BUILD MORE BOXES! hehe That's what everyone else will say. Me, I was thinking, boy, I wonder if I could steal Granny's planting chart to help next year's succession plantings, hehe. I just would have to do it with a few SF of each rather than many SF of each for your massive garden.

Thanks for sharing. Glad to see you're using your time in sunny Arizona wisely... thinking about next year's garden in good ol' Washington State!

Sinfonian, I just went by the planting dates for my zone in my Crockett's Victory Garden book. I've followed that guide for about 30 years now, but never have done the succession planting to this extent. I don't know if I'll actually find the room or the need to plant lettuce or carrots five times in succession, LOL, but the schedule does show me what can be planted if a square or two happen to get empty.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Wow! You sure do have everything mapped out beautifully!!

Question, how do you rip out things like the beans to plant the second round without disturbing the roots of what's around it.....assuming you do have to rip it out and don't just have blank spaces to fill.

Ribbit, I plant mine in rows (or side by side squares) and leave 6 inches between the different veggies. In other words, I only plant three rows of four squares each in a 4x4 bed.

For instance, I'll probably plant 4 squares of onions right down the center of the bed, and four squares of carrots on one side of them (6" space between the onions and carrots) and 4 squares of beets down the other side (6" space between onions and beets). I'll lay a soaker hose down the 6" bare rows, which will water the entire bed. This bed will take a long time to harvest, as I will pull every other (onion, carrot, beet) to thin the rows and make room for the others to grow larger.

Four side by side squares of bush beans along the edge of another bed, maybe parsnips in the center and lettuce on the other side. Parsnips will stay the entire season, beans and lettuce can rotate with something else. With the 6" space (soaker hose again) the roots shouldn't be a problem. If I think roots will interfere with the parsnips, I'll take the shovel and slice down through the 6" bare area to cut the roots away before pulling the beans/lettuce.

Pole beans and tall peas will stay in the same place and be planted after the first crop comes out.

Radishes will be interplanted with lettuce, spinach, etc and will be pulled before the greens mature.

It's going to take a bit of planning, and I doubt I'll get as many successions as I have planned. I mainly wanted "windows" of planting dates to cover any available squares (or rows) I may have. Some later plantings may have to be in containers.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

to bad your one of those birds!! LOL otherwise, you could wintersow them and then you could just let nature take its course!! Hee Hee!! i think on most of it you could. actually all of it you could, it is just when, some now and later the others. This spring will be my first "True" sfg!! i cannot wait!! as soon as it gets nice enough out, we will start building some of them boxes and get them to be filled!! WOO HOO!!! darned i wanted some rabbits!! to start filling them up too!! one cage over each one too!! LOL Hee Hee!!
but granny, i want to use your planting!! i like it!! and i tell ya, i have absolutely no idea what in the world i am doing!! except trying to feed my family!! and to teach them something! like how to take care of themselves and not to depend on anyone but themselves! i have a real thing about that. i guess that is another reason why i took them out of school, because i wanted to make perfectly sure that they did great!! not O.K. **big grinn** i'm wondering if i can get some lettuce to grow inside in some containers, i just don't have alot of light :'( ~Medo

Here is a link that might be useful: Barehanded Totally Nutso Gardener!! **Big Grinn**

Granny - that's an impressive, and very intensive schedule you have there! I'm gonna try 3 separate plantings in 2009, but think it might be a little too intensive...we'll see. I see you're growing sweet potatoes! Me too, it will be my first time. I hope it works!

EG

Medo - I would just germinate the lettuce inside then move it outside. It will withstand some very cold temps and since you are planting in containers you can drag them in if it is going to be really cold. It will withstand some freezing weather.

I kept mine going until we left for our Christmas cruise. The day we left it was eleven degrees and stayed cold for several days, so it didn't survive that temp. I plan to start some more inside but move it outside soon afterward.

Soonergrandmom - I germinated some lettuce seeds in my office at work, and will grow them next to a window that is facing directly south. They look kinda leggy right now, but should be ok.

Medo - Ain't that pathetic? Me, growing lettuce in my office? Heh. Hey! The women in the accounting office have little houseplants next to their desks...so, I feel that it's kinda the same thing. :)

Granny - I got a calendar today, and started planning my plantings throughout the year...I think i've got it figured out pretty well....Thanks for inspiring me to do it!

EG

EG, I need to find a good journal (cheap, not the $40 one I really would like) that would give me a daily calendar with room to write in it. I was pretty good about keeping track on my computer last year, but I know I missed a lot because I didn't have time to enter it in the data. If I had a journal and a pen handy all the time, I think I'd be a bit better about keeping records.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Granny:

I use Google's Calendar as not only a journal of things past but as a planner also. It is free, which I like most! See link below for a tour.

HTH, Gary

Here is a link that might be useful: Google Clalendar

I have an old scale that sits in my kitchen window (it's quite deep) that I used to weigh my harvest last year. I keep a calandar and pen in there, so it's right there when I weigh the veggies. I transferred the info later, so I could still understand it (the spaces are pretty small some days) but at least it was right there so I didn't forget it.

Granny,
This might sound a little strange, but when you're near a good thrift store, check to see if they have a nice planner there. I bought a mid-sized leather Daytimer at Goodwill here for just a couple bucks last year.
Then you just need those expensive calandar refills...

Gary, I have a calendar I use on my computer, but I was looking for a good journal (book) that could go right out to the garden with me...possibly even kept out there. I saw one garden, I think right here in SFG forum, that had a mailbox mounted to a post in the garden where seeds, trowels, journals, etc could be kept clean, dry and handy. I think that's a marvelous idea.

Gary & Greenbean: My dream journal can be seen HERE , but it's $40 and has 10 years of daily entries! Heck, I don't know if I'll even live another ten years, so a 3 year journal would suit me just fine! I'm sure I could just design my own and print it out, which is probably what I'll do. I like having at least three years to a page for comparison.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Oooohhh, that one is nice...
Too nice to take outside with you though I think. I like your idea of three years to a page, no-effort comparison that way.

I have another plastic organizer folder that I can take outside and it doesn't matter if it gets dirty or a little wet, but I mostly use that for my planting plan. It mostly stays in my living room.

See, now you've got me thinkin'...hmmmm

Granny, I found a good garden journal at journalsunlimited.com. Earlier we were talking about people using computer methods vs. pen and paper. I couldn't find a journal I liked, but this one is nice. I amended it by just taping in pictures for what I was describing. I don't follow always what it says to write, but if I go longer in describing something, I just paste a picture over their titles. I've posted pictures of it on here somewhere. It doesn't have a calendar but I've papercliped one to the last page. I really like it.

I already designed my pages for a four year journal, and have March through October ready to print. I'll just keep them in a binder on my desk along with some other record keeping pages I'm designing for myself. I'll still probably keep a cheap little book out in the garden for scribbling in.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Here's another page for my journal, a seed inventory (click to enlarge and drool over all those packets of seeds for less than $6).

I also have a Miscellaneous Garden Expenses sheet.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Very cool! Perfect for your uses. Glad you didn't have to spend $40 on that one online.

It is WAY cool granny! I'm getting ready to start my garden peas in the back! I have several kids and I'm so excited to find out how many we'll use.