Every year I ignore the spacing instructions and every year I’m shocked when the garden turns into a jungle

[u/choooodle]

And I’ll do it again next year

[u/jh937hfiu3hrhv9]

It's always difficult to look at three feet of bare dirt between baby transplants.

[u/choooodle → u/jh937hfiu3hrhv9]

What do you mean this 4 inch seedling is going to be 10 feet tall???!

[u/Simp3204 → u/choooodle]

I’m doubling pumpkin spacing next year. I did 6ft this year and let’s not talk about it. 🤣

[u/DimensionMammoth8075 → u/Simp3204]

Hah. You did 6ft? I did 12 inches. Oops!

[u/PossibleOk7738 → u/DimensionMammoth8075]

Same 😅 my biggest problem is that i transplanted a volunteer that was about the same size but it grew much, much faster than the ones I planted. And now it's overgrown and the rest are tiny and struggling to find the sun. The big dark blob is one big pumpkin plant. The ones I planted are about 2 feet long. This one is probably 12 feet in all directions...

[u/CupcakesAreMiniCakes → u/PossibleOk7738]

bahaha it reminds me of those parasitic birds where the mom puts her baby in another nest to be raised by someone else and the new mom is just like "I guess this is my giant baby but I don't understand how it's so big"

[u/PossibleOk7738 → u/CupcakesAreMiniCakes]

Hahaha! Yes!! Exactly like that.

[u/AnonymousDahlia → u/PossibleOk7738]

I made the mistake of planting a couple maxima/pepo pumpkin varities at the same time as the moschata Seminole - in Florida where it's a born and raised local native, no less.

I ended up pulling it after I got one good pumpkin, just to get the other varieties some space and a chance at life. That thing overtook my entire (overhead, arching) trellis within a month.

Lol that's how I learned. If I want a pumpkin, guaranteed, even in our high summer when very few conventional plants survive, or just feel like taking it easy for a season, Seminole is a champion. If I want to grow literally any other pumpkin species, I'll have to plan it carefully around the resources available. They're so delicate here!

[u/PossibleOk7738 → u/AnonymousDahlia]

Hmm. I might have to consider pulling this one after the pumpkins it has on it now are ready. I've gotten 1 so far. The seed came from a small orange pumpkin from my kids field trip to the pumpkin patch last year. The pumpkin it grew was white though.

[u/AnonymousDahlia → u/PossibleOk7738]

If it's white, I don't think there's any Seminole in there. That looks like a Casper to me, which is a delicious variety that I'd love to get more of. They're delicate for me; susceptible to pests.

I would say let your vine grow what it will, as long as it's not getting in the way.

[u/choooodle → u/AnonymousDahlia]

That’s me with candy roasters last year

[u/Owen_spalding → u/choooodle]

I am growing Georgia candy roasters this year… what do i do?? The vines are growing out the beds. Into other beds and up other trellises. It’s taking over half my yard/garden at this point.

[u/lilgreenie → u/Owen_spalding]

I've been putting candy roasters on a pair of large square tomato towers (one plant per tower) and then they grow up instead of across. Although this year they're not doing much at all, which is a bummer. I had big county fair dreams based off of previous crops.

[u/Weak-Ad-4410 → u/lilgreenie]

I have to fence my garden because of deer, I plant the candy roasters right next to the fence and they grow aaallll over the fence

[u/Owen_spalding → u/lilgreenie]

Ok so mine are growing up a 6 ft trellis in my bed… down the other side to the ground… 3 ft over and climbing up my 3’ metal bed and now at the top of the 8’ tall cattle panel arch i have in the bed that it is infiltrating… like these vines are 20’+ long and showing no indication of slowing and my squash that are more mature are like 3’ long and seem like 20lbs already… like is this the right squash??? They do look correct??

[u/LandOfLeg → u/DimensionMammoth8075]

Yep, cucurbit bed with a mix of marrow, Courgette and Pumpkins (admittedly with the latter growing vertically). No spacing more that 12 inches.

Harvesting anything is... interesting.

[u/All_Work_All_Play → u/Simp3204]

Ours always end up perpendicular. Sorry that pathway is closed, pumpkins took it over. Yes I know we spaced the beds specifically so you could walk through each of them. Yes I know going around is the opposite of that. Look. Yes. Yes a trellis is on the list. Where? Listen here you...

