pointer80
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Which way should rows be run?

Hello all, I have a question on which direction I should run my rows in my garden? My garden layout is roughly 35 long (north and south) and 15 wide (east to west). Thanks in advance.

bri80
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It's doesn't REALLY matter, in my opinion, if you get full sun your plants will be fine no matter which way you do it, and I do both depending on the space/plants I'm growing.

That being said, I think it does make some sense for east/west. If you have north/south, you may have situations where, for example, a really tall tomato plants shades out a small lettuce plant behind it (although really, lettuce will do just fine in some shade, but you get my point). I find these conflicts easy to avoid just by thinking ahead a little bit, but I suppose it could happen.

JoannaCW
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I tend to have only one crop per bed, so I like having my beds run east-west, so that I can plant summer lettuce in the bed just north of the asparagus and get some shade, etc. I can see a case to be made for either orientation.

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applestar
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It really depends on what you will be growing there -- single crop or some of this and that? Each in separate rows? In what order/arrangement? And how far apart?

gumbo2176
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Personally, I prefer east/west. Like already mentioned, types of plants and where they are situated in your garden can have an adverse effect on other plants. If you have your rows going north/south and are growing tall crops like corn and okra, or have a trellis for climbers like pole beans or cucumbers, that can give a lot of shade to neighboring plants.

pointer80
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I am planting everything in rows for this year. I am planting beans, tomatoes, peppers, corn, cukes and some squash for the most part

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jal_ut
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In a plot your size and orientation, I would go for the East West rows.

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Gary350
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NOVA TV Show did research on this. For a farmers 2000 acres crop north/south rows can increase a $200,000. crop to $210,000 for a corn crop. For us home gardeners there is no noticeable difference in east/west compared to north/south for small gardens. Farmers usually plant 2000 acres of the same thing like all corn or all beans. East/west rows plants never get sun on the north side of the plants. Home gardeners have a plant mix, I like to plant east/west so the tall corn is on the north side of the garden so it does not shade the shorter plants. BUT here in TN some plants need shade when it is 100 degrees and very little rain July and August. This year I planted all my tomato plants under a shade tree so they only get sun before lunch. Plants like, corn, okra, melons, onions, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, garlic, like full sun all day.
Last edited by Gary350 on Thu May 25, 2017 8:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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applestar
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Hehe I wanted to see how everyone else answered this question before posting mine. :wink:
I probably shouldn't because mine are not really straight parallel rows (let's not even mention the Spiral Garden :> ) But I guess this area is a little bit more conventional -- RECTANGULAR anyway -- and nearly the dimension mentioned. The original SFH bed is 12ft x 8ft. This is how I'm planting this year. Top of the map is north.

Oh. I guess I cropped out the HBR which is a 3 ft wide double row that runs E-W across the top/north of the swale.path, and there is also a 20 inch single N-S Row to the left/west side of of the swale.path. I will be planting short vining squashes in the HBR and melons on trellis along the single row.

Subject: Applestar's 2017 Garden
applestar wrote:Whew! I think I finished planting all the tomatoes that can be squeezed into the Sunflower House + Sunflower House Extension beds (SFH + SFHX). I'll finish by planting some peppers in the remaining SFHX space and then will try to plant lots of basils and possibly carrots and maybe some onions to fill in. Some kind of beans -- pole beans on the arch trellis and some kind of bush beans, adzuki, edamame, etc. as space opens up after the garlic are harvested.

Image

Since no one else mentioned it, I want to point out that the corn shouldn't be strung out along the entire length of the row unless you are planting at least 3 or 4 rows. They should be planted in a block in such a small space.

pointer80
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Thank you so much everyone

imafan26
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North south is better if you have a choice. South facing will have sun all day. East/West facing the sun will be on one side in the morning and the other in the afternoon. East/West is good if you have plants that need afternoon shade. If you want to maximize sun then you do North/South and place the tallest plants and trellisses on the North end.

When you have a long day it may not matter that much because you can easily get 6 hours of full sun.
However, if the days are short or if you live in the tropics (where days are about equal all year for me that is 11-14 hours), it does matter. I cannot grow any long day plants. I have to grow short day and day neutrals because there isn't enough variation in day length. Planting on the east side or under trees in summer does help some of the cooler growing plants since they do not like the intensity of the tropic summer sun.



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