Planning 2011's garden

Anyone else planning major changes to their garden next year?

We are not putting in a fall garden this year so we can redesign the lay-out. Instead of 48" wide beds, We're planning on 30" to 36" wide beds.

Right now our pathways are 48" wide. We plan to make them narrower, but wide enough so we can pull our garden cart through.

This should enable us to have more rows to grow more food.

Our battle with Burmuda grass is about over - WE WON - it still pokes through here and there, but in fewer and fewer patches. As some of you know, we dug up our grass and gave it to our neighbor. It looks happy there ^_^

I would like to put in a drip irrigation system, but with our garden being on a slope, I just can't figure out how one would work.

We have two pear, a persimmon, and a fig tree in 25 gallon pots. Hopefully they will transplant well, 'cause they are going into the ground before they break dormanacy next spring.

I'm planning on moving mine to a new home. I'm putting in a lot of short season plants for the fall for exactly that reason. Probably will borrow my mom's garden for my onions and garlic. We are planning to buy and move sometime during the winter, so will have to put in new beds. I'm ready for a redesign anyway. I like what I have, but it could always be better, you know?

Honeybee, what you're describing is a lot like what we already have. I got the idea from Eliot Coleman's books - 30"-wide rows with paths between them. He has his paths at 12" but we made ours 18" for wheelbarrows and generally easier maneuvering all round. We also have a drip irrigation system, and I don't think you'd have much trouble with one even though you're on a slope. The water builds up tension all along the T-tape and it drips out fairly easily at each slit.

lol - You know that utility easement at the back of the property that has all kinds of fine print in the deed and survey but really you ignore that and concentrate your vegetable beds back there because it gets good sun under the lines? Well apparently every 60 years the utlity company comes around to replace the poles, and this is my lucky week. So yeah, looks like some redesign/reinstallation in my future, too.


Congrats on the bermuda. Silly neighbors!

Uh oh, realbirdlady! I guess you'll be busy, huh?

They sometimes spray herbicides on that right-of-way, too, so it might not be the best idea to put your veggies back there!

Melissa,
Here's a layout I ran across just today!

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=7924412

Here's the layout I use; I did it in Photoshop Elements. It's just a template, and I print it out and fill in the varieties for my rotation plans.

Linda, that one is good and definately what I had in mind. :) Saved that pic to my hard drive.

Greenhouse_gal-I bow to your superiority. I could only dream of having that kind of garden. 'Scuse me while I mop up the drool.

I'm planning to basically start over, add lots of organic matter, and solarize the entire garden to finally get rid of all the weeds, I am going to try to transplant the lovage and make a special place for the perennial herbs in another area so I can till the whole garden without having to make special allowances for them. Last year was the first year for this garden and the first garden I've had in about 15 years other than EBs and containers, so I just kinda threw it together. Between last year and this year I've learned a lot about this dirt, or, I should rather say, sand, full of fungi and slimy slugs and something that likes to take one bite out of green tomatoes, and the black walnut that makes part of it unusable for tomatoes etc.

So I'm going to start over with a good knowledgeable plan. What that will be I have no I idea! But some of it I can do without an actual layout. There will be a long winter to figure that out!

Sapphire, it takes a lot of work! And some things come up and others don't. We have friends who have tons of Swiss chard and ours is pathetic, for instance. But we do enjoy it and it's a neat way to get some exercise.

Bolino, our seed catalogues usually come right around Christmas and I love planning next spring's garden then.

This message was edited Jun 28, 2010 5:41 PM

Love all the posts - keep them coming. We gardeners are eternal optimists ^_^

Hubby and I did a little measuring... If I put 6" board down one side of our raised beds, and 10" boards down the other, I think we could make each individual bed level. That should make them easier to water with a drip system.

I should be able to get nine 25ft rows which are 36" wide. I decided 36" would be good for the pathways, too. My beans and tomatoes are a little closer than that at the moment, and the beans are stretching their way towards, and wrapping themselves around the tomatoes!

I sold my van in January, so now I'm wondering how I'm gonna get wooden boards into my little Matrix Hatchback LOL

Sweet talk a neighbor with a truck? Or you can always strap them to the top!

