A website has published tips on how to optimise plant spacing to get the most out of the available space and minimise weeding.
This should also help to avoid having to thin out seedlings, meaning less work and more rewards.
Helium explained that to get the best out of small plots of beets, carrots, corn and Swiss Chard, the seeds should be inserted into well prepared ground.
This means turning the soil as deeply as possible and working in large amounts of compost and any required extra nutrients or additives, such as bone meal or sand.
Once this has been done, a loose layer of sifted compost should be added on top to a depth of about 1.5 inches.
A depression approximately the size of a tennis ball should be made in the top layer about six inches from the left corner of the plot, with another six inches to the right, with the process followed all the way across the bed.
Growers should then repeat the process below and above this line of holes, but position the depressions to form triangles with the original row.
The distance between holes should be changed depending on the seed packet instructions, with gardeners using the thinning distance as a guide.
Three seeds should be placed in each depression and covered with potting compost. The weaker two seedlings can be removed once they sprout, leaving a well-spaced plot with little waste.
Meanwhile, anewscafe.com has explained how gardeners can create eco-friendly, attractive gardens by ditching their lawns in favour of plants.