5 Vegetable Garden Tips for an Abundant Harvest

Choosing the Plants and Space

• If you want to get the most from your garden, especially if you have limited space, pay close attention to how you use your space and what plant varieties you grow. Choose a vegetable variety with proven high yield that uses less space so you can grow more crops in a smaller space. Devise ways to stake or trellis vining crops like tomato, squash and pole beans so you have more ground space. Plant your ground crops in well-drained soil in a sunny location with at least six hours of sunlight per day. Read the plant label for instructions on planting in full or part sun, so your plants have the optimal growing conditions and will produce a higher yield.

Use the Entire Growing Season

• Make the most of your growing season, which varies by location. In California, for instance, planting a spring, summer and fall crop gives you three crops from the same space. Rotate crops closely. Grow spring lettuce, then replace it with summer green beans and spinach for the fall. Read seed or plant labels so you know how many days to maturity you have before harvest so you can properly time planting.

Nourish Your Plants

• Giving your vegetable plants a balance of nutrients increases their yield and improves the plant's health. Use organic or natural methods like compost or rotted horse or cow manure for an eco-friendly and safe nutrient amendment. Apply the fertilizer every few weeks or so, depending on your plant's needs. Over-fertilizing can burn your plants and lower crop yield. Apply compost in a thin layer tilled into the topsoil, or add several spoonfuls to water for a compost tea, applying it weekly.

Raised Beds

• Raised beds let you plant earlier in the season because the soil is off the ground and a bit warmer, which means plants can establish their root systems before intense heat sets in, improving their yield and the plant's overall health. Raised beds also cut down on weeds, a major crop yield hindrance. You also don't need to plant in rows, so you can cover the bed with crops, which further cuts down on weeds.

Pruning and Weeds

• Pinching and pruning your plants controls their growth and crop yield. When plants grow excess foliage, they reduce the number of flowers and fruit they produce. When they grow less fruit, they typically compensate with larger-sized fruit. Pinch off flowers and some leaves from your plants to increase crop yield with larger vegetables. Pinch foliage growth buds between your fingernail and thumb. Pinch off one-third to one-half of the flowers as they appear on your plants. Pinch off small, deformed, crowded or diseased fruit and any neighboring foliage touching the remaining fruit.