10 Garden Methods To Increase Production

Gardening like everything else inspires lots of friendly debate. What is the best method to use? Each way has advantages and disadvantages. One method may suit you fine or you may be like me and like to use a mix of styles.

I like to use a variety of growing methods because different techniques suit individual crops at separate times. This helps ensure that I am maximizing production.

For instance, I grow a lot of greens in raised beds and some cherry tomatoes. My canning tomatoes, however, go in a more traditional row style so I can plant a lot and run trellis.

My potatoes are grown in a field garden under straw.

In winter, I make use of hydroponics indoors, French intensive in the greenhouse, and season extension to maximize winter production.

There are no rules that say what’s best for you. You can use several different methods in any yard or on any farm.

I have used each one of these 10 Different Garden Methods to reach my goals of food self-sufficiency. All of these garden procedures can be used for maximizing your production.

This article will introduce you to the best methods and how you can implement them in your gardens.

My girl built cabin at Fox Run with some containers of flowers on the front deck

Containers

Container gardening means growing your plants in containers – pots, buckets, windowsill planters, bushel baskets, and barrels. Just use your imagination.

If you are crafty look into creating your own planters using wood, hypertufa or old car tires.

I use the buckets that cat litter comes in. I just paint them a fun color, drill a few holes in the bottom and I’m ready to go. They are especially nice for taller plants like tomatoes and peppers.

Containers are great if you have limited space or want to be able to move your plants around. They are great for citrus fruit or herbs that you may need to bring inside during the winter.

When picking out a receptacle make sure it is big enough to hold the mature plant. For example, tomatoes have long roots and need a container that is at least eighteen inches tall. A five-gallon bucket is ideal.

Lettuce roots are not as long and they have a shorter season. So a eight to twelve-inch container is adequate.

When you grow your plants in containers you must check their water needs daily. Some planters such as those made with cement or terra cotta actually wick water away from plants.

Advantages

• Fit in small spaces

• Easy to move around

Disadvantages

• Plants can get rootbound

• Needs daily watering

Square Foot Gardening

This is one of my favorite gardening methods to teach because it has been embraced by so many urban farmers seeking to become self-sufficient. The goal of the square foot gardening method is to grow an abundance in a small space.

Square foot gardening dovetails nicely with raised beds. The most common size is a four by four-foot plot. If using a raised bed it should be at least ten inches deep.

The method became famous when the author and gardener published the iconic book Square foot Gardening.  Mel Bartholomew became a household name.

The premise of square foot gardening is that you section off your garden in square-foot grids. Then you place the number of plants that would fit in that grid.

Here are examples of what you can plant in each square foot

• Nine beets, onions, bush style beans, or spinach

• Sixteen carrots, green onions, or radishes

• Four plants lettuce, basil, chard, or marigolds

• One large plant such as tomato, eggplant, pepper, broccoli, or cabbage

• Six trellised plants, pole beans or peas

• Bush squashes and melons need a two-foot spacing

SQuare Foot Gardening Foundation

Advantages

• Small space but very productive

• Soil is loose and fertile

• Easy to manage

• Works well with a trellis for tall or vine plants

Disadvantages

• Not as well suited for growing amounts for canning crops

• Not as good for larger rambling crops such as melons, squashes, and corn

I get a lot of questions about self-sufficiency in small spaces. Here's an example of a spring/cool weather raised bed garden. This picture was taken on April 13 a couple of years ago. So this raised bed is 2X12 feet and 10 inches deep. It's filled with compost and bio comp. And has hoops with garden fabric in case we get some chilly weather. It held 3 cabbages, 4 broccoli, 4 Swiss chard, 4 lacitino kale, 2 red Russian kale, 2 arugulas, 3 lettuce, and 6 onions. Because it was a pretty close nit group of plants I did fertilize it every two weeks with fish emulsion.

French Intensive

I cut my teeth on French Intensive gardening at age 16 when I dived into self-sufficiency headfirst. French Intensive is very closely related to biointensive agriculture due to Alan Chadwick’s work in both.

This method has a rich history going back to the very productive market gardens in France. In the 1500s the farmers of France known as  "Maraîchers" used intensive techniques that changed the world of agriculture. Wind blocks, fermenting manure and double digging gave their crops a distinct advantage.

Roll forward to the 1970s back to the land movement when John Seymour and Chadwick began promoting the method. As a professor at the University of California Santa Cruz Chadwick began a hands-on garden at the college.

Keep rolling forward and in the 1990s when Eliot Colman visited France and came back more enthused and teaching these skills.

But I digress. French Intensive has some foundation principles.

Bed preparation is very important. The soil must be double dug to a depth of at least eighteen inches. This can be in the ground or in a raised bed. The soil is well amended with lots of composted manure. It is important to mix in nutrients to a deep level so that encourages the roots to grow and the plant to have optimum nutrition.

