My garden plan...

[marshlander]

Like it, some wider paths to get the barrow to the beds, shorter beds so you can easily walk around.

How about cordon or espalier fruit trees around the perimeter instead of tree shape trees. much easier to pick, more variety and higher yield.

Or maybe a fruit cage in that area and having an orchard elsewhere - looks like you have plenty of space!

[smwon]

I should explain a little. First off the two plots with corn and potatoes. One plot will be planted with potatoes and one with corn. When they are harvested, they will be switched and replanted with corn and potatoes. This gives two crops of potatoes and two crops of corn in the same two beds. I have not done this before but John Jeavons (in How to Grow More Vegetables) says it can be done. The potatoes go in on the last frost date and early corn goes in two weeks after the last frost date. Then when the corn comes out 12 weeks after the last frost, the potatoes are planted. Then at 14 weeks after the last frost the potatoes comes out and plant early corn. Both my corn varieties are early corn, one sweet and one field. So I plan to plant the sweet corn first and then the field corn second. I guess it would be helpful to use early varieties of potatoes as well. I guess I will see if it works…

I want to put my top bar bee hive in the trees and that is partly why I have them like that. I did think of the espalier trees, and think they are very nice, but they are a lot of work. However, I may just try it...

[smwon]

Here is another idea for the garden plan. This gives me 1038 square feet. The beds are each 4’ x 16’. There is a 2 foot space between the edge beds and down the middle of the garden and seven feet between the gate end and the beds. The fruit trees would be espaliers on the north fence. I think I kinda like this one. It's easy to get around each bed, and I won't have as far to reach. Also I have a two foot walk on at least one side of each bed this way. I am not sure where the top bar hive will go now… I have it in the corner.

[smwon]

Ok so this is the plan… I don’t think I will be using all the beds this year for veggies as I explained earlier although; I do want a bed of beets, carrots, and soybeans for the goats. I realize this will not be all that much, but should help tremendously with the food bill next winter. I think I will just plant six of the beds in veggies and this will leave four for grain to use as a cover crop and maybe actual grain.

So I will have one bed of each:

Potatoes (three different kinds, plus sweet potatoes)
Corn (all early - white, yellow & a field corn followed after the potatoes)
Legumes (bush peas & beans)
Brassica’s (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage)
Miscellaneous (tomatoes, lettuce, celery, spinach. Lamb’s quarters, squash, luffa, & cucumber)
Roots (only onions, leeks & garlic because the carrots & beets will be in a separate bed)

The squash, tomatoes & cucumber will be grown on a trellis.

That is as far as I have gotten with planning.

[smwon]

~ oops

[smwon]

OOOPS...



*Edited to upgrade plan

[Millymollymandy]

Looks good - and you'll be really utilising that space by growing the squash up a trellis (at first I thought - there's not enough space there for squash!!! then I read your posting properly! ).

[marshlander]

looks fantastic! - good luck

[smwon]

Thanks... now to actually accomplish what I set out to accomplish! I’ll keep y’all updated with picture, hopefully, as the season progresses…

Oh and I decided to plant alfalfa for my goats in the four beds in the back instead of the grain and soybeans.

[smwon]

Ok… we worked on the garden some today… wore poor Jim completely out! Did a number on me too, but I didn’t work as hard. I dug around the beds and Jim did most of the prying… I told him he is just getting ready for dredging season!

We were trying to figure out why the beds were buried like that and we came to the conclusion that it was some idiot’s idea! Actually I think it is cause the place is on a slope and at first they made the beds and used them like raised beds, then they got the idea to bring in some dirt and make it level, leaving the beds were they were… after all they were all ready set up… that’s what I think happened.

The area is going to be tricky to get tilled up because someone has dug deep holes and filled them in with potting soil… so the ground is hard around these holes, but the holes are soft… going to be tons of fun! NOT! But will be worth it in the end.

We took out four of the beds in the garden… here are the pictures… still have two more to go. Guess we will finish them tomorrow.

Garden Prep:

In this one you can really see the round holes… they are all very soft

[Millymollymandy]

What a lot of work! Still that timber should come in handy for something! Are you going to edge your new beds or not?

[smwon]

We are going to use the solidest of the lumber to make the compost bins. Um, no I am not going to edge the beds, at least not at this time. The beds will be raised beds though. How I plan to make them is by tilling up the garden, then mark out the beds and shovel the loose dirt from the paths onto each garden bed, therefore making them ‘raised’. I will also use old lumber (there is tons of it around this place) to make paths to help suppress weeds and give me something clean to walk on.

[Wombat]

Looks really good Linda!

Nev

[smwon]

3/8/08 I finished cutting down the corn stalks in the garden.



And then I helped Jim build my compost bin. It turned out bigger than I had planned because it just made sense to utilize the boards the size they were rather than take each one apart and start from scratch. Some of the wood is pretty rotten, but still I think it will last for a few more years. Is it pretty? Nope, but it should get the job done. Jim is going to put doors on the front of each bin so it will be easier for me to get into the bins. But for now this will work just fine. This leaves less space in the front of the bins between the bin and the garden beds, but I will just deal with it.







After we get the rest of the wood removed from the garden, I just have to go around and gather up any metal stakes and such lying around… then we will be ready to till!

Also along the fence where the compost bin is they had planted certified organic Kentucky wonder pole beans. I know this because the packages were still stuck on stakes. I started to clean them off the fence and discovered there were dried pods of beans on a few. So I got them to plant this year… can’t hurt. I only found 8 beans, but sounds like fun! Jim is going to burn the vines on the fence and the dried grass in the front of the garden fence.

Tilling day is just around the corner!!!

[smwon]

3/20/08 yesterday we went and picked up a 5.5 hp chipper/shredder. Figure I will use the wood chips for goat bedding this year and for the whole barn next year when I get the rabbits and chickens. I was going to purchase those bales of wood shavings to use. Of course if the chipper won’t make them fine enough I will use them for compost.

I also bought six 3 cubic foot bags of compost for the garden, a bag of lime, and a small bag of diatomaceous earth. I reserved the tiller for Sunday tilling. We will pick it up just before closing Saturday and will have to have it back Monday morning. Hopefully it doesn’t rain any more between now and then and the garden is not too wet.