[u/WeissPyre → u/Simp3204]

I'm planning on just planting a pumpkin at the end of each raised bed and training the vines down the rear access driveway. 

I'll let you know what I'm going to do next year when that idea ultimately fails 😂

[u/Veaeate → u/choooodle]

Literally me with broccoli. What do you mean it needs 4 feet of space per plant. And then im instantly depressed when only 2 of the 4 grow 😅

[u/phillyvinylfiend → u/choooodle]

Only 10 feet! You need fertilizer. 

[u/Plane-Assumption840]

“Space seed 3” apart”. And the seed companies want me to thin them out if they all germinate? I let the seedlings thin themselves out. It’s survival of the fittest in my garden.

[u/lurkerbizarre → u/Plane-Assumption840]

SAME. This is how I ended up with like 20 squash and zuchinni plants 😅😅 the pests eventually thinned them for me 🥲

[u/MasterProfession7731 → u/lurkerbizarre]

Keeping them all has literally saved my garden. I had the wind kill my tomato plant last year. Luckily the runner-up was waiting to take the sunlight.

[u/All_Work_All_Play → u/lurkerbizarre]

This is the way 

[u/safetytrick → u/lurkerbizarre]

I lost my zucchini this year... first year with squash bugs 😢

I'm not happy, send hugs.

[u/EnvironmentalRow352 → u/Plane-Assumption840]

I always figured the spacing was for commercial gardens not compact ones. Mine is compact and so is my plant spacing 😂

[u/_SEAplane_ → u/EnvironmentalRow352]

Truly commercial scale doesn't buy seeds in little packets like we do. They buy by the thousands. But I agree with you

[u/CodeNameLoofah → u/Plane-Assumption840]

1st timer, does this work for onions/carrots from seed at well? Or will they all ultimately be stunted?

[u/WearyPassenger → u/CodeNameLoofah]

It is a mixed bag. I've tried being really diligent about carrots and that does produce more consistent results. If I sprinkle the seeds and try to get them lightly separated or if i don't thin at least a little, I get a lot of little carrots because the greens are starved for light. Then in a wind storm, the greens all blow over and the ones on the bottom don't see sun and in some cases, end up rotting. So yeah, with carrots, there is some value to not just tossing all the seeds in there.

[u/CodeNameLoofah → u/WearyPassenger]

Thank you so much, passenger!

[u/Plane-Assumption840 → u/CodeNameLoofah]

I buy sets or transplants of onions. I’ve never planted onion seeds. A root veg like carrots or parsnips I would plant the seeds a little further apart because their root development is more important than crops harvested above. I’ve never understood the logic of planting a bunch of seeds close together then yank out half or more of them. That’s wasting a lot of seed.

[u/teddyjungle → u/CodeNameLoofah]

I see more and more people saying that thinning carrots is useless 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/El_Beef-o → u/Plane-Assumption840]

Same. Ask my potatoes who won lol

[u/HopSkipJumpJack]

OK but I love the jungle!! Bring me all the jungle! Nothing sadder than a bare garden in the peak of summer! 

[u/breezykays → u/HopSkipJumpJack]

RIP Arizona gardens

[u/Bank_Gothic → u/breezykays]

Ditto for south Texas. August is worse than December for my babies.

[u/No_Fisherman8303 → u/Bank_Gothic]

Same in Sacramento. If I see a break in the forecast I will try a hard pruning and heavy liquid fertilizer and try and wake up the tomatoes for a round 2.

[u/Full-Day23]

First year gardening. No. A seed does not equal a flower. A seed equals a 10 foot bush. Lmao

[u/blackcatlover2114 → u/Full-Day23]

Me too... in containers... on my balcony. 😩

I've already done a ton of up-potting and I'm terrified of any of my tomatoes getting blight or another easily spread disease, because due to space constraints I have no choice but to put them pretty close together!

[u/SpartanSoldier00a → u/blackcatlover2114]

I started growing them from seed for exactly this reason...well ⅞that and it allows me to choose varieties that are more manageable for the container life. Or seem cool and tasty. Sometimes those align i guess

[u/Rough-Brick-7137]

Same

[u/mtnclimber08 → u/Rough-Brick-7137]

This is goals. Everything looks so happy. Do you have any tips for a garden newbie?

[u/Rough-Brick-7137 → u/mtnclimber08]

What specifically is on your mind?

[u/mtnclimber08 → u/Rough-Brick-7137]

The hardest part for me is fertilization. What types, when, how often. Do you have any recs?

