Devised from the late Jacob R. Mittleider, a former nurseryman and international agricultural consultant, the Mittleider Method reportedly makes growing vegetables simpler in areas that lack decent gardening room or rich soil. Under this system, the plants grow vertically rather than horizontally, in close quarters, while being heavily watered and fertilized. Even though the method originally called for enclosed raised beds, filled with an inert medium, such as sawdust and sand, it also can be performed on freestanding raised beds of garden soil.
Making Your Eyes
After choosing a level area that gets full sun all day, mark out your lawn bed with posts and cotton string. Make it 18 inches wide and 30 feet long — or your favorite span — and have it run from north to south. After splitting up the ground of this plot to a depth of 1 foot, form a level mound 8 inches high and 18 inches wide on top of it, with soil from outside the marked area. When the increased bed is finished, mix forks to the mound, with 1 ounce of pre-planting mix and 1/2 ounce of planting mix for each and every foot of this bed’s span. The pre-planting mix should contain 5 lbs of lime — or gypsum for low-rainfall places — combined with 4 ounces of Epsom salt and one ounce of borax. The planting mix should mix 6 lbs of a 16-16-16 granular fertilizer with 1 pound of Epsom salt, 2 1/2 ounces of a micronutrient mix and one teaspoon of borax.
Banking On It
Using a rake or hoe, pull soil back in the center of the bed to form a 4-inch-high and 4-inch-wide ridge all around the borders of the bed, positioning the crests of the ridges only below the strings. If this is done correctly, the crests of the ridges should be 8 inches higher than the ground beyond the bed, and also the center 1 foot width of the bed ought to be flat and approximately 4 inches lower than the ridges which surround it. If you would like to have more than 1 bed, leave 3-foot aisles between them.
Vegging Out
When planting seeds or seedlings, make two rows of narrow-growing types — like carrots (Daucus carota) and corn (Zea mays) — near the ridges on either side. For broader varieties, like broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. Italica) and peppers (Capsicum annuum), use double rows also, but alternate the plants so they’re not directly contrary to each other. Large or climbing vegetables, like squash (Cucurbita pepo) and tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum), ought to be implanted in one row down the center of the bed with a 10-foot stake sunk 1 1/2 feet to the ground between each two plants. The recommended spacing of the seedlings varies from 1 inch for radishes (Raphanus sativus) to 21 inches for big squashes, with indeterminate tomatoes being put 9 inches apart and determinate tomatoes 14 inches apart.
Water and Food
Just after placing your vegetables in place, fertilize them with 1/4 ounce of 46-0-0 urea fertilizer per foot of bed. Sprinkle the fertilizer in a direct line down the center of the space between the rows or at least 4 inches in the plants’ stems. After attaching a large rag to the end of your garden hose to decrease the water pressure, then flood the apartment growing region of the bed with 1 inch of water. Continue to provide the plants 1 inch of water a day in the morning, except if it rains enough to water the region. Feed them once a week, only before you water them, using 1/2 ounce of this planting mix for each 1 foot of this bed’s length and applying it in the exact same manner you did the urea. Should you prefer to use organic fertilizers, work a 1/2-inch layer of compost or composted manure into the ground before you put the atom inside it, and add a second 1/4 inch every two weeks.