I'm confused. In row planting, do you plant rows that run north to south, or do you plant taller plants to the north and successively shorter plants to the south (in which case the rows HAVE TO run east to west)?
I have a 16 by 11 foot space (the longer dimension runs east to west) that is bordered on the north by a 6 foot privacy fence and on the east by the house in which I want to plant 6 tomatoes, 4 sweet peppers, 1 row each of lettuce and carrots, 2-3 cukes (maybe trellised on the fence?), 2 eggplants, and maybe some spinach (interplanted with the carrots?) Does this sound like enough room if I build in 18 inch walkways between the rows?
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St. Louis gardener
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rainbowgardener
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There's been a bit of discussion of row orientation around here. Basically, if your garden is in full sun through the summer, it may not matter too much, but north -south running rows may give some advantage:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=124357&highlight=direction+rows#124357 (scroll down to the middle of the page for a discussion of row orientation)
However your plot sounds like it is shaded on two sides. So you need to watch and see what area gets the most sun. Tomatoes, peppers, etc need at least 6 hrs of direct sun a day. The lettuce, spinach and carrots can do with less. However, lettuce and spinach are cool weather crops that tend to bolt as soon as it gets hot. Where you are in Missouri, it may already be a bit late for planting them (carrots would still be ok). You could wait and plant them at the end of summer, for a fall crop.
If you did run your rows north and south, you could do 3' wide raised rows with 18" walkways between them and basically have three 11' x 3' plots with 4 walkways. That should be plenty of space for the warm weather parts of what you were talking about. The 6 tomato plants would be one of those beds. The four peppers would be half of another one. Then you would have 1.5 of those raised rows/ beds left for carrots, cukes and eggplants. I've never grown eggplant, but it sounds workable to me. Question is just does it all get enough sun for all those full sun veggies.
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=124357&highlight=direction+rows#124357 (scroll down to the middle of the page for a discussion of row orientation)
However your plot sounds like it is shaded on two sides. So you need to watch and see what area gets the most sun. Tomatoes, peppers, etc need at least 6 hrs of direct sun a day. The lettuce, spinach and carrots can do with less. However, lettuce and spinach are cool weather crops that tend to bolt as soon as it gets hot. Where you are in Missouri, it may already be a bit late for planting them (carrots would still be ok). You could wait and plant them at the end of summer, for a fall crop.
If you did run your rows north and south, you could do 3' wide raised rows with 18" walkways between them and basically have three 11' x 3' plots with 4 walkways. That should be plenty of space for the warm weather parts of what you were talking about. The 6 tomato plants would be one of those beds. The four peppers would be half of another one. Then you would have 1.5 of those raised rows/ beds left for carrots, cukes and eggplants. I've never grown eggplant, but it sounds workable to me. Question is just does it all get enough sun for all those full sun veggies.
One thing you can do is look at how the sun moves across your garden patch. Next, consider having the lower plants in the front and the taller ones in the back if you are going to run your rows perpendicular to the sun. If you plan on having your rows run "in line" with the sun's rays, you will probably be safe however you plant, but do consider if you have any trees or buildings that will block out the sun in certain spots. You don't want to plant tomatoes where there is going to be partial shade, save that area for the lettuce.
In the end, it all comes down to making sure that all of the plants get the sun they need and do not shade out any of the other ones (unless, of course, they can tolerate some shade like lettuce, spinach, beets, etc.)
Every lighting situation is different so you will just have to find out what works best for you.
Good luck.
In the end, it all comes down to making sure that all of the plants get the sun they need and do not shade out any of the other ones (unless, of course, they can tolerate some shade like lettuce, spinach, beets, etc.)
Every lighting situation is different so you will just have to find out what works best for you.
Good luck.
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St. Louis gardener
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Thanks for the replies. Last year, albeit a very mild summer in STL, I was able to plant head and romaine lettuce on the south end with the carrots (rows east to west), and they did fine until August. This year may be another story, so I'm going to try planting the lettuce in the shade of the tomatoes, and some in another patch on the other side of the yard that gets even less sun. I'll let you know what happens.
The larger 16 by 11 patch gets sun all afternoon, so I think my tomatoes will by OK. Last year they were on the west side, and by July were shading the peppers to their east, so that's why I thought to plant them closer to the east side this year (though not right up against the house) and the peppers to their south. Then mid size plants in the middle, and the shortest crops like carrots on the west side.
One other question: last year my carrots were pretty stubby, which I attributed to planting them too close together. But someone told me I should add sand to my clay-y soil for them. I lightened the soil considerably with mulch/compost this year, but will sand really help my carrots find their true potential? If so, how much should I add to the soil I backfill into the trench?
The larger 16 by 11 patch gets sun all afternoon, so I think my tomatoes will by OK. Last year they were on the west side, and by July were shading the peppers to their east, so that's why I thought to plant them closer to the east side this year (though not right up against the house) and the peppers to their south. Then mid size plants in the middle, and the shortest crops like carrots on the west side.
One other question: last year my carrots were pretty stubby, which I attributed to planting them too close together. But someone told me I should add sand to my clay-y soil for them. I lightened the soil considerably with mulch/compost this year, but will sand really help my carrots find their true potential? If so, how much should I add to the soil I backfill into the trench?