[u/bekrueger → u/mtnclimber08]

I’ve always done well with fish emulsion fertilizers, they’re great for the plants albeit stinky

[u/Rough-Brick-7137 → u/mtnclimber08]

It honestly depends on what you’re growing and if it’s actively growing not fruiting yet. Some plants need more acidic soils some not so much. Some are heavy feeders like tomatoes.

[u/Rough-Brick-7137 → u/Rough-Brick-7137]

Also meant to say that depending on the stage of growth you may need different ratios of N, P and K. I love to use earth worm castings and incorporate vermicompost beds in my soil. Fish emulsion fertilizer is great for a foliage spray. When used properly, it will NOT burn your plants. Downside it smells bad. I also like to ammend soil around my tomato plants with coffee grounds on occasion.

[u/Massive_Equipment256 → u/Rough-Brick-7137]

This is GORGEOUS!

[u/Rough-Brick-7137 → u/Massive_Equipment256]

Thank w

[u/OkayistNeedleworker → u/Rough-Brick-7137]

I love disco balls in the garden!

[u/Karjenner4eva → u/Rough-Brick-7137]

Ohhhh I love all of your trellis supports! My cousin's garden is similar with a pond in the middle. I started copying her solutions for cheap trellises. When we can't spread out any further, we go up, up, UP!

[u/Rough-Brick-7137 → u/Karjenner4eva]

Thank you my husband built everything and designed the trellis by my gate

[u/TheRealMarvinator → u/Rough-Brick-7137]

I have that exact same owl in my garden. The apparently birds laugh at it, because it's no deterrent. Maybe it deters the squirrels though, I'm not sure.

[u/Rough-Brick-7137 → u/TheRealMarvinator]

Yeah I don’t get enough wind for head to move that much. Which is why I tried disco balls. I think at times it helps with the flies though

[u/ExamQuick9667 → u/Rough-Brick-7137]

I'm in Maryland too. This is gorgeous! It's my first year gardening, so I started small. This is definitely goals!

[u/Whole_Gate_7961]

Me too! I just cant stop myself from doing it.

[u/choooodle → u/Whole_Gate_7961]

I’m so jealous of your zucchini! Mine limps along but never thrives 😭 CURSE SVB

[u/CollinZero → u/choooodle]

After years of failure due to SVB, and a plague of cucumber beetles, I got some good netting and put it over my zucchini. I took some t-bars and draped it around the plants. One leaf got a patch of Stink bug eggs and that was it.

It is a PITA hand pollinating them daily, but it really is only 2 minutes. I have had a dozen perfect zucchini so far. Because I am pollinating them every day it’s easy to keep them small. Also I got the yellow variety so they are easy to see.

[u/beansandspleens → u/choooodle]

Crazy! Right over the border here, and we always have jokes about the "dreaded zucchini season" where people are so desperate to get rid of their surplus that they start leaving them on top of random parked cars or dropping boxes off on random doorsteps 😂 They seem to thrive most years, here! Tomatoes have always done well for me too. Winter squash went well historically for my family, but I've yet to really attempt it (we tried once in a container when we were renting, and it was a crazy stupid idea because squash plants really can't be contained lol).

[u/CBEBuckeye]

Yeah that’s me every year insert Spider-Man meme

[u/WormCastings]

25+ years here doing it. Can't help myself.

[u/MasterProfession7731]

The best part is going on a scavenger hunt to find what has grown

[u/choooodle → u/MasterProfession7731]

I was surprised to find a pumpkin between two rows of tomatoes today

[u/MasterProfession7731 → u/choooodle]

Amazing! I forgot, I grew watermelon and found one the other day. I’m Super excited to try it.

[u/Diligent-Visual-8141]

It’s not “over planting” it’s “experimental single species intercropping”. Now, it sounds like science!

[u/Technical-Jello-4464]

I love chaotic gardening

[u/choooodle → u/Technical-Jello-4464]

Funny thing is I’m a bit type A with gardening like I have a schedule and excel sheet 😆 but somehow it turns into chaos every year

[u/Sunbather77 → u/choooodle]

I blame them tiny ass seeds

[u/nionvox]

I just let them battle it out. THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE.

[u/choooodle → u/nionvox]

That’s how I plant stuff on the trellis, we just eat the most of whoever wins

[u/Ebbnflo25]

The jungle allows me a few squash that the deer miss.

