In lieu of the standard 20 foot rows with 2-4 feet between rows, Mel advocates planting in 4 foot square blocks with permanent pathways between the blocks. Planting takes place in each 4 foot square main block based on what will fit into each of the 16 sub blocks. The advantage of a 4 foot square is that you can reach into the center of it from any side and never tromp all over your freshly cultivated soil. Based on French intensive culture, Mel advocates a much closer spacing of plants than is typically recommended by seed companies. This means less space to be patrolled and kept up with.
Weeds are almost non-existent because of the close spacing.
You may not get the absolute maximum yield from each plant, but total yield overall is up because of the sheer number of plants in each block. For example, Mel suggests planting one pepper plant per 1 foot sub block. Therefore, if you planted an entire 4 foot main block in pepper plants you would have a total of 16 pepper plants. Another example, Mel suggests planting 9 spinach plants in each 1 foot sub block. Therefore, if you planted an entire 4 foot main block in spinach you would have 144 spinach plants.