Companion planting of plants. Plants are planted in close proximity so that their leaves are touching when they are grown. The companion philosophy embraces:

Intercropping – two or more crops are planted together to complement each other and produce a greater yield.

Trap cropping – a crop that is planted to draw insects away from sensitive plants

Advantages

• Gives roots lots of growing room

• Very productive

Disadvantages

• Lots of digging.

• Needs planning to implement well (read my blog on garden planning)

• Takes a lot of compost to do properly

In the greenhouse at Fox Run. This picture shows us moving from winter greens to summer heat lovers like eggplant.

Permaculture

Permaculture is another gardening practice with a rich history. Originally starting in Japan it gained prominence during the “hippie” movement of the 1960s and back to the land of the 1970s when founders Bill Mollison and David Holmgren referred to it as whole gardening.

This integrated approach considers the natural ecosystem and the overall environment. The Core Tenants are caring for the earth, care for people and fair share.

Permaculture is based on twelve principles that basically work to reduce waste, work with the landscape, and achieve synergy.

By emphasizing layers the permaculture method considers gardening to be very vertical. It works together with similar to a forest biome with a canopy, understory, ground plants, underground plants.

Hügelkultur is a fascinating practice that buries wood in garden areas to improve the soil. Basically you bury sticks, logs, and wood scraps in a trench in your garden. Cover the wood with the soil you removed. The decaying wood acts as a sponge while decomposing. In dry periods it will release water and nutrients to surrounding plants.

A fabulous example of urban permaculture. Claire Gregorys suburban permaculture garden in Sheffield, UK

Advantages

• Whole earth approach is environmentally friendly

• No waste

Disadvantages

• Not as productive since you are often integrating systems

• Labor intensive

Regenerative Agriculture

This is really a spin-off from Permaculture with its own unique twists. I love the whole idea of farming the forest yet at the same time contributing to wildlife populations.

I am really excited about Regenerative Agriculture and have been planning on some ways to integrate it into my farm. This is about increasing biodiversity in order to serve the farmer and the environment.

Rejuvenating topsoil, improving the water cycle and holistic management are key principles. In addition, regenerative agriculture seeks to make our farms more resilient to climate change.

Ben Falk is a leader in this field. I watched a webinar with him recently and was really excited about some of the things that he had done on his farm.

For instance one of the things he had done was they started grafting the wild crab apples on the farm. They then planted them out in marginal growing areas. The trees took off, become food for wildlife and a crop as cider apples.

Advantages

• Nurture biodiversity

• Support wildlife

• Create drought-resistant soil

• Increases crop resilience

Disadvantages

• Time commitment - an ongoing process

• Labor intensive

Biodynamic

Some people feel biodynamic agriculture is a bit “out there”. While based on organic agriculture biodynamic considers the influence of the moon and planets. Biodynamic farmers follow an astrological guide for planting and harvesting.

While this has often been scoffed at there has been scientific evidence that shows has garden plants do react to the moon and the gravitational pull. Much like the tides.

If you have ever read the Old Farmer’s Almanac you are familiar with the moon phase, tidal charts and planet charts.

Biodynamic farmers embrace a much more spiritual outlook while gardening. Like permaculture, they believe in interrelated earth. However, biodynamic farmers feel that humanity is an important component. Many CSA’s are biodynamic because it embraces the community of the movement.

Advantages

• Shared belief in a quality of life

• Works with environment

Disadvantages

• Not conducive to machine work ie: tilling

• Takes effort and planning to follow the moon calendars

• Labor intensive

Straw

This garden method uses straw bales as a growing medium. You can also use straw as thick layers of mulch in your garden.

You set up your straw bales and wet them down thoroughly. After giving the straw a couple weeks to start composting you pack some soil on top. Next you add your transplants.

Check out our new free mini course Composting 101

The straw bale garden works best if you have easy access to wheat or oat straw. Currently in my location a small bale of straw cost between $6.00 and $7.00. So that would limit your size. But if you just want a bale or two it’s manageable. It also makes a fun experiment for the family.

A modified version of this is using straw as a heavy mulch that plants can grow in. I plant my potatoes with this approach. I till or dig the potato beds and dig a shallow two-inch trench for the spud seed.

Potatoes at Fox Run mulched in straw

I make sure the potato seed makes good contact with the earth and cover them with about four inches of straw. As the potato plants grow I mound them and cover with straw versus soil. They still have contact with the soil for nutrients but they can grow freely in the straw. I have higher production with this method. And they are easy to dig.  

Advantages

• Less bending

• Lots of root growth

• Fewer weeds

Disadvantages

• Expensive compared to other techniques

• Needs lots of water

• Not good for all crops, not as productive

• Straw may have been sprayed with chemicals

Traditional Gardens with Conventional Rows

The traditional garden may bring your grandparents to mind or the market farmer down the road. These gardens make us think of warm smelling earth in freshly tilled fields.

