I'm trying here
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FireMidget
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Raised bed and soil depth
I've built 2-2'x8' beds out of cedar. They are on a slight hill, with one side being 16" deep and the other being 10" deep (bed is then level). The beds are being filled with a potting soil mix (1/3 top soil, 1/3 compost, 1/3 another I can't remember...). My question is how "full" do I fill them? To the edge of the wood, few inches below?
I'm trying here
I'm trying here
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FireMidget
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I leave a few inches at the top of my raised beds, so the soil does not overflow when I am working it and then there is room for the mulch.
If I read your plan right you are mixing some warm and cool season crops Peppers and broccoli.
and you have water melon and squash in the beds
You also have some plants that are annuals and others that will hang around a bit longer.
I have a long growing season so I can put peppers and broccoli together, but broccoli would be planted in late summer to be harvested in the cool season. Peppers, especially tabasco chilies live for years
vining crops will consume and run over everything in the garden so I would put them on the outside and either trellis them or let the vines run outside of the boxes.
Strawberries like to have their own space
I usually plant things that are harvested around the same time together and I don't mix annuals with longer crops. It is just easier to dig up the whole bed then to work around other plants.
There is no direction on the map. Tall plants should be on the North side and progressively shorter plants in front of it. If you grow tomatoes, beans, peas, cucumbers. Add a trellis to the north side of the bed.
Peas are cool season, beans are warm
offset planting will maximize the space.
Lettuce requires 8-10 inches between plants. It is good to have them in the front of the bed since they mature quickly and can be planted in succession. Same with radishes they are ready in about a month
Peppers take about 70 days to mature and you don't usually need a lot so it is best to get starts.
Chives, strawberries, peppers can last more than one season depending on where you live and so can some of the herbs. You may want to change the order since peas are the tallest and you have the smallest plants lettuce and strawberries between taller plants peas and herbs. Herbs do well in pots too so they are good for a vertical garden.
It is a good start on the plan. If you use Mel's square foot gardening book as a guide and make your grid 12 inches square it will be easier since square foot gardening has plant spacing based on a square foot.
Square foot gardening is intensive with minimal plant spacing and it assumes you will prune off parts of plants that stray out of their square.
Since I don't have the patience or inclination to crowd that much, I usually give my plants more room, but I will plant short crops like radishes in the same square with pepper seedlings since the radishes will be harvested before the peppers need the space.
I do the same with eggplant. Once an eggplant matures it takes up a lot of head space but under the eggplant I can plant shorter plants with shallow roots like the lettuce or spinach. or nasturtiums.
There are plans available that you can use for the first time and tweak it to your needs. Just substitute your plants as long as they are the same number per square.
I also give my plants more room because I live in a humid climate and the plants need good air circulation.
After a while with trial and error, you will figure out what plants go well together and how much space they need.
I am still learning myself, my broccoli lasted longer than I thought it would so it is throwing off my planting schedule, so I have adapted and put in plants that do fit in the space. I am still planting too many seeds of one thing and not having room for everything. I have a bunch of pak choy maturing and I don't know what I am going to do with them all and I have lettuce seedlings that need to go somewhere soon.
My tomatoes were not cooperating in the cold weather so I took them out and put in snow peas and cucumber instead. The lesson here is plan to adapt and be flexible.
Since I had problems visualizing the plants in the space in my real garden which is an oval not a square and I like to label my plants anyway, I made labels for each plant and put them in the garden so I could visualize the spacing. I use plastic knives for labels. They are cheaper and last longer than plant labels. For tall plants I used bamboo stakes. For wide plants I put down newspaper to indicate the spread they would need. Most of my big plants are in pots not in the garden, that way they get their own space and I plant things that can be closer together in the garden bed.
https://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/create-garden-plan/
If I read your plan right you are mixing some warm and cool season crops Peppers and broccoli.
and you have water melon and squash in the beds
You also have some plants that are annuals and others that will hang around a bit longer.
I have a long growing season so I can put peppers and broccoli together, but broccoli would be planted in late summer to be harvested in the cool season. Peppers, especially tabasco chilies live for years
vining crops will consume and run over everything in the garden so I would put them on the outside and either trellis them or let the vines run outside of the boxes.
Strawberries like to have their own space
I usually plant things that are harvested around the same time together and I don't mix annuals with longer crops. It is just easier to dig up the whole bed then to work around other plants.
There is no direction on the map. Tall plants should be on the North side and progressively shorter plants in front of it. If you grow tomatoes, beans, peas, cucumbers. Add a trellis to the north side of the bed.
Peas are cool season, beans are warm
offset planting will maximize the space.
Lettuce requires 8-10 inches between plants. It is good to have them in the front of the bed since they mature quickly and can be planted in succession. Same with radishes they are ready in about a month
Peppers take about 70 days to mature and you don't usually need a lot so it is best to get starts.
