Vegetable Gardening

[Aggie_Ama]

I started very small with some patio tomatoes and have several larger tomatoes. I hope the ripen soon!

[GLC1968]

We have both raised beds (SFG) and a row garden area. The idea is to be able to compare the yields of each, so we have some things planted in both places. We have one large area of raised beds with a new gravel walkway between them (the grass walkway idea from previous years was a disaster) and a large 'row garden' area that we are not actually planting in rows. It'll be more of a patchwork. So far, we've got tomatoes in both locations, beans in both locations, all the spring veggies in the beds (they were the first to warm up a bit), all the potatoes (sweet & regular) in the 'row' area and a small patch of garlic also in the row area. This coming weekend, we'll be planting more beans, corn, zuchini, cukes, amaranth, quinoa (probably a bit late but we'll give it a shot), more carrots, more parsnips and more greens in both locations.

I am also working on planting herbs (perennial) in various locations around our yard and in a few spots in the garden area (for annuals like basil, cilantro and parsley).

Lisa - even if you get a late start, plant anyway. You never know what you'll get and it's worth 'wasting' a few seeds for the learning experience. We planted mid-July last year due to our move, and we still got squash, cukes, beans and corn from seed. We also threw in a few tomato plant starts from the farmers market and were even able to harvest some late tomatoes (and a ton of green ones right before our first frost).

Things that didn't work? Carrots (too small - but tasty!), parsnips, peppers, melons and most herbs (besides basil). The season was just too short for these things. We also failed to plant the fall items early enough, so we got no harvest on those items either (except the random over-wintered chard!).



This was taken a couple of weeks ago. To the right of this photo is the row garden area. In the back - you can see where our grape arbors are (to the right of the tiny greenhouse). The garbage cans behind the greenhouse contain potato plants. And then behind me as I took this photo are our blueberry bushes and blackberry/loganberry brambles...

[tulip]

Lisa, your 5'x18' patch is actually pretty big, but that path takes up way too much growing room. I have five raised beds, each 6'x3', totaling 90 SF, same as your current patch. But my 90SF is all growing room. I don't count the paths--my setup is like a mini-GLC setup in the photo above. Right now I have radishes, carrots, zucchini, beans, and sunflowers (and a stray collard) in one, peas and watermelon in another, lettuce and onions in another, potatoes in another, and tomatoes in the last one. I grow my herbs separately, closer to the kitchen. I'll soon put in some melons and winter squash as well.

Mine's kindof based on the Square Foot Gardening book, but I'm not nearly as neat and tidy (and obsessive) as Mel Bartholemew is (the author).

I bet you could rearrange your current setup and it would be more efficient.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lisa, your 5'x18' patch is actually pretty big, but that path takes up way too much growing room. I have five raised beds, each 6'x3', totaling 90 SF, same as your current patch. But my 90SF is all growing room. I don't count the paths--my setup is like a mini-GLC setup in the photo above....
I bet you could rearrange your current setup and it would be more efficient.

Well then mine is smaller than yours if I don't count a path either.

I have to have a path in my patch- how else can I get in and garden? the fence determines the area for now, and the fence is essential to keep the varmints out. True I have been planning to turn the slate stones so that they are narrower end to end and a couple will then be eliminated. I'll do that soon, but that'll only give me an extra 6 inch strip of earth or so. It's hard for me to maneuver around in there without at least a foot wide path. I used to have NO path, and it was really hard to move in there then.

The tomatoes are kept well pruned and staked, but even with that they get big and overhang the path by mid-summer.

What I am doing is planting green and red leaf lettuce seed in the areas that will be overgrown by the tomatoes later on- thus getting double duty from those spots. The leaf lettuces can grow, produce, and get yanked by the time those areas are filled in by the other growing plants like the stringbeans and tomatoes.
I've actually planted way more stuff in there this year than ever before....it used to be just a strip of tomatoes only, with a dinky deer netting fence. After both a red squirrel and a bird got tangled in the netting and died , I decided I had to to get rid of the netting and replace it with metal fencing.

Maybe I will go turn those stones lengthwise more this afternoon!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hi Tulip,
Well I pulled 4 of the widest stones out of there and rearranged the path stones lengthwise.
That now gives me a 1 foot wide path instead of a 1 1/2 foot wide path....so I got another 6" strip all down the length of the plot by doing that- allowing for one additional 18 foot row of greens that is 6 inches wide. That's as much planting space as I can squeeze out of it! Thanks for your comment which spurred me into doing what I was thinking I needed to do.

Still, not counting the 1 foot wide path down almost the entire length of my plot, that leaves 4' x 18' actual planting space, which equals 72 feet square- still substantially smaller than your your 90 ft. square planting space.

But I am looking forward to putting in my new big garden this summer! (Now if only I can get those two different landscapers to call me back.)

UPDATE: One landscaper called me back and might come over tomorrow! he's the guy that has done work for us before, so we like him.

[short cut sally]

LIsa, my Dad plants a majority of his garden from seed. He purchases onion sets and potato sets though. He plants his seeds sometimes as late as July. He staggers his lettuce (he does loose leaf-much better luck than with head lettuce) and spinach. That way it's not all ready at the same time. He's been buying his tomato plants over the past few years, there doesn't seem to be good growing weather for them.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Thanks Shelly.

Yes, i created a whole extra 6" row in my patch just by re-arranging the path stones yesterday. I planted more leaf lettuce and a new six foot row of radishes. Radishes and leaf lettuce grow quickly and easily (as long as you keep the rabbits and woodchucks out!). I do stagger my lettuce and radish seed plantings.
I too have to buy tomato plants unless I were to start the seed a month earlier in my basement with lights (which i do NOT want to do!). This week is the first week we can put in tomato plants safely with little threat of frost. I cheated when I put them in about 10 days ago, and was lucky. We've had two nights of 34F degrees since then, but were just barely spared a real frost and the plants were fine.

I'm excited- our lanscape/backhoe guy might be coming this evening and he says he could perhaps get our garden dug and filled within 2-3 weeks! Unfortunately he does not do fencing, so I'll have to get someone else to come in for that. The fencing is a bigger project than we want to do ourselves.