Garden Layout - HELP - ANOTHER NEW QUESTION (last post)

[SLC]

Brief history - just moved into a house last year so it was my first garden, and it turned out to be a disaster because of rain and not being able to start it until the end of June and then learning we are on marsh land. So this year my bf is building me a raised bed. It is very pretty - made with retaining wall blocks and he is making it perfect. BUT, he's not finished yet, so that is why I can't plant yet.

So I am getting a late start again, I know, but not nearly as late as last year! So I'm just gonna plant and see what happens. I should be able to get out there soon. Plus, all the seed packets say to start April-May for my area (Connecticut) so maybe it won't be that bad? I do have some seedlings already started that I will transplant. I am hoping he is done this weekend and that I can plant some seeds of peas, broccoli, lettuce, onions and potatoes (I also have some onions, broccoli and lettuce already started indoors, but I still need to harden off). I doubt I'll get to all of it since it's only gonna be like 50 during the day, and I hate being cold, but I will certainly try! And that of course is dependent on if he is even done.

Anyway, I have worked very hard on creating a layout so I have something to follow when I finally do get out there. I did research and asked questions on companion planting and how much room plants MUST have and if some can be closer together, etc. because I don't have much room. So this is what I came up with. The corn and green beans will all be planted directly in the ground when it warms up. Everything else not mentioned above (peppers, tomatoes, marigolds, cilantro, basil, celery and cucumbers) have all been started indoors, and I will transplant when it warms up. I also tried to list the type of vegetable and how it will be placed, etc.

I have also marked off the feet at the top and on the right side. The gridlines are marked off in 3 inch intervals (3 inches being light dotted lines, 6 inches being solid lines a little darker and the feet being marked off with darker solid lines. I put little dots where I was going to plant the seed or transplant. I tried to be very clear. (Apparently, yes, I have too much time on my hands! But I really don't!)

Please take a look and give me any advice if something should be moved or just can't be that close, etc. Or ask any questions! I am really trying to learn so next year I will have a fully functional garden!

Please note - it's quite large with small print, so you will have to click again to zoom in and move about the whole diagram. Thank you in advance!!!!



PS - Yes, I did this all by hand in Excel!

[jal_ut]

Nice garden plan. That is a lot of beans! If I were going to plant beans 6 inches apart, I would plant a part of the row all at one time. Plant 1/3 of the total row, then later another third, and later the last third, so that the beans next to each other will be the same age and not compete. Planting every third plant at different intervals, I believe the plants will be in too much competition and especially the last planting, the little guys will be over run.

Jade bush beans are excellent.

[jal_ut]

You can put potatoes 12 inches apart in rows 2 feet apart.

Try planting some radishes between the corn. They get ready quickly.

Onions for large bulbs should be planted 5 to 6 inches apart. For green onions, they can be quite close.

Hmmmm, if you decided you did not need so many beans, you could plant the red and yellow peppers along the path, over by the onions, then you would have room for a zucchini and a crookneck squash where those peppers are. Plant a hill of each with 4 seeds to a hill.

[nes]

" everything.

If you want to save seeds (and peppers are the easiest!) you'll want to move your bell peppers & hot peppers to opposite ends of the garden. This also helps with pests

You can do a few things to squish more plants into the space you've got by companion planting.

I do lots of beans too, and freeze lots for winter, succession planting is a great way to make sure you don't have a huge glut. Same with lettuce & peas and such.

I don't see any carrots, they don't take up a lot of room and something you may want to consider

[SLC]

Thanx for the feedback! I will plant the beans in groups as you suggested.

Can you not plant Jalapeno Peppers next to Bell Peppers? Please let me know, I will be transplanting soon and need to know what to do! If not, what can I plant the Jalepenos next to?

Also, I should have mentioned, I am only planting the vegetables that I actually like and will eat. Therefore, no carrots or squash for me! As it is, I don't like celery or cucumbers, BUT I will mince up the celery and put in my potato salad and macaroni salad and the cucumbers I want to try to pickle. And I don't like tomatoes either! But I plan to make pasta sauce and salsa (hence the cilantro and basil) with them. The rest I atually like!