I like Elliot Coleman's ideas too. I'm getting ready to redo my entire garden next year. New location and new setup. I plan on mixing Elliot's ideas with those of the lady from Garden Girl TV. I'm going to go to uniform 4x4 beds or beds that have dividers at four foot. This will allow me to build covers and accessories that will fit each and every bed. Also, I'm going to get rabbits and chickens to move around over my beds to get the fertilizer directly applied. I'm going to build two movable high tunnels designed to fit over rows of my raised beds. This way I can protect what ever crops I want - any time I want. I'm in zone 5 and am going to try the winter garden this fall and winter.

Google has a free tool called SketchUp that you can use to draw scaled garden plans.

We used to let our chickens in our garden until we reconfigured it à la Eliot Coleman. Were you thinking of having the chickens and rabbits in movable pens of the proper size? That would be a neat idea. I like the movable high tunnels, too. You will have to post photos when you get it up and running.

I had never heard of SketchUp. It looks good; I'll have to try it. Have you used it?

sketch up is good if you are going to do one plan - it is only free for 8 hours. As for the chickens and rabbits, yes to the moveable pens.

I wouldn't mind paying for it if it were really good. I've looked and looked for something that would suit for planning my veggie garden and helping me do the yearly rotations.

sgriffith - good luck with your new garden plan, it sounds very exciting! Let us know how it works.

Here's my map. Basically I have four rotating zones (curcurbits, nightshades, legumes and brassicas). Then I have two permanent beds (asparagus/strawberries and artichokes).

Very nice map, and it looks like you've got everything covered. Are you going to rotate the families?

Yes, but I will replant where I can (the peas are done, so I will put in more beans, etc.). Once I harvest this winter, I will rotate all the families to the new bed...

Nice layout Happygirl345.

Are you growing in ground or in beds?

mostly in ground. I have one raised bed in the "permanent" section that I use for seedlings, or sometimes lettuce. I can put hoops on it for when it gets too cold in Jan-Feb for lettuces...

I am going to have to take a real picture as soon as we finish the paths... right now it looks like a bomb went off!

happygirl - I admire anyone who can be that well-organized. ^_^ Is your gardening plot level? I have to plant in rows across a slope. I'd like to have a "cottage garden" and interplant everything, but I don't think it would work too well in my situation.

Flat as a pancake. I almost wish I had a slope for the melons... they are about to take over!

happygirl - Nah! You don't want a slope. If you're not careful, your water runs off, and your precious top soil goes with it! I have raised beds to keep the dirt where I want it.

greenhouse_gal and all, thanks for posting the plans with areas to include permanent planting for asparagus, etc. I like Eliot Coleman as well and keep trying to move towards many of his ideas. Asparagus is a definite for next year. Want to put the strawberries in a permanent bed too.

Next year I will start with my new project of growing some espaliered fruits. I've always--I mean, like for thirty years or so-- wanted to do this so I'm pretty exited. I'm also looking at a chicken tractor to move around over one portion of beds to another. We can't really let our chickens run loose because we have many hawks, eagles, and owls in the area. But I think we've solved out coyote and "free range" dog problem with the new turbo wire fence and the donkeys. Knock wood.

My most urgent project is to find what to spray and when. I need a good chart to put on the garden shed door. I need to be more consistent with my disease and insect control.

terri -

Well, I try to let nature take it's course and had quite a bit of success up north with that method. But here in NE Texas we have another kettle of fish. I've been having good luck with the lasagne garden method, so some things are going fairly well. But my roses are going to need some organic spraying (mostly just for black spot). And the tomatoes are needing something extra. I was able to keep up with the tomato horn worm population until the last round of rains we've been having. There are now way too many for me to keep up with by picking alone as I work very long hours and they seem to know my schedule. I understand that a little Bt will send them on their way. There are so many THW's that the birds have discovered them and, since they are on the tomato vines anyway, they are also feasting on my tomatoes. So the THW's must go and next year I think I will just need to apply a pre-emptive strike of Bt to keep this from happening again. I have traps out for the beetles and they seem to be keeping up with the JB's in particular (knock wood). I'm not wanting to do a constant spray regime or anything like that. But I am the first person the veg or flower garden on this 75 acres and am surrounded by another 1500 acres of nothing but pasture. As you can imagine, the bad bugs have been just waiting for me!

