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cherishedtiger
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Garden attempt #3

Ok, so I posted pics of my second garden which flopped... so I am onto garden #3, this time its a raised one, 12".
So now I am running into the issue of planting what where and do I actually have enough room?!?!
Garden is 6'X6'

I am planting:
Corn
Strawberries
Spinach
Bell Peppers
Carrots
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Green Beans
Zucchini
Winter Squash

Yeah A LOT I know... But I was thinking since I have Vine type I can let them grow over the sides of the raised bed and put a nice layer of compost or hay to soften on the ground... and well green beans grow up, corn only 5 or so stalks or so there... ideas?? Anyone?? :oops:

DoubleDogFarm
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It's like everyone into the pool. :lol:

Corn is wind pollinated, so a block of four rows is better. You could do it buy hand. Beans will climb the corn.

Put all the heat lover along the south facing edges. Shortest to tallest working north.

Plant the strawberries in containers.

It's a start.

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cherishedtiger
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HAHAHA! I love the everyone in the pool comment! That is the best! So, ok strawberries out and into a planter of their own, love it!
Green beans climbing up the corn... do I want that? Is it ok or should this be avoided...
Got the corn taken care of... :wink:
Sorry for so many questions, the only gardener in the family, my mom has since passed away and that woman would have had this planted perfectly... :cry:

Thank you again for all and any help!

cynthia_h
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Can you reach in 3' from each side to work the middle plants? All the effort of making a raised bed is worthwhile *if* you only do it once and never step on the ground again. That way, the roots can breathe and weeds can be removed easily; water can find the roots easily, etc.

Most raised-bed proponents recommend 4' or a max. (Jeavons) of 5' for the width of a bed. 6' might work if you're a tall man with a good reach, but most women and many men would have difficulty working with plants this far from the edge of the planting space.

You can plant seeds much more closely in raised, intensively grown beds than you can in traditional American rows, but they need intensive care, too. Not having to walk up and down huge, long rows helps a lot in this intensive care, though! :D

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

DoubleDogFarm
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Cythia,

I'm with you on the width, I like 3ft even better. I also ignore most recommended plant spacing.

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rainbowgardener
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You didn't say where in California; California covers a lot of territory and different climates.

If you are in Southern Calif. it may be a bit late already to plant the spinach especially and maybe the carrots. Both of those are cool weather crops that can be planted as soon as the soil can be worked. The carrots hang in there through heat better than spinach, though. As soon as it gets really warm, the spinach tends to bolt (go to seed) and be done. You might want to wait on that and plant some in Sept or October for a fall crop.

Corn, beans, and squash are the traditional "three sisters." Native Americans grew them so that the beans used the corn as a pole/trellis to grow up and the squash filled in all the spaces in between. To do that you need to plant the corn first. When corn sprouts are about 2" high plant a few beans around each one. When the bean sprouts are a few inches high, plant some squash in the spaces. But to do that you would need at least 4x4' of your space.

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cherishedtiger
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See this is why I love you all!!! I am in Sacramento Ca... right in the middle of the valley... so you are probably right, after this cold snap it will start to warm up quite a bit... may save the spinach and winter squash for later (yay more room!!)
A lot of this is soo an experiment, going to throw some things here some things there, let the vines grow over the side as its only 12"tall, not doing too much corn, so my husband made me a trellis for the beans, which with that and the corn will shade or typically HOT bedroom window this summer!
But seriously all the ideas are getting my brain going and so helping me to see what needs to go where or when and most importantly WHY!!!

Thank you again!!! :D

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rainbowgardener
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Well you may have a mis-apprehension about the winter squash. Winter squash is not "winter" because you grow it in winter. It is a squash, it likes to grow in warm weather. Plant it once the soil is all warmed up in May or early June. But it is a slow grower. It will grow all season and be ready to harvest in October or so, when the frosts come. But it is hard shelled and keeps for a really long time, so you can EAT it in winter.

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cherishedtiger
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Yeah no, I was told not to plant it right now, but to wait until a little later in the season. So I figure about like you said, and it should be good.
Especially here in Sacramento, gets warm, stays warm....

Joyfirst
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So we can put winter squash now in?

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rainbowgardener
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I can't, but you in Southern California probably can.

Here's a planting schedule for zone 9 -10, which likely includes you

https://www.thevegetablegarden.info/resources/planting-schedules/zones-9-10-planting-schedule



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