This is really just an extension of intercropping. With intercropping, you tuck faster-growing plants near vegetables that will mature much later in the season, such as seeding spinach under tomato plants. Many fast growers, such as lettuce, can be used as cover crops, too. However, you’ll have to keep reseeding as you harvest or you’ll be left with the bare ground again. Instead of a temporary fix, vegetable gardens can be mulched with long season plants or even with non-aggressive perennials. While there will be some competition for water and nutrients whenever two plants are grown in close proximity, this should not be a problem if you have good, rich soil and you are making sure your vegetable garden is getting regular water. Learn more about several edible plants that you can use as ground covers. Once again, space-challenged gardeners tend to shy away from this approach, because it uses too much precious real estate. But if you let them sprawl under tomatoes or around Brussels sprouts, you won’t lose much. This can be a bit tricky with really enthusiastic vines, so your best bet would be to stick with cucumbers or melons that have smaller leaves and shorter vines. You don’t want them to spread so much that you can’t reach the other vegetables in order to harvest them. And you will need to make sure they don’t try to climb your tomatoes, smother them, or pull them down.
