Row, Row, Row Your Bed Gently Into Greens

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Robert Dolezal

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Scarlet runner beans on poles, each supporting six plants, make a striking addition to both garden and table.

Row gardens are the classic vegetable gardens most often pictured in the mind’s eye. Where space permits, crops planted in long lines from north to south take advantage of both morning and afternoon sun, each plant receiving its fair share. Space between the rows permits easy access for maintenance tasks such as cultivation and irrigation. As a whole, row gardens are spacious, attractive and neat.

Before you create a row garden of you own, you need to bear a few considerations in mind: For starters, any sod or turf in the way either must be cut and removed, or turned, allowed to decompose and tilled. Once that’s done, you can establish a perimeter.

Often, row gardens exist without formal boundaries, but the most attractive ones have borders of tidy stone, brick, timber, fencing or flowers. A border is more than just aesthetically pleasing, though – it serves a practical purpose, too: Establishing a clear, well-defined edge eases mowing or sowing of nearby areas, as well as serves as a barrier to some nuisance animal pests.

Row gardens have other practical advantages. Because a single vegetable species is planted in each furrow, successions of crops can be planted over time to provide for a sustained harvest. It’s easy to imagine such planning in use – think of corn plants of varying heights or young peas planted next to more mature vines, two common plant successions. Harvest can proceed along the row, guaranteeing a steady production of tender, fresh vegetables as the season progresses.

Facts

Watering tends to be more consistent for row gardens than would be the case for other vegetable garden layouts, since the water penetrates equally to all plants along the row.
Row gardens often are a good choice for growing vegetables on flat, regular plots. Linear rows, spaced for the needs of both the plants and gardener, permit easy cultivating, watering and harvesting.

Tips

If garden size is limited, you can save space within each row by offsetting every other plant to double your yield over planting in a straight line. Take advantage of vertical space, too, growing vines on trellises, fences and supports.

Resources

We’d love to see how your container veggies are growing. Post pictures and an update of your contained harvest in our Learn2Grow forums.
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Next Steps

Articles

Set the Plot
The row garden is the most traditional way to grow vegetables. Once your soil is properly amended and fertilized, the next step is to prepare your plot for planting. Here’s a quick look at how to set your beds, rows and hills.
Seed Starting Made Easy
Growing plants from seed is lots of fun and rewarding for all ages. (Best of all, it’s not that difficult!) Learn the tips to successful seed starting and begin turning your thumb that deep shade of green. (Now let’s get sowing!)
Planning a Gorgeous Kitchen Garden
Who says you have to plant your vegetables in straight rows?! With a little planning, you can create gorgeous kitchen gardens that’ll rival the beauty of your flower beds and produce plenty of tasty treats to enjoy almost year-round!

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