Hi Dan, looks like you're from my neck of the woods!
I plant some things like root crops and garlic in blocks, but a lot of my decisions are based on plant soil/water requirements, size etc.
I have a small area and rows would seriously reduce my planting space, as well as being just not my thing.
In my (totally unscientific) studies, a variety of complimentary plants grown together seem to do better than when they're segregated.
Maybe compromise and plant in blocks?
I find, say, carrots too much of a pain to grow purposely among other species, although since I save seed, I get all sorts of things popping up everywhere.

g'day dan,

for me straight row beds seems to make better use of space when wanting to grow enough.

new home so new beds going in this time full width corrugated roofing as edges to cut down on stooping. so far working well.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens straw bale garden

Different crops have different harvest times, and different requirements. Better to keep the mixing to the flower garden. Of course, there's not reason why you can't plant flowers in the veggie garden for a little color.

Depends on what you are planting.
Put Corn or potatoes in rows, that for blocks.
You can mix carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, lettuce and other in in varied locations just be sure the soil is prepared for them and that they get along fine, especially when the get large.

I put my chiles and tomatoes all over the garden as space allows.

dan nz, I have to put in a second garden for my daughter & have ask myself the same question.
Maybe a 12'x12'/4m X4m deck in the middle of the garden with grapes,blackberry vines around the edge. then put in bed /rows for perennial vegetables, then beds for annuals vegetables. Larger fruit tree on the side of the main garden.

Cool, thanks everyone, still a little inconclusive. Might just have to do my own experiment.

I like rows myself...especially if you are doing a serious garden of much size.

Remember to plant the taller plants to the north so they don't shade the shorter plants, unless you purposely want keep some crops from getting sunscald.

I intermix, but I garden in raised beds (ie, I have a lot of beds but limited space to grow in each.) It might not make sense in very large spaces to intermix. For me, I use the shade of a tall plant to keep my lettuce slightly cooler on hot days. I use my beans to trellis my tomatoes for me (they wrap around the tomato plant and hold it up.) I plant cool season crops and warm season crops in the same space (I have figured out the timing, more or less... for example, I grew carrots, lettuce and beets in the spring in a space that is now overrun by tomatoes and cantaloupes. When the carrots and beets were getting large, my warm season crops were seedlings.)

I think your answer could depend on who is the gardener in your family... you or your wife? Who is taking the time to garden, weed, harvest, etc? Also, how big is your space?

Possibly worth bringing up this post again -

I have two raised garden beds and intermix plants, with an eye not to put competetive plants or plant enemies close to each other. I find the plants are bigger, healthier and support each other, providing shaded soil and leaves, and planting closely provides weed suppression.

Given that I'm in a hot dry climate, it makes sense. Plant further apart when you need to catch every ray.

I find that I have fewer pests when I plant like nature and less like a clinical trial. It It's no good for commercial or large scale, but feeds hubby and I to repletion.

Herbs, flowers and veg, all intermixed. When something goes or is harvested, I feed that area and put compost and/or manure there and plant in something else that would likely follow if I were doing rotation.

Rows just give the caterpillars and slugs a good 'Roman Road' to follow, munching all the way!

Intermixing brings all the predatory species that clear up the pests right into the area that they're wanted instead of being somewhat close-ish.

It works for me in my area!

Caterpillars and slugs don't follow roads. In my mind, intermixing just complicates harvest and care. You're out to harvest from a particular variety, and maybe inspect that variety for suspected problems. Now, where in the world is that plant hiding? I guess I could understand intermixing on a very small scale, but not on a larger one.

'Caterpillars and slugs don't follow roads.' No, but they do follow rows. They'll go from one favourite plant to the next, so if there is a row they'll just keep chomping along it. Many a time I've had a line of lettuce, pea or bean seedlings demolished in a single night. Intermixing at least keeps them working for their dinner as they have to go off and find the next meal. It doen't necessarily mean one plant here and another over there. I often do a few square feet of one crop interspersed with another. But all my gardening is done by hand. If you are using mechanical equipment rows would be best.

I don't have slugs, but my cats go left and right and up and down. They will cross rows with abandon. For them, it's more about which leaves are touching, and my rows aren't all that far apart, so leaf touching is just as likely within rows as across rows.

Goodness floral, you could have a snail harvest and sell live escargot at the market with those things! I used to get snails sometimes in one of the places I used to live, but they stayed tiny like my pinky nail.

My squirrels, possums and raccoons would eat those (as well as my crops). Now, they don't eat in straight lines. They bounce around to whatever is ripe.