Nicole Johnsey Burke plants a 4x4 fall garden with a center pea trellis, corner cabbages, carrots, garlic, spinach, radishes, and herbs. She says mixing crops instead of planting one per bed increases production and garden health.
Chapters
Let me show you how I plant up a 4x4 kitchen garden for the fall season compared to what most people do. Most people would just plant one bed of about nine cabbages. Or they might fill the bed with lots of carrots. Or they might do two trellises and add some peas. But not me. I would put an obelisk trellis right in the center and cover it with lots of peas. Then I do two cabbage plants, some garlic, some parsley and cilantro. Then I would do the rows of carrots right alongside the trellis and cabbage in the corners of the bed. I'm going to add some chives, maybe even some flowers. Then I'll plant rows of sp spinach outside the rows of carrots. While that spinach comes in, I'll add some French breakfast radishes to grow by seed very quickly for an early harvest. Planting this way doesn't just give you more production, it also makes for a healthier garden. So if you've been planting your fall garden like this, consider doing it differently this season and plant my way.