First, nice design. You should be very happy with it judging from here.

I have an older edition of Mel's book but it stays on the shelf. IMO you need to use your experience to do the spacing, and also first year soil needs supplemental fert.

So, sunflowers in the southerly boxes will do some shading out , if that is what you want then you are fine - otherwise plant to the far north with the corn & away from trees as much as possible. IME bush beans are more manageable and less susceptible to rapidly warming temps in summer. Keep the peppers away from the trees as they need heat and sun. The cool seasons should go nearer the trees for the cooler temperatures. Other than that, it's fun and a learning experience how big the squashes get and what likes what where and how much and keeping track of the rotations (use a journal & maybe a nice garden journal would be a good gift, keep track of the shadows as well to help you, maybe with fotos). Don't stress, and just watch and listen and keep good notes. All Mel's "rules" are just a framework and not a command.

Boxes should be deep enough for whatever you want, altho you might watch the Chantenay carrots for forking, and if they do, they are going into the native and meeting resistance. With that path spacing, you should avoid shading the north boxes with the trellises for a good chunk of the year, altho April and Sept will see some - use that shade for cooling of cool seasons planted spring and fall - example of using/avoiding shade .

Have fun!

Dan

That looks amazing and what I envisaged for my Garden, thing's don't always work out like that :-) and mine is all over the place, but it's working so I suppose I should be grateful.
Herbs are the best thing to plant, Last year I brought all my Hardy types already started and everything but the rosemary survived the winter, bang for buck, they are a winner for me as go on, and the prices in the shops of fresh are high.
I have to say i agree with Dan on Mel's book, i brought both last year, and given 1 away this year, kept the old one, as for some reason I preferred it, but really use it just some of the info on spacing and when to plant, when I really don't have a clue, this forum and Veg gardening seem to be the best sources of info.
one thing I wish I had thought about was lettuce, I planted 4 seeds a square and now am frustratedly looking at a near empty sq, with 4 tiny starts, wish i had started in doors and then planted out, like I did with cabbage. the same goes for beets, I figure if they can sell them as starts I can give it a go. and pop in where I have space. I am experimenting with that at the mo.
on carrots after planting out 7 squares of them I suddenly thought why didn't I sow 32 evenly spaced and when they are half way thereish, thin to the 16! as 16 small carrots with other veg would do us a meal or 2 easily, and they do seem to me at least to take a frustratingly long time to grow, even my ones that claim 54 days :-) no idea if this will work but again i am going to experiment.
Why is forking of carrots a bad thing? I can get that if they fork near the top, you will just end up with 2 spindly bits, but further down? does it effect the taste?

Okay, so we'll do sunflowers in the north corners and something else in the south corners. Any help on what to plant where?

Thanks!

That is gonna be a beautiful garden when finished. Wow.....Good job!

EG

I think from reading other post it is easier to comment after a plan has been made than before, as this is your garden and as such, should reflect your likes and dislikes.
The best way I can describe it (and sorry boy's) but, it's like womens Magazine article's called the 4 week bikini buster menu, how often have you read though and thought Oh, x is in that I am not keen or well, each meal requires a whole set of different ingredients, I am just not going to use that much, or I like cauliflower soup, but twice a week! hope this makes sense?
If people can see how much of each you want, they can then make meaningful comment ;-) Like 10 Zukes! are you sure, hehe.

it doesn't need to be a technical drawing, just a rough draft, scanned.

Aha, sorry, bear with me. Scanning, how about a list???

Okay, so here goes with what is running through my head right now:

Bed #1 north side 2 x 28 - corners planted with a few varying sizes of sunflowers, corn planted every 8 inches, scattered, not in a row. Front would be looseleaf lettuce and head lettuce, planted in spurts. We eat a salad almost every night.

Bed #2 south side 2 x 28 - corners planted with one watermelon and one pumpkin, for the kids, we already have potatoes planted in the remaining 24 feet

Bed #3 - 1 x 6 - all herbs

All remaining beds are listed North to South plantings and the beds themselves can be in any order east to west, haven't gotten that far.....

Bed # 4 - 3 x 6 - 4 peppers, 5 peas, 4 peppers in a row then a trellis, on the other side of the trellis, 3 summer squash in a row, front 3 feet of bed devoted to chanterray carrots, planted 1/3, then 1/3 two weeks later, final 1/3 two weeks after that.

Bed #5 - 3 x 6 - 2 cucumber in a row, trellis, then a row of bush beans (how many can I fit), front 1/2 of bed devoted to beets (which I bottle) - would like as many as possible, last year they didn't amount to anything.

Bed #6 - 3 x 6 - first row 1 summer squash, 1 eggplant, trellis, then 2 zucchini, front 1/2 of bed devoted to danvers half long carrots, planted 1/3, 2 weeks later another 1/3, 2 weeks later final 1/3.

Bed #7 - 3 x 6 - 1 watermelon in a row, trellis, then wax beans (how many??), rest half of bed devoted to a row of 4 jalapeno plants (not sure on yield - enough plants?) with onions and then spinach in the front.

I do use at least 2 eggplant per week, mostly mixed in with zucchini and summer squash - sometimes with seafood, sometimes grilled vegies. I can bottle carrots and beets, freeze corn and freeze (??) beans. I do use fresh herbs just about every night.

Next year some of this will be devoted to garlic since I use a slew of it when cooking. Can I grow shallots as well - I use lots of them too.

I will do my best, but I am Dyslexic so (I have a note off a Doctor (Educational Psychologist) and everything :-) don't know if the note joke is the same in the USA?), I think visually, and Yes I am Dyslexic, but I don't want to let a fellow new gardener down, I know the feeling, I got well confused after bed one, but in my mind,
Bed # 4 - 3 x 6 - 4 peppers, 5 peas, 4 peppers in a row then a trellis, on the other side of the trellis, 3 summer squash in a row, front 3 feet of bed devoted to chanterray carrots, planted 1/3, then 1/3 two weeks later, final 1/3 two weeks after that.
head is hurting, but that seems, well, crowded :-)

As the summer goes on, perhaps you can find a place to add winter squash. It's so easy to store, and in my area I can squeeze in a crop after spring lettuce or garlic, tho it's better to start them earlier. Delicata is fast and dependable. You have an impressive lineup of varieties.

I don't actually schedule space for bush snap beans, just use them to fill in here and there. Good way to get small amounts of yellow or burgundy beans.

This new book, Starter Vegetable Gardens, is good because it shows you what you can follow with what, and in which order to plant things.

Here is a link that might be useful: gardening book