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rjinga

Turning Garden spot into SFG, need some ideas

rjinga
15 years ago

Hi all, I've got a garden spot that is approximately 30 x 40. I have it divided into 4 quadrants. I will put down pavers for a walkway between the sections and probably bricks within the bed to navigate around inside.

I would like to plant the following and am trying to figure out the best way to do it and am open to any suggestions.

Green Peppers

Okra

Tomatoes

Corn

chard

Bush beans

peanuts

Melons (cantelope and honeydew, watermelon)

Cucumber

herbs: basil, parsley

Strawberries (optional, since these are already in raised beds elsewhere, I would just put some here to thin out the other area).

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Comments (6)

  • homertherat
    15 years ago

    Are you planning on trellising anything? If so, all of that stuff needs to go on the north side of the bed, so it doesn't shade the rest of the stuff. I would suggest leaving a pathway between the trellised stuff and the rest of the garden if you decide to trellis for easy maintenance and harvesting.

    Corn should also be on the north side because they grow so tall. I suggest planting the cucumbers and other plants that sprawl out in one of the corners and then draping the growth over the side of the garden.

    The herbs should be close to the edge of the garden so you don't have to venture in to get a little bit for cooking.

    The rest can go wherever I think.

  • oasis_226
    15 years ago

    Well, I'm a bit north of you - - Lawrenceville.

    Here's the plan I used for about the same area. It's 41 east-west by 35 north-south. Drop the blue border and it's 37x31.

    Main planting boxes are all 4x8.
    Trellises along the north.
    Two 4x4 corn boxes in SE corner. (planted a month apart)
    two scraps boxes for melons that sprawl (pumpkin & watermelon) in SW corner. Train them into middle.
    Landscape fabric and free wood chips for paths.

    Eventually I'll get that fence around the whole thing and add the blue flower planting area. "Yeah, Right!" my wife says.

    As for trellis locations, I put them north. You can really put them anywhere (just on the north end of the boxes). By the time you get stuff growing up high on the trellis the sun is so high in the sky that they don't shade anything except paths. I'm going to add one in the second row for some more maters this year.

    Here is a link that might be useful: My old blog from last year

  • oasis_226
    15 years ago

    Oh ... forgot. I got everything on your list into my garden last year except strawberries. Planting scheme was (imagine bed numbers 1-13 top left to bottom right. (T)=Trellis

    1 - pole beans(T), herbs, melons(T), butternut squash(T)
    2 - tomatoes(T),bush beans,peanuts
    3 - tomatoes(T), cuke(T),melon(T),sweet potato,zuccini
    4 -
    5 - squash, okra
    6 - peppers, eggplant,flowers,squash
    7,8 -
    9 - leafy greens, radish, carrot,chard,herbs,flowers
    10 - watermelons
    11 - pumpkin
    12 & 12 - corn (planted 4 a square)

    If you're doing beans, do bush for an early crop and pole beans for a continual crop starting about when the bush beans are done.

  • rjinga
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    strawberries could be your blue section, that would be cool. Thanks for the tips, I actually am not going to use boxes, just want to organize like a SFG. My soil is very good in this area. I'm debating now about taking up the landscape fabric and just planting and then mulching heavy around everything as it comes up.

  • snibb
    15 years ago

    Maybe its just me, but, is that what you would call good soil?

  • rjinga
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Well believe it or not this soil is good (most of the soil we have here is hard red clay. Prior to last year, you could not put a shovel in it, then I lasagned this bed and last spring when I planted in it, it was full of worms, and very soft and workable. it was not tilled at that time because it was very easy to work with. It has had a lot of OM added to it and is very fertile. Of course it still has some of the red clay attributes, so when it's left exposed it dries and hardens some, but when you dig into it, it is very brown and nice.

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