Your Guide to Chaos Gardening: How to Use This Carefree Method

Chaos gardening is an easy, no-fuss method for using up leftover seeds that anyone can try. Instead of planting seeds in straight rows or carefully planned landscapes, you mix all your old seeds from previous seasons together, plant them, and see what grows. Unlike companion planting, in which certain crops are planted near each other to support better growth, chaos gardening is totally unplanned. In addition to helping you work through your seed stash, this gardening trend introduces excitement, surprise, and, well, chaos to your garden.

While the whole point of chaos gardening is to relax and have fun, a few simple tips can help you make the most of it. Read on for our guide to chaos gardening.

What Exactly Is Chaos Gardening?

Gardening experts, books, and instructions on seed packets typically encourage growers to plant the seeds for each crop together, with a certain amount of space between plantings. Those rules exist for a reason—planting seeds in uniform rows with the proper spacing creates the conditions for optimal growth—chaos gardening is all about throwing the rules out the window.