A French Lesson in Intensive Planting

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Linnea Thornton

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Photo Credit: Courtesy of Barbara Wilde, L’Atelier Vert, Everything French Gardening, frenchgardening.com

This juvenile bed in a French garden shows how closely young plants are crowded together in intensive planting.

Crowding a bunch of plants in a narrow plot might not seem like a good idea at first. After all, it runs counter to everything you’ve learned about gardening. But this specialized method of planting – called French intensive gardening – is actually a tried-and-true technique to maximize your harvest in a small space. Even if you’ve only got a tiny plot, you can get amazing results if you develop it properly.

As you might’ve guessed by its name, French intensive gardening evolved in Europe. Its purpose is to make the most of limited growing space. Known as “square-foot gardening” in the US, it’s also the preferred method of many growers who want extra produce for themselves or to share with friends and neighbors.

Be forewarned: French intensive gardening isn’t for the casual hobbyist. Thorough planning and research – as well as a strong back – are required to ensure success. But if you’ve got the fortitude, you’ll get great results!

Setting the stage for your garden is where that strong back comes in. Raised beds work best for a number of reasons. First, it allows you to work from all sides without having to step over rows. Second, soil compaction is reduced, which increases drainage and oxygen availability to roots. Third, a raised bed heats up quickly and allows you to extend your growing season.

Facts

Raised beds help gardeners with back problems work without strain. (Of course, you need a strong back to make these raised beds in the first place, so ask for help when it comes to construction!)
French intensive gardening means planting your vegetables closer together than normally recommended on seeds packets. As a result, the dense foliage helps shade out weeds.

Tips

Extend the growing season by experimenting with “cloches” – bell jars that protect tender plants and allow you to grow plants later in fall or to force them in spring. If you want to experiment with this idea without buying cloches up front, you can substitute plastic gallon milk jugs with the bottoms cut out. (Just be sure to prop up your cloches on warm days to allow the heat to escape.)
If you’ve got poor soil, think about building raised beds. They help eliminate soil problems, like alkalinity issues or too-compacted clay.

Faqs

Q: What’s a good way to water raised beds?
A: You can thread a soaker hose through the plants, eliminating the need for conventional watering, which can often promote mold on wet leaves.

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