Think you need chemicals to grow a super-productive garden? Think again! Here are 7 fantastic tips for maximizing your garden space and increasing the productivity of your garden using sustainable and organic methods.

Is it possible to achieve half a ton of delicious, organic vegetables from a 15 x 20′ garden plot? How about 100 lbs of ripe tomatoes from just a 100 square foot bed? Believe it or not, it is possible to achieve yields like this even from a very small amount of garden space.

What’s the secret?

Planning ahead! A garden plot is a living organism in it’s own right, and it may take some time and advance preparation to maximize your yields, but with the use of strategies like these, you can grow more food than you imagined in less space than you ever thought possible!

1. Build Up Your Soil

Expert gardeners agree that building up the soil is the single most important factor in pumping up yields. A deep, organically rich soil encourages the growth of healthy, extensive roots that are able to reach more nutrients and water. The result: extra-lush, extra-productive growth above ground.

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2. Round Out Your Beds

The shape of your beds can make a difference, too. Raised beds are more space-efficient if the tops are gently rounded to form an arc. A rounded bed that is 5 feet wide across its base, for instance, will give you a 6-foot-wide arc above it—creating a planting surface that’s a foot wider than that of a flat bed. That foot might not seem like much, but multiply it by the length of your bed and you’ll see that it can make a big difference in total planting area.

In a 20-foot-long bed, for example, rounding the top increases your total planting area from 100 to 120 square feet. That’s a 20 percent gain in planting space in a bed that takes up the same amount of ground space. Lettuce, spinach, and other greens are perfect crops for planting on the edges of a rounded bed.

3. Space Smartly

To get the maximum yields from each bed, pay attention to how you arrange your plants. Avoid planting in square patterns or rows. Instead, stagger the plants by planting in triangles. By doing so, you can fit 10 to 14 percent more plants in each bed.

Just be careful not to space your plants too tightly. Some plants won’t reach their full size—or yield—when crowded….

Check out the full article at RodalesOrganicLife.com for 4 more tips…