Garden Planning

I finished planning my garden this week. So I thought I would tell you about it.

My vegetable 16x40 and I make the rows the short way.

Here is the list of how I have the garden plotted out:


Sunflowers (last year I had corn and it didn't turn out very well...so I'm replacing that end)
I will direct seed the sunflowers in the ground around May 1st.

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Cucumbers. About 5 plants should fit in this row. I'm going to try two regular cucumber plants and three pickling plants. I will start the seed inside around April 10 and move to the garden May 10. The cucumbers of course are climbers so in this row Jason and I will put up fence post and string wire or maybe just a good strong string for them to climb on.

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Peas Direct seeded into the garden Apr 5-12 (the earliest I can get the soil ready). These are also climbers so will need the fencepost/wire. This crop is short lived so when the peas have all been harvested, I will remove the peas and replace them with okra.

Okra These seeds I will start inside on Apr 19 (right after I've planted the peas). They will move to the garden as the peas finish off somewhere around the end of May. These are also climbers. I have the option of replanting after harvest again with peas if we need to. I'll decide what to do from how each yields.

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Crookneck Squash (yellow summer squash) 4-5 plants can fit in a row. Last year I only planted half a row of this and the other half row zucchini and wished that I'd done a row of each (you can cut it up and freeze). We love this stuff and since I'm taking the three rows of corn out this year I have the room. I will plant the seed directly into the garden May 3rd. This is also a climber so will need fencepost/wire to climb.

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Peppers I can fit about 8 pepper plants into a row. I am planning on three big green bells, four colored peppers and one banana pepper plant. My pepper seeds I will start inside in March. They'll move to the garden around May 24th.

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Zucchini 5 plants can fit in the row. They are direct seeded on May 3rd. They will also need the fencepost/wire.

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Bush Beans We eat ALOT of green beans. I will plant two rows right together (I can get to them from each side) as many as can fit in the row. I sow direct seed on May 3rd and then I'll thin the rows a bit as they come in. This method last year made about 30 plants and we used every bit of it. I was tempted to do another two rows this way, but then I might have trouble keeping up with it.

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Broccoli One row will be about five plants. I am going to put one Eggplant plant on the end of the row just to try it. I've never grown eggplant before. The broccoli seed I will start inside on Mar 22 and it can go in the garden on Apr 19. The eggplant seed can be started inside Mar 29 and can move to the garden on May 17.

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This is a row of melons/gourds
3 hills of Watermelons Started directly in soil May 10th.
3 Cantaloupe Sprouted on papertowel Apr 19 and planted into garden May 10th.
3 hills of Pumpkins Started directly in soil May 10th
I've never tried climbing these plants but I've been reading alot of information that says it can be done. I'm going to try it this year (and I gave an extra foot in either direction in case it doesn't work and they have to grow on the ground

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Now my salad row
This will be a scattering of lettuce, then about 4 cabbages, then spinich, then 4 more cabbages, then more spinich, then 4 more cabbages and then room for more spinich.

This is a double row and the way I try to do it is scattering the plantings so that one part of each section of the row is being planted while another is being harvested. I do many varieties of each if I can. Lettuce and spinich can be started from seed inside Mar 22 and into the garden Apr 19. Cabbage 1st March/5th April

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Tomatoes I have room for 7 tomato plants in a row. I try to do several varieties, some cherry tomatoes, big slicing variety and Burpee has a long keeping variety that is supposed to keep 6-12 weeks. I thought it might be worth a try to get some of that variety and try it (I can always can them if they start to go bad). These seeds are planted inside Mar22-Apr 5 and moved to the garden May 17th.

I'm planting marigolds all around my tomatoes too. For color and beauty and because it helps them to grow better. Some of the research suggests that it's a natural repellant for tomato pests and brings in the beneficial pollinators. Start seed inside Mar 14 and move to garden May 10th.

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Onion sets
bunching onions

These I'll start inside Feb 22nd and move to the garden Apr 12.

That's the vegetable garden.

A couple of other things I'm trying this year. Instead of taking room in the garden for potatoes, I'm trying to grow them in a large trash barrel. You start the eyes in the trash barrel, just covered with dirt. When they grow up 10-12 in then you cover them back up with dirt or straw. Continue until time for harvest and you should have an entire barrel full of potatoes. I can't wait to see how it works out.

Kind of the same way, I'm doing my carrots in an empty bucket (or two).

I'm planting some leeks in my front flower beds. I thought they would be interesting vegetation and we can harvest them for eating! I'll start seeds inside 22nd of this month and can move them to my flower beds on Apr 12.

I'm also planting blueberries, raspberries and strawberries in my side front (south facing) flower beds along my house. I'm very interested in edible landscaping so I thought I would use this area where I put annuals last year. I do have some lilies there that I will need to transplant but I've found a place for them to go.

I'm also doing several containers for my front porch/entryway that I'll be starting from seed

begonia I haven't picked these seeds up yet, so unsure of my starting dates on this one.
impatiens Can start seeds inside Feb 22nd. These can go on porch after last frost (can always bring them back in if we need to)
petunia Can start seeds inside Feb 22nd
zinnias Can start seeds inside March 8th.