Chives, strawberries, peppers can last more than one season depending on where you live and so can some of the herbs. You may want to change the order since peas are the tallest and you have the smallest plants lettuce and strawberries between taller plants peas and herbs. Herbs do well in pots too so they are good for a vertical garden.
It is a good start on the plan. If you use Mel's square foot gardening book as a guide and make your grid 12 inches square it will be easier since square foot gardening has plant spacing based on a square foot.
Square foot gardening is intensive with minimal plant spacing and it assumes you will prune off parts of plants that stray out of their square.
Since I don't have the patience or inclination to crowd that much, I usually give my plants more room, but I will plant short crops like radishes in the same square with pepper seedlings since the radishes will be harvested before the peppers need the space.
I do the same with eggplant. Once an eggplant matures it takes up a lot of head space but under the eggplant I can plant shorter plants with shallow roots like the lettuce or spinach. or nasturtiums.
There are plans available that you can use for the first time and tweak it to your needs. Just substitute your plants as long as they are the same number per square.
I also give my plants more room because I live in a humid climate and the plants need good air circulation.
After a while with trial and error, you will figure out what plants go well together and how much space they need.
I am still learning myself, my broccoli lasted longer than I thought it would so it is throwing off my planting schedule, so I have adapted and put in plants that do fit in the space. I am still planting too many seeds of one thing and not having room for everything. I have a bunch of pak choy maturing and I don't know what I am going to do with them all and I have lettuce seedlings that need to go somewhere soon.
My tomatoes were not cooperating in the cold weather so I took them out and put in snow peas and cucumber instead. The lesson here is plan to adapt and be flexible.
Since I had problems visualizing the plants in the space in my real garden which is an oval not a square and I like to label my plants anyway, I made labels for each plant and put them in the garden so I could visualize the spacing. I use plastic knives for labels. They are cheaper and last longer than plant labels. For tall plants I used bamboo stakes. For wide plants I put down newspaper to indicate the spread they would need. Most of my big plants are in pots not in the garden, that way they get their own space and I plant things that can be closer together in the garden bed.
https://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/create-garden-plan/
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FireMidget
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- Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2014 3:46 am
Sorry, we have an autistic son, so pictures do wonders with us! Here it is with north and with the words. We live in the Northwest corner of Washington state.
We did milk jug gardening last year and he would just sit out there eating the chives/carrots, so we want both a long harvest and a short harvest mix. The vine plants were going to be trained to grow outside the box (we have 2' between them) and the hanging garden was established last year. The peas were trained last year to grow up the support sides of the vertical garden giving them a trellis and keeping them off the ground. This gave him pods he could reach and eat, and ones that could be saved for us later due to the height.
EDIT**** I had it backwards... north is now pointing in the right direction. sorry
We did milk jug gardening last year and he would just sit out there eating the chives/carrots, so we want both a long harvest and a short harvest mix. The vine plants were going to be trained to grow outside the box (we have 2' between them) and the hanging garden was established last year. The peas were trained last year to grow up the support sides of the vertical garden giving them a trellis and keeping them off the ground. This gave him pods he could reach and eat, and ones that could be saved for us later due to the height.
EDIT**** I had it backwards... north is now pointing in the right direction. sorry
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applestar
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Can I assume the right end of the bed is the shallower end?
Are those cabbages and broccoli?
I would plant the carrots at the deep end unless you are growing the shorter kind like Danvers.
To mix with the watermelon? + ...I'm wondering if you meant for the broccoli and cabbage to be harvested by the time the watermelon needs the space. Carrots take longer to mature and peppers will be using the space all season.
And the pumpkin + ...I would put the radishes where the pumpkin would go or sow the pumpkin in the middle of the radishes. The hot peppers might be better away from the pumpkin
What I found useful is to plant early spring cool season/fast maturing crop next to or prior to the warm season crop. Things like radish and lettuce and to some extent peas. You can plant the warm season crops just as the cool season crops are finishing up or in succession after they are harvested. You can also fill in the space needed by watermelon and squash with faster maturing crops like bush beans that can be harvested then removed (I cut at the base close to the ground so there is no root disturbance -- dying bean root rhizomes will release nitrogen)
It doesn't always work, because sometimes things grow faster or slower, like imafan mentioned, but I think it's fun to try. You can play with project planner software to work out the overlapping schedules.
I like to plant peas before heavy feeders and beans where the heavy feeders will take over. Last year, I planted peas and favas with extra space in between the rows, then sowed corn in the in-between rows while I was still harvesting peas and favas. Then volunteer cherry tomatoes that started to grow among the corn from compost took over after the corn was harvested.
