Plant Size Guidelines for Intensive Planting
There are so many different ways to layout and plant your vegetable garden. The method I use and teach is the Gardenary style of intensive planting. You can read all about why I love it here and decide it it’s right for you.
If you’ve landed here, you are probably planning out your own garden and need to categorize the plants you wish to grow by size. This is an essential step before you can start drawing up planting plans.
The Three Plant Sizes
This intensive planting method for raised bed kitchen gardens is similar to the Square Foot Gardening method in terms of plant sizes. If you have a list of plants you want to grow, you can google “[plant name] square foot gardening” to get a recommendation for how many fit into a single square foot of garden space and then map that number to one of the three categories—large, medium, and small—listed below.
Large (and lengthy) plants
Large and lengthy plants need about one square foot of garden space (or more) in an intensively planted kitchen garden. One way to fit them in your raised garden beds while maximizing space is by growing vertically with an arch, obelisk, or panel trellis.
Some large plants that may be on your growing wish list include:
Broccoli, cauliflowers, kale, sugar snap peas, snow peas, and fava beans for the cool season
Cucumbers, kale, squash, zucchini, pole beans, tomatoes, eggplants, and large peppers for the warm season
Armenian cucumbers, luffa gourds, sweet potatoes, pole beans, okra, eggplants, and tomatillos for the hot season
Medium Plants
You can generally fit about 4 medium plants per square foot in an intensively planted kitchen garden. Some medium plants, like beets, can even fit 9 per square foot.
Some medium plants that may be on your list include:
Beets, swiss chard, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, dill, cilantro, and parsley for the cool season
Bush beans, swiss chard, basil, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, peppers, and parsley for the warm season
Crowder peas, swiss chard, lima beans, rosemary, sage, basil, and hot peppers for the hot season
Small (and Short) Plants
You can generally fit 16 small and short plants per square foot in an intensively planted kitchen garden.
Some small plants that may be on your list include:
Arugula, lettuce, spinach, carrots, onions, chives, garlic, and radishes for the cool season
Arugula, marigolds, zinnias, onions, chives, and garlic for the warm season
Chives, oregano, thyme, and zinnias for the hot season
The Grey Area
Many of these plants listed above can grow much larger than the size they are categorized to. Have you ever left sage in the garden over winter? It gets huge! The sizing categories for the Gardenary planting method are based on the way we usually use and tend the kitchen garden. Here are a few things to consider:
Kitchen gardens are grown for their harvest. If you are harvesting (pruning) a lot, these plants will stay within their intended categories.
You’re in charge! Lettuce is categorized as a small plant above because you can harvest a salad every day using the cut and come again harvesting technique. This keeps the plants relatively small. But if you would rather grow and harvest a single head of lettuce, let that plant grow to its full (medium) size and just remember to categorize it as such when you plan and plant your garden.
Plants come in varieties. African crackerjack marigolds can get huge, reaching up to four feet high if you aren’t cutting them back, while signet or red gem marigolds stay small.
As your garden grows, if one plant starts to crowd another out, here is your permission to prune, relocate, or even pull one out. Your garden, your priorities!
You may know our frost dates, but did you know we have three growing seasons in the DMV?
Download this guide to our local growing seasons so you can save time and money by planting the right plants at the right time.
