Q I’ve spaced out my cabbage and broccoli plants, but there’s a lot of unplanted soil between them. Can I use it to grow other plants?

A Interplanting – planting a fast-growing crop in between a slower-growing one – is an excellent way to use that unplanted space. It also boosts yields without expanding your garden. To use this technique, first plant a slower-growing, longer-season crop, such as onions, leeks, peppers, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, eggplant, or, as in this photo, corn using the standard recommended spacing. Then fill the space in between the slower-growing plants with fast-to-mature crops such as leaf lettuce, radishes, beets, bush beans, or spinach. The fast-growing crops will be ready for harvest by the time the slower-growing ones have grown large enough to need all the space.

Reprinted from The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book
Copyright 2008 by Barbara W. Ellis, with permission from Storey Publishing.

Photo credit: Pesticide Action Network