Gardening goes beyond just nurturing plants— it’s also about creating a harmonious ecosystem where each plant can do its thing. One of the key elements of a successful garden is getting the plant spacing right.
It might seem like a simple thing— but like all fundamentals, spacing your plants correctly is a crucial component for healthy plants and abundant harvest. AND it’s another one of those gardening fundamentals that are commonly broken.
The reason is simple! Too many things to plant and not enough space! Sound familiar?! OF COURSE! Many of us struggle with this as gardeners. You're not alone!
But if we can really understand how we’re shooting ourselves in the foot by stuffing more plants into every available space— we’ll be less inclined to make that mistake again this year! Let's explore the multitude of benefits proper plant spacing offers— and how it prevents the detrimental effects of overcrowding!
The Importance of Proper Plant Spacing
Plant spacing impacts the availability of resources! Overcrowding means more plants competing for a finite set of resources! Resources, such as air, light, water, and nutrients. By giving each plant the space it needs, you ensure that your plants:
- Receive Adequate Sunlight: With ample space around them, plant leaves receive equal sunlight! You won’t have some of your plants literally getting shaded out as its neighbors grow wider and taller. Sunlight is vital for photosynthesis and growth. Even the shade lovers can suffer from getting ‘shaded out’ completely or in part— just not getting enough daylight as opposed to sunlight! And for those sun-loving plants— it’s even more crucial!
- Access Sufficient Nutrients: Plants absorb nutrients through their roots. And their roots form mutually beneficial relationships with the microbes-- networks in the soil to extend their ‘reach’ so to speak. Proper spacing reduces competition among plants, allowing each one to access and draw in the nutrients it needs.
- Experience Optimal Airflow: Good air circulation prevents the buildup of humidity. This is one of the most often overlooked risks to plant health! Paying attention to spacing and the growth habits of plants at various stages, with careful attention to airflow and humidity, reduces the risk of fungal diseases. Fungus thrives in damp environments that lack airflow to help evaporate that heavy morning dew and dry off leaves. The results? Let’s just say it’s a fungal jungle-- a mess! You don’t wanna have to deal with this!
Botrytis cinerea fungus on the left and powdery mildew on the right.
Preventing Overcrowding: A Pathway to Healthy Growth and Abundance
Overcrowding is one of the most common issues that lead to suboptimal plant growth. When plants are too close together, several problems can arise:
- Increased Susceptibility to Disease: We already talked about the benefits of good airflow. Dense planting can lead to poor air circulation, especially later in the season when your plants are entering their flowering and fruiting stages. This is a crucial time for plants— as they put more and more energy flowering and fruiting. This stage often coincides with some of the hottest— and the most humid periods of the summer. Heavy dews with little or no airflow will create a breeding ground for diseases and pests. And with so much energy being devoted to flowering and production, plants have less energy to fight off these disease and pest pressures. Powdery mildew, downy mildew, and botrytis (gray mold) are examples of vegetable-crop diseases that are exacerbated by poor air circulation.
- Stunted Growth: Limited space, inadequate sunlight or daylight, lack of nutrients, and poor airflow can inhibit root and canopy growth, stunting the plant’s overall development.
- Reduced Yield: Overcrowded plants often produce smaller fruits and vegetables— because they have to compete for limited resources AND because of the increased disease and pest pressures.
Tips for Achieving Optimal Plant Spacing
The good news? It's completely within your control! To maximize the potential of your garden, here are some pro tips for layout and proper plant spacing:
- Read Seed Packets: Follow the spacing guidelines provided with seeds or seedlings. These recommendations are based on optimal growing conditions. If the packet tell you to thin your plantings to so many plants per foot or square foot, pay attention and follow directions. That information is real. You might get away with cramming stuff in now and then, when the weather patterns help you out— but most likely it will cost you dearly!
- Plan Your Garden Layout: Before planting, draw a layout of your garden, factoring in the mature size of each plant. It might SEEM like you have enough space to fit those extra plants in the row when your at the planting or transplanting stage— but think ahead to when those plants are in their full glory and ready to start producing fruit for you! It's all about future-casting! What kind of space will they need THEN? That’s the stage that’s the MOST crucial to plan for and accommodate— that’s why you need to think ahead and map it out!
- Practice Crop Rotation: Change the location of your plants each season to reduce, minimize, and/or prevent disease and pest buildup.
Fall planting of Romulus lettuce with space to grow! Succession planted after onion harvest.
The Reward: A Vibrant, Thriving Garden
By dedicating time and attention to proper plant spacing, you set the stage for a lush and productive garden. When plants are entering their flowering, fruiting, productive stages-- that's when they are putting out the most energy! That's also when they are most vulnerable to environmental issues-- and require the most airflow, the most light or sunlight, the most nutrients and access to adequate water.
The effort you put into planning and spacing will pay off with healthier plants, more abundant harvests both in size and in quantity, and a more enjoyable gardening experience. Remember abundance is found in that delicate balance between the quantity of plants in your garden and quality of each one of those plants.
So grab that garden chart and start mapping it out! Give your plants the room they deserve! Let them thrive-- not just survive!
Your garden coach,
Theresa