. If you are prepared to use high-quality soil, and water frequently, a raised bed will allow you to keep your vegetables spaced closer together. This makes it harder for weeds to compete, and the raised level may make weeds easier to spot as well.  Plants warm up more quickly in a raised bed. This is an advantage in many climates, but if the climate is on the hot side for your vegetables, consider digging a lowered bed instead. Sometimes referred to as intensive planting, keeping vegetables closer together gives weeds less room to grow. However, spacing is limited by your soil quality, watering frequency, and vegetable variety. You can often plant vegetables a couple inches (a few centimeters) closer than recommended on the seed packet, but it's best to attempt this by planting slightly closer each year, reversing the practice if the vegetables fail to grow quickly and healthily. Try looking up your vegetable's recommended spacing if using a raised bed. Due to the trapped heat in the soil, this method is only recommended for certain vegetables, such as tomato, pepper, eggplant, cucumber, melon, or squash. Lay a covering of black plastic over the soil in your vegetable garden prior to planting. Cut out holes where the vegetable  plants will grow through the plastic.  Keep an eye out for aggressive weeds that may continue to grow under the plastic or through the holes for the vegetable plants. Plastic will not decompose, and must be thrown away after the growing season. Alternatively, you can use black landscaping fabric. This allows water to penetrate down into the soil and is reusable.
Build a raised garden bed Reduce plant spacing. Use plastic mulch for certain crops.