Does anyone else have any feedback/suggestions, etc.? I can use all the help I can get!

[jal_ut]

Nes:

If you want to save seeds (and peppers are the easiest!) you'll want to move your bell peppers & hot peppers to opposite ends of the garden.

I wonder about this. Are you suggesting the peppers may cross? Pepper flowers are complete and they are self fertile, like tomatoes. A little shake from the breeze is all that is required to pollinate them. I have not noticed whether the bees work the pepper blossoms or not. If they do, moving the varieties 20 - 30 feet apart won't make any difference. Bees seem to be species specific meaning if they are working peppers, they are working peppers and they will find every pepper in the neighborhood. What has been your experience with peppers Nes?

I plant my hot peppers next to my sweet peppers all the time. I don't save pepper seed.

[SLC]

Do you see anywhere in there where I could squeeze in some more onions?

I was going to at the top where I asked, but I think I want to try to grow some Carnations there....but I want more onions. Any suggestions?

[jal_ut]

Plant a row of onions right through the middle of the pepper and tomato patch on both sides.

[nes]

Nes:

If you want to save seeds (and peppers are the easiest!) you'll want to move your bell peppers & hot peppers to opposite ends of the garden.

I wonder about this. Are you suggesting the peppers may cross?

Yes I've heard lots of reports of people growing their own seeds next year and getting hot bell peppers. Unless that's something you're interested in, better safe then sorry and just move the hots over.

Really if different colours of peppers cross it's not a big deal unless you're really set on keeping those colours from year to year .

[nes]

... I am only planting the vegetables that I actually like and will eat. Therefore, no carrots or squash for me! As it is, I don't like celery or cucumbers...

You don't like CARROTS!?!?
I didn't know that was possible... .

I use carrots in all sorts of dishes to make a mire proix (and I'm sure I'm probably spelling that wrong) as a base for soups and stews and roasts, so we go through more then a warren... I find the ones we grow at home much sweeter and tastier then what you get at the store.

I didn't think I liked squash either, before I started growing it for myself and cooking it properly. My husband who does not eat vegetables is enamoured with my brother's butternut soup . I never had more then a mushy taste of badly looked zucchini before my first plant, not zuc bread is one of our favourites & I throw it on the grill whenever we've got some in season.

Okay now I'm hungry.

You can definitely throw in more onions here & there. I always find as much as I plan & plan & plan out my garden when I get out there the whole thing goes out the window and I'll just stick stuff where I feel it should go . You'll find spots for onions

[SLC]

Nes:

If you want to save seeds (and peppers are the easiest!) you'll want to move your bell peppers & hot peppers to opposite ends of the garden.

I wonder about this. Are you suggesting the peppers may cross?

Yes I've heard lots of reports of people growing their own seeds next year and getting hot bell peppers. Unless that's something you're interested in, better safe then sorry and just move the hots over.

Really if different colours of peppers cross it's not a big deal unless you're really set on keeping those colours from year to year .

So then, if I want yellow peppers to stay yellow next year and hot peppers to stay hot, etc., how far away should they be planted all the way around? Right now I have 1 1/2 feet all around between each plant...(unless I plant onions in there -will they make anything weird happen??)

Now I gotta go back to that companion planting chart to see what veggies don't like onions!

[nes]

Well... it depends on a lot of factors like how many pollinators you've got at work and whether or not it's windy on the day all the flowers open...

I would just find another spot that makes sense and make sure they're not right beside each other .

This is also only a problem if you want to save seeds, it won't affect what's growing this year. Peppers are just the easiest to save from , except maybe corn.

[SLC]

So now I have another question - looking at my diagram, and seeing how much room I have for the potatoes, how much space would you leave between the potato and the green beans at the top, marigolds at the left and bottom and peppers on the right? Like, can I get close to the other types of plants?

This is for Russet Potatoes.

Also for this layout, how far apart should I plant the seeds in a row and how far apart should the rows be? I do want large potatoes.