In another bed, I grew broccoli followed by tomatoes because rainbowgardener always said that works well, and she was right!
I would love to see photos of your vertical garden.
Are those cabbages and broccoli?
I would plant the carrots at the deep end unless you are growing the shorter kind like Danvers.
To mix with the watermelon? + ...I'm wondering if you meant for the broccoli and cabbage to be harvested by the time the watermelon needs the space. Carrots take longer to mature and peppers will be using the space all season.
And the pumpkin + ...I would put the radishes where the pumpkin would go or sow the pumpkin in the middle of the radishes. The hot peppers might be better away from the pumpkin
What I found useful is to plant early spring cool season/fast maturing crop next to or prior to the warm season crop. Things like radish and lettuce and to some extent peas. You can plant the warm season crops just as the cool season crops are finishing up or in succession after they are harvested. You can also fill in the space needed by watermelon and squash with faster maturing crops like bush beans that can be harvested then removed (I cut at the base close to the ground so there is no root disturbance -- dying bean root rhizomes will release nitrogen)
It doesn't always work, because sometimes things grow faster or slower, like imafan mentioned, but I think it's fun to try. You can play with project planner software to work out the overlapping schedules.
I like to plant peas before heavy feeders and beans where the heavy feeders will take over. Last year, I planted peas and favas with extra space in between the rows, then sowed corn in the in-between rows while I was still harvesting peas and favas. Then volunteer cherry tomatoes that started to grow among the corn from compost took over after the corn was harvested.
In another bed, I grew broccoli followed by tomatoes because rainbowgardener always said that works well, and she was right!
I would love to see photos of your vertical garden.
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rainbowgardener
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"In another bed, I grew broccoli followed by tomatoes because rainbowgardener always said that works well, and she was right! "
Glad to see that worked for you.
I do think part of the key is not leaving the broccoli sit around too long. I have friends that leave their broccoli sit all season getting every last little side shoot it will produce. I harvest the main head and then one round of side shoots and then pull them.
You know this, applestar, but for others: the tomatoes get planted behind the broccoli, while the broccoli is still growing. By the time the tomato plants are getting big and need the space, the broccoli is pulled.
"Glad to see that worked for you.
I do think part of the key is not leaving the broccoli sit around too long. I have friends that leave their broccoli sit all season getting every last little side shoot it will produce. I harvest the main head and then one round of side shoots and then pull them.You know this, applestar, but for others: the tomatoes get planted behind the broccoli, while the broccoli is still growing. By the time the tomato plants are getting big and need the space, the broccoli is pulled.
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FireMidget
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Yes, herb side is only 10" deep (although planted on lawn with newspaper barrier, so roots could go deeper if needed).
The watermelons are mini ones due to living in the city.
Hubby will steal 1-2 jalapeños a day when getting the mail. Hes brave...
Here are the beds, ill get a picture of the hanging garden when I'm off shift. Moved the pumpkin over next to the beans, and put radishes next to peppers.
We got a Baggie of random native seeds that we are going to start to see what we get. Hopefully the kids will think that's cool.
Tomatoes are a no go due to allergies
.
The watermelons are mini ones due to living in the city.
Hubby will steal 1-2 jalapeños a day when getting the mail. Hes brave...
Here are the beds, ill get a picture of the hanging garden when I'm off shift. Moved the pumpkin over next to the beans, and put radishes next to peppers.
We got a Baggie of random native seeds that we are going to start to see what we get. Hopefully the kids will think that's cool.
Tomatoes are a no go due to allergies
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FireMidget
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- Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2014 3:46 am
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FireMidget
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- Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2014 3:46 am
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FireMidget
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Cool garden. Kids usually will eat more vegetables if they have a hand in growing it. What a great family activity.
We have a vetical garden at the UGC the bags dried out very fast so it was hard to keep them watered. Drip system is a must with vertical. I like that your vertical boxes look substantial as smaller volumes dried out faster and the plants had to be small too. The coolest one we had used rain gutters as the planters and they were pitched a little so water would run off the top into the second and third gutter.
We have a vetical garden at the UGC the bags dried out very fast so it was hard to keep them watered. Drip system is a must with vertical. I like that your vertical boxes look substantial as smaller volumes dried out faster and the plants had to be small too. The coolest one we had used rain gutters as the planters and they were pitched a little so water would run off the top into the second and third gutter.
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FireMidget
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We put in a drip system after the sprinkler on the side of the fence wasn't able to hit it well enough. The spring lettuce mix works great in the boxes, and we were able to keep up the growth to allow 2 salad plates a day to be cut from it. Our broccoli has sprouted, and one other thing (can't remember what the kids put in that starter... Peppers and I don't seem to ever sprout. Here for hopes. They are in a heated room of 23-24° C right now but no sprouts.