Fall crops vs. Spring spacing issue

happycamper Wed Apr 29, 2015 2:44 pm

I have fall leeks using 9 squares in the center of a 4'x8'. I have harvested some of the leeks but the rest will take time to grow. This bed is one of the few that gets a full 8 hours of sun.

I was thinking of pulling all of the leeks now so that surrounding summer crops will not be disrupted when they are ready to harvest. If I plant around them, won't other plants be hurt when they are ready for harvest, such as green beans?

Should I leave them or pull them? Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Thank you in advance.

Lavender Debs Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:17 pm

Golly, I plant leeks the same way but plant my broccoli around them. I leave the leeks to grow until January, February, Aprilish after the storage onions are done. Pictures on my other computer (or in one of the ToyBox threads)

happycamper Thu Apr 30, 2015 12:44 am

Thank you, I think I will try removing one or two before I plant the green beans and see how much damage I do. If the leeks can be removed without disturbing the other squares then I will leave them.
I guess I just make a mess sometimes trying to dig them out!

Marc Iverson Tue May 26, 2015 2:16 am

When I planted my beans last year, the ones I planted in good soil did very well but did not throw roots down too deep. I think they did not have to go far for nutrients because I had really good soil.

But I think that means their root structure could get easily disrupted, if you got close enough to it. It's not like tomatoes, which throw out such huge long huge roots that you can clip and rip at the plant like crazy without doing much long-term damage.

So I guess I'm saying, it depends on the plants, but green beans do come to mind as ones whose root structure can be slight enough that I can see them getting hurt by soil disruption.

What do you think about a vigorous, prolific herb like oregano or basil instead? They're tough as nails and even if you kill them, you may have gotten lots of great growth out of them by that time anyway.

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Fall crops vs. Spring spacing issue

Fall crops vs. Spring spacing issue

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