply a case of planting the seeds and occasionally watering them; there is a lot more to it and here we look at how to block plant your vegetables in order to get the best from them.
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What is Block Planting?
Block planting is as the name might suggest when vegetables are planted in blocks rather in the traditional row configuration. One of the big advantages of block planting is that design is something of a breeze and also the soil in which the vegetables are grown is not trampled down under foot as it might be in an allotment style design of 25ft rows.
The Advantages of Block Planting
A distinct advantage to block planting is that space can be utilised to grow vegetables that might normally be wasted. This is excellent for gardens which are small in size or which have little in the way of soil left after the lawn and border plants have been put in place. It also allows for easy design using concrete blocks or bricks as a means of providing a border configuration within which soil can be placed for growing in.
Block planting is also used as a means of decoration within the garden environment; the end result being colour and also produce that can be used in the kitchen. Economical growing of organic vegetables which might normally cost a lot from suppliers means money saved in the household budget.
City Gardens
Many houses in the city do not come equipped with large gardens so therefore it is difficult to grow much of anything. But for those interested in growing an element of fresh vegetables and herbs a block garden is ideal and easy to maintain. Most garden suppliers will have what you need to get going and most of them will also be able to give you ideas and tips on how to get the most out of limited space.
Low Maintenance
Block planting is also very useful when it comes to the amount of time one has to spend in the garden. Planting vegetables in this formation means they are easier to maintain and to cut back and weed rather than the standard allotment configuration of twenty five foot rows. Block gardens are also easier to get at because they have access from all four sides unlike the row configuration where access is limited to perhaps one side without damaging the other rows.
What Can I Grow in a Block Garden?
The question here should really be what I would like to grow because there really is no limit to your options. Carrots, potatoes, peas, cabbages, tomatoes, the list is endless and so are the possibilities. Indeed in between your vegetables you could fill in some space with some herbs such as mint, chives, flat leaf parsley etc.
Further Information
Before you begin measure out exactly how much space you have to use and then take your measurements along to your local garden supplier. They will be able to help you plot out what you can plant and where and also give ideas on what to use as pathways between your blocks as well as providing helpful advice on what vegetables grow best when.
