Well, with the rainy and cold weekend keeping us inside, we have more or less planned our garden for this season...
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| 2017 Spring/Summer Raised Bed Garden |
We'll be rotating crops around from last season and for the first time, we're going to try opening up the two remaining beds on this side of the garden and have something growing in all of them.
TOMATO BED
We're going to have one bed with two tomato plants, two varieties that do best in our climate.
HERB BED
For now, we're limiting ourselves to what we use most, basil, lemon thyme, oregano and chives (we already have rosemary growing on the porch).
ROOT VEGGIES AND PEPPERS BED
The large bed will be two jalapeños (more jelly coming soon!) and a poblano pepper as well as a progressive planting of carrots, beets, radishes and turnips.
EGGPLANT BED
Two Asian eggplants as they grow best in our area.
SPRING GREENS BED / OKRA LATER
While the weather is cooler, we'll do spring greens (lettuce, spinach, etc) until it gets too hot and then change it out to two okra plants for the Summer heat.
SQUASH BED
We are going to plant yellow squash and for the first time, zucchini.
MISC
We are also going to use the space around the plants in each bed to put in other seeded plants, extra herbs, and even marigolds, trying our hand at some companion planting in them this time around.
This was a weekend harvest a couple of seasons back, so we are hoping for at least this much and more this time around.
TOMATO BED
We're going to have one bed with two tomato plants, two varieties that do best in our climate.
HERB BED
For now, we're limiting ourselves to what we use most, basil, lemon thyme, oregano and chives (we already have rosemary growing on the porch).
ROOT VEGGIES AND PEPPERS BED
The large bed will be two jalapeños (more jelly coming soon!) and a poblano pepper as well as a progressive planting of carrots, beets, radishes and turnips.
EGGPLANT BED
Two Asian eggplants as they grow best in our area.
SPRING GREENS BED / OKRA LATER
While the weather is cooler, we'll do spring greens (lettuce, spinach, etc) until it gets too hot and then change it out to two okra plants for the Summer heat.
SQUASH BED
We are going to plant yellow squash and for the first time, zucchini.
MISC
We are also going to use the space around the plants in each bed to put in other seeded plants, extra herbs, and even marigolds, trying our hand at some companion planting in them this time around.
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| Harvest basket of veggies and herbs |
If you grew cordon rather than bush varieties of tomatoes (and remembered to pinch out side shoots and tie in main stalk), you could get 4 in that bed probably. I grow mine up tall cane wigwams 15 inches apart.
ReplyDeleteI will look into that, thank you for this info. I've never tried that, might need to learn about that. Not sure I can pull it off before this weekend but we get a second season later, I'll check that out.
DeleteGood luck with your garden! I can't wait to start my own but it'll be May earliest before I can plant the seeds unless I start some indoors in April. Your beds look nice and organized :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. Hey, you'll get there soon, no worries and when I'm blogging about 100 degree days, you'll have nice and reasonable weather with veggies growing like crazy.
DeleteRemember, it's French marigolds that repel pests! Your garden sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks, I didn't realize that.
DeleteSounds like many lovely meals will come from that garden!
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed!!! Thanks!
DeleteA garden is a wonderful thing, and a garden which sustains our body as well as our minds an even better one. Yay you.
ReplyDeleteHow beautifully put. Thank you!
DeleteI've seen people use trellis/tee-pee's for growing squash/vines in small spaces. Just a thought :D
ReplyDeleteI've seen those too, have always wanted to try. Might do that one of these days, thanks.
DeleteIt is exciting. What are you going to put down between the beds, if anything. Mulch is nice but straw is cheaper. Have you seen the new rubber mulch?
ReplyDeleteThanks for asking. I really can't decide. I love the mulch (we had black down once and it was gorgeous) but it deteriorated and as it decomposed it grew weeds, Believe it or not, under that new black SUPER HEAVY DUTY fabric is the old weedblock fabric, covered in mulch and with a layer of grass, ha. 2nd Man wants gravel or decomposed granite but I'm not sure how that would be, I could see it washing out a bit and then me running over it with the mower.
DeleteStraw??? Hmmm, now that's interesting. Not permanent, and even as it decomposed, I suppose it could be easily swept up and disposed of. Hmm... thanks for this suggestion.
you sure are organized!!! i started my seeds 5 days ago and when i checked on them this morning, my pumpkins and cukes where pushing the lid off of my starter boxes. amazing!
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks, I try to be but it doesn't always work, ha. You'll have them planted soon!!!
Deleteyou really got everything well planned. Keeping good journal records from year to year really does help; sketches, notes, pictures, etc.
ReplyDeleteLink on good companion plants to plant with veggie garden.
http://www.harvesttotable.com/2009/04/insect-deterrent_plants/
Thanks for this link, great!!! Yep, I'm designing a little grid plan of the garden and going to make notes from last few harvests.
DeleteLooking good! Just make sure that tomatoes, chillies, peppers, eggplants and potatoes don't follow each other as you rotate your beds as they're from the same family.
ReplyDeleteI like the collection of herbs you've got, I'm moving my herb garden this yer I think.but I want to plant so many more!
Hey Ken!!! Thanks for stopping by! Yep, they are in different beds from last time. It's so easy to go overboard with herbs but then we seem to just have more than we can use. Better to just plant what we can use (and basil, well, there will be lots of pesto in our future, LOVE it!). thanks!!
DeleteLooks like a great plan. Marigolds are great to tuck in anywhere to help repel pests, and I'd add a couple of plants of nasturtiums too. It repels pests and the flowers are edible too, make a great addition to a beautiful salad.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of marigold scattered about, they are just such happy flowers, not to mention they grow like weeds in our weather. Never thought about nasturtiums, thanks for that.
DeleteLooks like a spring and summer of some delicious meals! Your planning and layout looks great.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I love my garden - I have a concrete bench beside it and I just love to sit there and admire its beauty and smell its lovely fragrances. I even have supper out there sometime - you were going to look for a table for your garden, so you'll be able to have some beautiful meals there also.
Yep, keeping an eye out for a table, then maybe just get a bunch of random chairs. For now I have one of the 'found' metal chairs in there so I can sit and look around (and relax, ha). Thanks!!!
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