Radish Sprout

What do we love most about planting in beds? The scattershot seed planting method…or “scattersow.” With 52 beds to prep and till each spring, we sometimes lose patience for planting in neat rows. When the sun starts to set on Sunday afternoons, and we know we have to race for the train back to the city, we’ve been known to toss a handful of seeds into the breeze above a bed and hope for the best.

Maybe that’s not the most responsible method, but when you’re dealing with teeny tiny seeds like lettuce, spinach, radishes and carrots…it sure does save a lot of time.

The downside is that in order for this method to work best, we have to oversow to avoid any gaps. Which means that at some point a few weeks later we pay for our shortcut by having to thin our excess seedlings. That can be a waste – something we especially don’t like at The Beekman.

But we’ve learned a trick.

A few different types of companion plantings work great for scattersowing together. Especially radishes and carrots. Both are teensy seeds and are easy to mix together in hand and toss like grass seed on a bed. The great part is that the radishes sprout almost immediately, and are quick to grow. The carrots take much longer. So by the time the bed seems impossibly crowded, the radishes are ready to harvest and leave enough room behind for the carrots.

Not too close for comfort...yet.

Give it a shot. Let us know what you think. And if you have any of your own “scattersow” stories & tips, please share them below…