YARD AND GARDEN: Vegetable gardening outside the lines

Traditionally a vegetable garden is planted in rows. When I helped my mother plant the garden, we used string tied to stakes to ensure that the rows would be nice and straight. One row for beans, another row for peas, and more rows for lettuce and tomato plants. Each year, the garden looked pretty much the same.

Looking at it from a different perspective, a vegetable garden can not only provide a feast for the dinner table but also a treat for the eyes and an enjoyable place to spend an afternoon. A few changes in the the garden can make it far more visually interesting.

Instead of planting a row of lettuce, try planting lettuce in one or more blocks. Start by preparing a seed bed, and raking the soil to break up any clumps. Next, scatter the lettuce seed across the bed, then cover lightly with soil. As the lettuce sprouts, any plants that are too close together can be thinned out and used as baby greens for a salad.

To make a lettuce bed even more attractive, mix several varieties of lettuce seeds together before planting. A mixed bed of green leaf and red leaf lettuce is almost too beautiful to eat. Rather than making just one lettuce bed for the garden, make it even more interesting by planting a triangular lettuce bed in each corner of the garden. Wouldn’t that be pretty?

Some crops, such as peas and beans, are more manageable if planted in rows. But you can produce a larger crop if two rows are planted closely together. Begin by making two shallow trenches for the seeds, about six inches apart. Plant both rows at the same time, but stagger the seeds within the rows.

You can also double up with some crops. Plant pole bean seeds right along with corn seeds, then plant squash or pumpkins between the rows. These crops grow well together and were referred to by Native Americans as the Three Sisters. The pole beans will climb up the corn stalks, while the squash vines will sprawl among the plants. The beans will help replace some of the nitrogen that corn plants use so hungrily, and the squash vines will shade the earth and keep down weeds. The prickly squash vines will also deter hungry raccoons from stealing your sweet corn. Maybe…

Onions, garlic, and short marigolds make a great border around the edge of the garden or groups of plants. Add other flowering annuals here and there among the vegetable plants too. Not only will it make the garden more beautiful, but flowering plants will also attract beneficial insects and pollinators to your garden. Mix it up a little and have fun with your vegetable garden!

Save the date for the Master Gardener Annual Plant Sale Saturday morning, May 11 (the day before Mother’s Day) at Lytle Park in Mattoon, featuring a large variety of herbs, peppers, tomatoes, native flowers, and a sales table with gently used gardening items and books. There will be other vendors, also.

If you have questions about your garden or landscape, contact us at the University of Illinois Extension office in Mattoon at 217-345-7034 or online at forms.illinois.edu/sec/1523725.

Be sure to visit U of I Extension’s website extension.illinois.edu/ccdms, like the Master Gardeners’ Facebook page @ColesCountyMasterGardeners and Master Naturalist Facebook page @Praire’sEdgeMasterNaturalists.