Get most out of crops by intensive gardening

With rising prices, people are growing their own vegetables. They are finding or rediscovering that vegetables harvested from their own garden at their peak of quality are more nutritious and tastier than those in grocery stores.

With today's lifestyle, Las Vegas homeowners have only a limited amount of space and time available to garden compared to the more traditional sprawling country gardens. In fact, there are some want-to-be gardeners that don't have any garden space at all. As a result, garden plots are springing up in backyards and front yards, on balconies in containers and on rental plots. You can produce an amazing amount of vegetables using intensive gardening techniques.

Right now, seed catalogs are flooding my mailbox daily and nursery seed racks are loaded with a fresh supply of seeds and transplants.

Intensive gardening doesn't demand much time. So once soil preparation is done, you can grow just as many vegetables in half the space, using half the amount of water with very little weeding and still have a bountiful harvest.

Begin by building raised beds. Divide the space you want to plant vegetables into beds about 4 feet wide with paths about 2 feet wide. Because our soils are hard, shallow, salty and -- in many cases -- loaded with caliche, fill those beds with a manufactured soil sold by your nursery. This comes with generous amounts of organic matter in it and all the essential nutrients added in.

I like raised beds because I do all my work sitting on the bed's edges to save my back, and I won't compact the soil. You want to keep it open and friable so plants can produce high-quality vegetables.

When planting, forget about the distances between rows. Plant the seeds or transplants in blocks. If the vegetable needs 10 inches between plants in a row, plant it 10 inches from any other plant in the bed. Think of it like putting cookie dough on a cookie-baking sheet; get as many into the space as you can without crowding them.

Here are four planting practices that will guarantee an abundant harvest, even from a miniature garden. They are all designed to use your space efficiently. Be sure to keep your crop rotation scheme in mind as you apply them.

Intercropping: Intercrops are fast-growing crops such as leaf lettuce, green onions, spinach, mustard or radishes that will grow between large, slower plants such as squash, tomatoes or cabbage. Plant both crops at the same time and you'll harvest the intercrop before the main crop needs its full space.

Vertical gardening: Most gardeners with a small garden look for bush varieties of vining vegetables. Add that idea to the compost pile. You will get more production per square foot by using vining-type vegetables trellised up instead of allowing them to sprawl. Tall peas and beans grow up poles or trellises with little work on your part. They bear later than bush varieties, but produce more.

Tie trailing cucumbers, squash and pumpkins to a sturdy frame or trellis. The vine will be able to support the fruit in most cases. If you have a very heavy squash or pumpkin developing, a sling made from old pantyhose will make it extra secure.

Vertical gardening also applies to tomatoes. Plant them in cages to lift them for easier harvesting. Yes, this decreases the yield per plant, but you'll plant more tomatoes per bed and you'll harvest more, earlier and bigger fruit.

Hanging baskets: Here is another great way to do intensive gardening. Hang your baskets on arbors, patios or other vertical structures to support them. If you have trouble reaching your baskets, install pulleys to lower plants to tend them. Water is critical, because the heat dries them out quickly. They may need water two times a day.

Succession planting: The idea behind successions is to keep your garden space occupied. When the early lettuce, spinach or peas finish producing, plant a second or even third crop in the same space. Never allow produce to go to seed. Rip it out and mix in some compost and plant again.

To get the most out of your intensive garden, use transplants. Plant nice-sized lettuce transplants, and in five weeks they will be ready to eat. Transplants can be costly, but worth it to keep the vegetables coming out of your little farm.

Linn Mills writes a garden column each Sunday. You can reach him at linn.mills@springspreserve.org or call him at 822-7754.