How can I make my vegetable garden more productive?
There are many techniques you can use for a more productive vegetable garden. Top dress your raised beds with compost and earthworm castings and cover with mulch to increase soil fertility and improve moisture retention. Foliar feed plants with compost tea, seaweed, and algae extracts to aid plant growth and improve crop yields.
Use trellises to make better use of vertical growing space. Stagger plantings one to three weeks apart for a longer harvest, and overlap plantings and ripening periods. Use season extenders like a cold frame or shade cloth structure to keep cold or heat sensitive plants growing longer.
Plant perennial fruits and flowers on the borders of your garden to create windbreaks, attract pollinators, and provide forage for backyard chickens. Raised beds planted with perennials require less maintenance over the years than annual crops and the harvests increase in size as the perennials mature.