A traditional garden can encompass any size. You might hand dig a small ten by ten plat to grow a nice salad garden. Or plow a five acre field. Traditional gardens often have row spacing that meets the needs of a tiller or tractor. This equipment is used to till between rows to keep down weeds. People with larger gardens often follow the traditional garden approach of using long rows to plant seeds and then hoeing laboriously in between plants and in between rows

Advantages

• Made to be easy for the gardener to care for

• Cost-effective

• Easy to start

Disadvantages

• Wastes space

• Requires extra tilling to keep weeds down

• More dependent on machine work and lots of hoeing

• Tilling disrupts soil life

Raised Beds

Raised beds are a very popular solution to the traditional garden. Even farmers are using implements on their tractors to make raised beds in the field.

I love raised beds and have quite a few. In addition, they make a great building project for my interns.

You can build raised beds yourself with minimal supplies and experience. They are easy to build from wood, brick, or concrete block depending on what look you want and your budget. You can even build them in intriguing shapes to fit youtr landscape.

Raised beds are easier on your back if you have difficulty bending. In fact, you can build a raised bed to accommodate any height. Raised beds that are elevated are popular with people in wheelchairs.

A raised bed is great if you have rocky, sandy, or poor quality soil. You can just add your own enriched soil, compost, and amendments to make a rich nutritious bed for your plants. Raised beds are easier to water and promote water efficiency.

They also produce a higher yield in many cases than row grown plants. In a raised bed you have light well-draining soil that makes perfect growing conditions. Root crops especially like raised beds.

I am unable to grow nice carrots in my heavy clay ground soil. But I can grow a great crop in my raised beds because they have a soil tailored for their needs.

You have many options when choosing materials for your beds. Wood is beautiful and easy to work with. Today’s pressure-treated wood does not have as many chemicals and many are eco-certified. Get wood that is of a substantial size.

Dimensional lumber in size 2x10 is strong and will not readily warp. Ten inches should be the minimum depth for your garden beds. You can simply nail or screw boards together in a 3x10 rectangle or other creative shapes to meet your needs.

I recommend a width of no more than three feet so you can easily reach across.

Cement block is a quick and easy way to construct a bed. They are easy to stack for a deeper bed. When stacking use rebar and concrete mix to keep the blocks stable.

Keep in mind that in summer cement blocks hold the heat and actually pull moisture from the soil. You will need to water more frequently. Because they hold the heat they make excellent early spring and fall gardens.

For a more formal look, you can use bricks. Bricks can be laid out in numerous designs and also look great next to a patio or deck. Bricks require a higher skill level or you can hire a professional. Brick especially makes a lovely herb bed.

Before you build your beds remove the sod from where the bed will set. This will help keep down invasive weeds. You can also smother the weeds using a thick layer of newspaper. If you have groundhogs or moles in your area you can put a layer of hardware cloth at the bottom of your bed to keep them from burrowing underneath.

Raised beds are great for extended season growing. A framework of one inch flexible PVC tubing can be attached to the bed. This makes hoops that can be covered with garden fabric in cool weather or shade cloth in warm weather and offering protection from birds and insect pests. This helps to create a micro-climate and continue growth in all seasons.

Season extension using garden fabric over a raised bed.

Advantages

• Easy to make from scrap lumber, rocks, cement blocks, or metal

• Drains well

• Soil is light for good root growth

• Easy on back, great for older persons

• Season extension

Disadvantages

• Permanent – not easily movable

• Requires building materials

• Higher set up cost

Hydroponic and Aquaponic Gardening

Need a fun indoor winter growing project or maybe want to dedicate some greenhouse space. Both hydroponics and aquaponics work well inside the house or in a greenhouse.

Both are soil free ways of growing plants. They require an electrical supply ( will work on solar) light, and water.

Hydroponics has become the norm for many commercial products such as lettuce and tomatoes. Plants are placed in water or a medium using sand and or gravel. They can easily absorb the nutrients which are placed in the water.

Aquaponics uses an ecological approach by raising fish under the plants. The plant’s roots extend into the tank where they can absorb nutrients from the fish. In turn, the plants filter the water for the fish.

In more elaborate systems the water is circulated via pumps. In a larger system with bigger tanks, the fish can also be harvested as a food source.

Advantages

• Can be done on the kitchen table

• Higher crop growth and yields

• No soil

• plants grow quickly

Disadvantages

• Must be well monitored

• Larger systems may be expensive to set up.

• Takes up space

I hope this article has given you some new ideas about gardening and some new methods you want to try on your own piece of land.

Author, Ame Vanorio has 25+ years of experience living off-grid and as an organic farmer. She is the director of Fox Run Environmental Education Center and a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.