Raised bed space

[Ron3333]

This may be a really wide open question, but I'm trying to plan a garden using mostly raised beds. I'm trying to get some idea of how many square feet of bed space I should plan for to feed two mostly vegetarian adults at least through the growing season. We may want to put up some things, but probably not a lot. It would include a variety of produce. I'm thinking about using a high density method, such as a block style layout to conserve space, etc. Any ideas?

[cynthia_h]

Take a look at Mel Bartholomew's "Square Foot Gardening" book. There's a newly revised edition in the book stores now; I think it was released in approx. 2005.

Read through his system and see if his estimates would work for you, given intensive succession planting.

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17

[opabinia51]

Also check your local library for Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway. Very useful book.

"High density" planting is a good idea and the book has some recomondations on companion planting, space allocation and so on.

Make sure you have really good soil in your beds. As you build them add mulched leaves (if you can find some now but, add them in the fall) along with manure and used coffee grounds. Make sure that you don't add more manure/coffee grounds than leaves or it will smell bad and that is a bad thing both aesthetically speaking and botanically speaking.

Read up on companion planting on the web and in Gaia's Garden. Some plants benefit eachother and should be planted together and some plants repel one another.