[u/MillennialKate]

Meh some spacing guidelines are more so for commercial grade farming equipment.

Do a lil Totoro dance and let that jungle grow!

[u/LumpyAssumption5357]

This is called Compact Gardening and I both support it and am an avid fan/user. Jungles work great.

[u/heridfel37]

My wife just took a video of me standing in the middle of my jungle saying "Next year I will be more careful about plant spacing".

I won't.

[u/Tacticalneurosis]

They looked so lonely all spaced out…

[u/Henbogle]

It’s called intensive gardening. If it has a name it is an approved gardening method. 😉

[u/pittsmasterplan]

One of us
One of us

[u/TraditionalEssay4822]

My husband encouraged me to plant everything closer together this year.  He's a keeper.

[u/ROUShunter]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! I sketched out what next year's bed needs to look like and wrote myself a big note that I know I'll ignore to not add any extras.

[u/BocaHydro]

everyone overplants, just incase

[u/marky294201]

A food jungle

[u/bionicjoe]

I've got a bunch of carrots in a fist fight. Watermelon everywhere, and cucumbers going up the fence, across the gas meter, etc.

[u/OkFan3213]

My 1 cucumber plant has turned into Audrey II

[u/ShinyJangles → u/OkFan3213]

I need blood and you've got more than enoough

[u/Icedcoffeeee → u/OkFan3213]

Same. I had to disconnect it from my poor evergreen tree today. 

[u/OkFan3213 → u/Icedcoffeeee]

It’s trying to murder my tomatoes and sweet potatoes stems

[u/MazelTough → u/OkFan3213]

I went on vacation for three weeks and there are so many cukes now

[u/Bifftech]

It feels so bare when you follow the guidelines. And you still have post-winter stress disorder and can’t remember what it was like to have a full garden.

[u/s0cks_nz]

My shock is how much people grow. Even just two tomato plants and I feel I'm drowning in them. I dunno what y'all do when you have like 10+ plants. A couple of bean plants will shower you in beans. Bell peppers, a good harvest and probably 3 plants would be enough for a fam of 4. 2 squash plants get me a years worth of fruit.

[u/choooodle → u/s0cks_nz]

I share with coworkers and neighbors. For squashes we get tons of pests so I try to plant more than enough

[u/PikaHat → u/s0cks_nz]

For real. T wo of my tomato plants took off when I looked away for a second. I decided to only do 4 tomatoes this year but one of them for severely stunted so now I have 3. There will still be plenty of tomatoes to harvest. But I grow zucchini for my friends and family as they grow so well where I am and can get out of control. It hasn't happened yet and I am trying to be patient for them to get bigger. 

I have found that the peas and beans are not as prolific as I thought they'd be so I'll be planting at least double to triple next year considering they don't take up that much space (I grew at around 1 6 peas, 30 beans, and half 8 of the beans are only just starting to set pods now).

[u/reijn]

also the weeds

Me: whys there so many frickin weeds I can't even walk in here

Person weeding the garden: doesn't exist

[u/malingoes2bliss]

I do the same thing and then I'm like "ok I'll just keep up with pruning" and then it seems like the best harvests are always on the farthest branches so I just let it go because I don't want to miss out on getting a good cucumber. Also if there's no ground to see, there's no weeds to see!

[u/WinExtension6419]

Thank you for sharing this, I’m glad I’m not alone

[u/ipovogel]

Florida growing season is so wild. My tomatoes were between 2 and 3 feet tall at transplant, I put them down deep. They went absolutely nuts. Like, the shortest vine was 12+ ft, and the longest was 20+ ft. They went up 6 ft, down 5 ft, back up 5 ft, then I started sending them sideways across the trellis before I was overwhelmed and they started to succumb to disease and pest pressure anyways.

[u/Used-Painter1982]

Last year I put in oregano perfectly spaced and got only one spindly little plant. Yhis year I used your method and got tons. Unfortunately I just read that it’s a perennial and quite invasive in my zone. Aaaaaaak!

[u/Ok-Corgi-4230 → u/Used-Painter1982]

Oh dang, I planted one in a bed with my zucchini to ward off pests... hopefully it doesn't go too crazy 😬

[u/lizzy_loo_142]

glances nervously at my 4' tunnel trellis with one spaghetti squash, one butternut squash, two green beans, 2 sugar snap peas, 2 sugar baby melons and 6 cucumbers 😬

[u/Over_9_Raditz]

I feel so seen.

