Gardening Methods & Practices

Crop rotation refers to the practice of planning planting areas so that crops in the same family are not planted in the same place year after year. Problems that can be reduced by rotating crops include number and type of soil-borne diseases, nematodes, and soil insects; lower organic matter, more chance of toxic chemical residues, and imbalance of essential mineral elements. Each crop in the rotation should be of a different family than the one it replaces. Source: Vegetable Rotations, Successions, Intercropping, & Solarization

Resources:

Ryan, K. (2015. August 15). Using Crop Rotation in Home Vegetable Gardens. Washington State University Extension.

Higgins, D and Krokowski, K. (2012. April 9). Using Crop Rotation in the Home Vegetable Garden. University of Wisconsin Extension

In succession planting, plants are timed so that immediate replacements are ready when they are harvested or no longer producing at full capacity. Using days-to-harvest for each plant, you can map out when each plant will be present in the garden, creating a continually producing garden. Because no plan is without problems, like soil too muddy to work, buffer weeks are usually built into the plan. This also allows time to amend the soil with compost or fertilizer to replace depleted nutrients. Source: Succession Planting. 

Resources:

Succession Planting. Kansas State Extension Johnson County.

Succession Planting Calendar. Succession Planting. West Virginia Extension. 

Companion planting is the practice of planting two or more crops near one another to enhance crop production, deter pests, attract beneficial insects, and return nutrients to the soil. The classic example is the "Three Sisters" garden, combining corn, beans and squash. Corn, a tall crop, provides support for beans, a climbing plant. Beans provide nitrogen in the soil needed by corn and squash. Squash plants provide weed suppression and shade that reduces moisture loss.  Source: University of West Virginia Companion Planting

Companion planting is generally done in garden beds rather than fields, where intercropping dominates, and is focused on pest control and returning soil nutrients, with increased yield a secondary concern. Source: Intercropping vs Companion Planting: What's the Difference?  The "Three Sisters" garden is an example of the two practices overlapping.

Resources:

Hoidal, N. (2021, February 25). Companion planting and trap cropping vegetables. UMN Extension.

Jeavons, J. (n.d.). Companion Planting Chart.  West Virginia Extension.

Vogel, Peter. Intercropping vs Companion Planting: What's the Difference? GrowPerma.

Intensive gardening, or intensive planting, aims to reduce the space and labor required while creating an ideal plant environment. It requires a lot of planning because you must think about the interrelationships of plants, including their nutrient needs, shade tolerance, above- and below-ground growth patterns, and preferred growing seasons. Intensive gardening isn't for everyone, since the close plant spacing prohibits machine cultivation. Also, some gardeners prefer to have their crops come off in a short period of time, so they can get the canning out of the way. Source: Intensive Gardening Methods

Resources:

Trinklein, D. (2018. April 16). Intensive Gardening: More from less (space). University of Missouri Integrated Pest Management.

Niemiera, A. (2018. November 5). Intensive Gardening Methods. Virginia Cooperative Extension. 

Intercropping is the practice of growing two or more crops together in the same area with the intent to improve crop yields and improve resource efficiency. Similar to compaion planting, intercropping is usually done in production fields with increased yield as the primary goal. Intercropping can be bay alternating rows or wide strips of crops. A common intercropping practice is to plant a second crop along side the first before is is ready for harvest. Sowing clover under wheat allows the clover to establish while the wheat matures, allowing the clover to take over the field after the wheat is harvested. Source: Intercropping vs Companion Planting: What's the Difference?

The "Three Sisters" garden of corn, squash, and beans is an example of the two practices overlapping.

Resources

Vogel, Peter. Intercropping vs Companion Planting: What's the Difference? GrowPerma.

What Is Intercropping in Agriculture and Why It Matters. ScienceInsights.org.

A traditional row garden is what most of us think of when they hear "garden." It's been used for hundreds of years; it's the tried and true method endorsed by generations of successful gardeners. Rows are easy to construct, give easy access to plants, and can make watering easier. Information abounds on how to create a successful row garden, with many sample plans available online. Source: Mastering the Art of Row Gardening: A Complete Guide.

On the downside, row gardens require quite a bit of space, something that suburban and urban gardeners may not have. 

Source: 

Patterson, Raymond. Mastering the Art of Row Gardening: A Complete Guide. GreatGardenPlans.com.

Raised beds offer home gardeners several benefits over traditional row gardens.

• Space saved by not needing so many paths or spaces between rows.

• Less need of amendments like compost or fertilizer, since they go directly to the plants, not the rows.

• Less water needed for the reason just mentioned and because shade from closely spaced plants shades the ground, decreasing evaporation and keeping soil temperature down.

• Fewer weeds because of the close spacing of plants.

• Better pest control because insect screening can be more easily applied.

• Longer growing season because soil in raised beds warms faster than the ground, and coverings like sun screen and frost cloth can be applied. Rainy weather is less of a problem because the area around beds can be covered with gravel, mulch or other substances to prevent mud. Source: Raised Bed Gardening

Raised beds are also a good alternative when you have soil that is too rocky or too compacted, has too much sand or clay, or is severely low in nutrients.

Resources:

Mitchell, S. (2017. February 27). Raised Bed Gardening. Oklahoma State University Extension.

Files, P., Arnold, M, Welsh, D and Dainello, F. (2014, June). Building a Raised Bed Garden.

Harris, S., Mitchell, C, Patton, D. and Upham, W. (2019. February 22). Raised Bed Gardening. Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities Extension.

Vertical gardens are excellent for addressing issues of small space, but their other benefits include better air circulation, fewer pest problems, protection from sun and wind damage for smaller plants. Having plants near eye level makes it easier to track pest problems and to get to the produce at harvest. An often overlooked benefit, especially for those with edible landscapes, is that vertical garden structures can block unattractive or ill-favored features like a compost pile on a small plot of corn. Source: Vertial Gardening Makes the Most of a Small Garden Footprint

Resources:

Browning, S. (2012. May). Vertical Gardening Makes the Most of a Small Garden Footprint. University of Nebraska Extension. 

Green Education Foundation. (Accessed 2022. May 30). Vertical Gardening. 

Agrifarming. (Accessed 2022. May 30). Vertical gardening Ideas for Beginners.