- The biointensive method of growing food was put forth by John Jeavons' in his book, "How to Grow More Vegetables...." Biointensive techniques revolve around creating sustainable ecological systems in a garden by employing double dug raised beds, composting, crop rotation, and using alternating, or hexagonal, spacing. Hexagonal spacing places plants as close together as possible, so when they are fully grown, the leaves from separate plants should just be touching. This creates a canopy that shades the soil, prevents weed seed from germinating, holds moisture, and utilizes the space efficiently.
- Hexagonal spacing is best employed in beds that are 3 to 5 feet wide. Plants are placed an equal distance away from each other in the shape of a hexagon with a plant in the middle. This method can also be understood as staggered or triangular planting. In other words, the plants from each row are staggered in relation to the previous row. This forms a triangular shape between any three adjacent plants. This method of spacing can be used with most vegetables and herbs.
- Hexagonal spacing is an effective way to grow basil and maximize production. Space basil at 6 inches, and transplant out a row of basil at the 6-inch interval, then stagger the next row so that all of the plants are 6 inches apart. The third row should be in line with the first row. This alternating pattern can be used throughout the whole bed. At first, it can be helpful to cut a stick to 6 inches to measure where to place each plant. Using this method, 621 plants can be placed in 100 square feet.
- Hexagonal spacing can also be utilized with companion planting. Companion planting is placing plants that will somehow benefit each other close together. A good companion for basil is tomato. In "How to Grow More Vegetables...," John Jeavons writes that tomato planted with basil can help detour flies and mosquitoes and improve flavor.
For basil and tomato companion planting, plant a row of basil at the 6-inch spacing. In the next row, alternate basil then tomato plants. The tomato plants in the second row will be approximately 12 inches apart. In the third row, plant just basil. In the fourth row, alternate tomatoes then basil. This pattern can be continued so that every odd row is just basil, while every even row is tomato and basil. If you imagine hexagonal shapes over this pattern, you will notice that the outer points are basil plants, and the center is the tomato.