Planting Strategy Crop Lists

Planting strategy. The planting strategy used in this wide row of leafy lettuce and carrots is based on the nutrient needs of the two crops. Lettuce is a heavy feeder and draws nitrogen from the soil. Carrots are light feeders. Carrots and lettuce are good companions.

The following lists will help you get the most out of your vegetable garden and plan your planting:

Best yield: vegetables that yield the most in proportion to the space they occupy and the time required to grow them:

Tomatoes
Pole beans
Broccoli
Onions (from sets)
Bush Beans
Beets
Carrots
Swiss chard
New Zealand Spinach
Mustard
Lettuce
Turnips
Rutabagas
Cabbage
Chinese cabbage
Radishes
Spinach
Cress

Less space: vegetables requiring the least space:

Tomatoes (grown in a cage or on stakes)
Pole beans
Beets
Carrots
Turnips
Rutabagas
Onions
Leeks
Leaf lettuce
Swiss chard
Chinese cabbage
Bush beans
Radishes

More space: vegetables that require more space than other crops:

Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
New Zealand spinach
Corn
Eggplants
Peppers
Parsnips
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Peas
Cucumbers
Melons
Squash

Vining: vegetables for fence, wall, or trellis:

Many homes have a driveway or boundary fence or wall for privacy. Plant vining vegetables to soften the wall or fence. Place a trellis in front of a building wall to grow vining vegetables as well. Here are easy-to-grow vines that are good food producers.

Sugar pea
Cucumbers
String beans (pole)
Lima beans (pole)
Tomatoes
Pumpkins
Scarlet runner beans
Muskmelons
Cantaloupe
Squashes
Grapes

Space cucumbers, small squashes, and scarlet runner beans about four feet apart.

Intercropping: short days to maturity crops that can be intercropped:

Bush Beans
Beets
Early cabbage
Carrots
Kohlrabi
Lettuce
Mustard
Onions (from sets)
Peas
Radishes
Spinach
Turnips

Sometimes difficult: these crops want optimal soil and temperature:

Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celery
Cucumber
Onions (from seed)
Peas
Potatoes
Pumpkins
Spinach
Squash (winter varieties)
Melon