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| I put in raised beds late last year and planted fall crops in 12" squares per the book. I planted several successions of cauliflower, broccoli, rapini and brussels sprouts. The outer rows did great, but the inner 2 rows had spotty performance. The last planting totally failed because by the time it went in the previous plants were large enough to shade it completely.
I re-read the book last night but it doesn't say anything about larger crops smothering their neighbors. So what are the best strategies to avoid this? Larger squares for larger plants? Logically this makes sense to me, but maybe it conflicts with the overall premise of SFG. Stagger spacing of large plants? My cole crops are so big, it seems like they would have been a problem for anything smaller nearby. I appreciate any thoughts on this. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Hello, All my cole crops are planted 18"-24" apart in staggered rows. As for broccoli, plant a variety that produces side shoots for a longer harvest. |
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- Posted by dan_staley USDA 5/S 2b (My Page) on Thu, Jan 14, 10 at 9:22
| I appreciate any thoughts on this. The lack of detail means we can only guess and make general statements. But this should suffice: Larger crops will smother their neighbors if they are planted too close to them. You can avoid this by planting them according to their mature size. Dan |
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- Posted by ribbit32004 (My Page) on Thu, Jan 14, 10 at 11:33
| I checkerboard my large crops as well. Then they can get all the space they need. Yes, technically you can do the one per sqft., but as you said, production is affected. Broccoli and cabage are two crops I've noticed that take much more room than is recomended, but, if you give them that room, the size of your heads will increase as well. |
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