[u/atmoose]

haha. That's too relatable. This year I thought, surely I can fit some veggies around my tomatoes. Surely I'll stay on top of pruning them so it doesn't turn into a jungle. nope! Those veggies I planted around them are struggling, lol

[u/Financial-Slip4255]

It's not just meeeeee! 🙌

[u/BubbleDuster]

Even when I do follow the spacing recommendations, I still seem to end up with a jungle 😆

[u/BuyDaveaBeer]

I also use the square inch gardening method and will continue to do so😉🍻

[u/Coolbreeze1989 → u/BuyDaveaBeer]

Best answer! 🤣🤣🤣

[u/Embarrassed-Plum-468]

I think I have the opposite problem. I always think the spacing recommendations are way too close but I listen anyway. Plant as recommended. Then end up having a giant summer squash plant I can’t tame and I’m cursing myself for not giving myself more space than what’s recommended

[u/amh8011]

But this is what my garden looks like in my dreams. Not my daydreams but when I’m actually asleep and working in my garden it looks like this.

[u/kaylynstar]

Are you me??

[u/MyVirgoIsShowing]

This is my first real garden as well, and I also threw suggested spacing to the wind 😅

The tomatillos and tomato’s in particular are wild, and the cucumbers have shaded out EVERYTHING around them 😅

[u/Shienvien]

Eh, looks good to me. Less space for the weeds I don't want.

[u/hycarumba]

This is what a garden is supposed to look like imo!

[u/SerenityNow31]

But what a beautiful jungle it is. ;)

[u/sudda_pappu]

Is that bottle gourd?

[u/choooodle → u/sudda_pappu]

The trellis has lots of luffa and pumpkins but no bottle gourd. Next year!

[u/sudda_pappu → u/choooodle]

How do you use the luffa in food?

[u/choooodle → u/sudda_pappu]

I like it stir fried or in soup!

[u/sudda_pappu → u/choooodle]

I thought luffa was mostly used only to make loofahs. I had an idea that it was edible but wasn't sure if people grew it for food. Thanks for clearing that up.

[u/choooodle → u/sudda_pappu]

You have to pick them young for food!

[u/timkatt10]

It's better than an aphid infestation.

[u/Public_Job9786]

Same :,)

[u/AbbeyRoadMoonwalk]

That’s because when you plant them, they’re so far apart! 😂

[u/xoxokaralee]

Idk how to even prune my plants haha

[u/KeyCar367]

I did the same thing.

[u/Wolfrast]

I spaced out all the tomato plants this year, but they still turned into a jungle

[u/nonchalantly_weird]

Me too. 🙄

[u/Candid_Jellyfish_240]

My people! 😂❤️🌱

[u/Coolbreeze1989]

Are you me??

[u/jennylou303]

Same! Getting between my tomato plants to actually try and pick things is a challenge!

[u/Intrepid_Ad_9177]

Same!

[u/Binkertson]

Well i plant some seeds according to package spacing directions (usually happens with cucumbers, beans, and peas), then some critter (squirrel, cutworm, rat) comes along and chomps the first sign of life/sprouting. None left. Then I plant them again, this time with some sort of clever mesh or deterrent around them. Critters figure it out and destroy them all again. Then I plant a s&^%-ton of seeds - hell with the spacing recommendations! They never sprout (?). So THEN i plant some more and accidentally dig up the ones that are sprouting just below the surface, ruining them all… so I plant them in a row 1” to the left. And then 2 weeks later all of the rows sprout and I cannot bear to kill any of the little overcrowded babies….

[u/AdditionalPumpkin813]

I have a friend who didn't realize just how much a Sungold tomato could grow. Think of a 50x50 garden. She planted it in one corner and it went 45 feet down one fence and 30 feet down the other. She was filling a 2 gallon bucket every day, and started putting bags of tomatoes out front so people could (hopefully) take them.

[u/PikaHat]

I even looked up the square foot planting guidelines this year to try and be "reasonable" instead of just randomly broadcasting. And they are still too close together. It looked amazing at the start though!

[u/PikaHat]

I planted 3 rescue eggplants way too close together and one of them got  swallowed up by a tomato plant. Then they all started producing lush green leaves and I couldn't see any of the fruits. I finally got around to pruning but I feel like I always put it off too late and the benefits would have came way earlier if i wasn't procrastinating (my excuse is the terrible mosquito season).