I have taken the first step in installing a drip irrigation system. My neighbor put in a water pipe to bring H20 from the front yard to the back yard!

Now I need to beg or borrow a truck so I can bring home some lumber for new raised beds.

Hopefully I'll get this project completed before spring 2011

HoneybeeNC, sometimes the lumber yards will deliver for cheap or free. I have a truck (which I would use to pick up for you if we were neighbors) but I often take advantage of a delivery to save wear and tear....

Thanks, Terri, I didn't think about lumber yards possibly making a free delivery. I'm hoping my son-in-law will be able to borrow his father's truck at some point and I'll tag along with him on a trip to Lowe's.

Pictures, please...

I've decided to remove all the grass in my yard, too, and do a layout for raised beds and pathways.

I need help envisioning possibilities! Basically, mine is a blank slate...

Gymgirl - if you have Burmuda or a similar grass I advise you to remove it by hand first or it will grow right through your beds. I've found other grass can be smothered with a thick layer of newspaper and cardboard. For some reason, putting the newspaper down first is better than putting cardboard down first. Don't wet these layers. I've read that they should be wetted, but i've found it best not to do so. The newspapers will rot more quickly if wet, allowing the grass to regrow.

My beds are held up with pine boards 2"x6". Buy as many as you need for the length of beds you want. My beds are 24 feet long. I purchased three 8 foot 2"x6" boards for each side of each bed. The pine boards will eventually rot. Next summer will be my fifth year using pine boards, and by the look of them they will need replacing in 2012. We have bamboo growing in one corner of our yard, which we cut in 15" lengths to hold-up the pine boards. They take about two years to rot.

My origninal beds were 48" wide, but I'm changing them to 36" wide because I found it hard to reach into the middle to pick veggies.

I originally left a 48" path between the beds, but I'm changing that to 36".

I garden on an slope, so I have the beds going across the slope.

I'm installing a drip irrigation system for next year because my hubby is finding it harder and harder to get around.

Hope this mental photo helps :) I hope to have actual photos soon.

Next year I will be doing a LOT more container gardening. I've got two huge trees in my yard and lots more trees around the edges than when I started here, so between roots and shade, my few sunny spaces have almost disappeared. One of the best ones is the driveway. I started colonizing that with pots two years ago. Peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes grow well in pots there, but now I'd like to try growing in pots in the areas I haven't been able to use because of huge tree roots, which is more than a third of my yard. I've already got a bunch of 5-gallon pots, but I want to try 10- and 20-gallon ones. These will really increase my planting area.

This year I specialized in getting perennial herbs started. Next year I will do more of those but also lots of Asian greens. Most of them should be quite happy in pots in partial shade.

Paracelsus,
Have you seen my pictorial thread on Retro fitting a 24" or larger container? Check it out in the Self-Contained gardening forum here.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1094601/

Anyone getting seed catalogs already? I've gotten 2 (Stokes, Pinetree) in the past week

Yes, Pinetree.....I think early seed catalogs may be the wave of the future. To that end, I'm looking at a couple of new-to-me veggies for next spring. Has anyone grown cutting celery before? Looks less labor intensive that regular celery. Might be fun. Easy....hard? What do you think?

Can't believe 2011 is just a month and a couple weeks away!

Yes, a catalogue came from Pinetree the other day.

Today I finished laying out the new bed for the garlic. Will get the cloves set tomorrow.

I set two 24' rows of garlic this morning. There should be plenty to share with the neighbors next summer.

terri- I grow cutting celery- I like the celery taste but not chunks-(weird,huh) So I just grow the leafy type- I have some in a cinder block at the edge of my raised garden that has been there 2 seasons. Because it is very rootbound I starter some about 6 weeks ago and will put it in and dig up the old one. I use it in nearly all my cooking and salads- it is great- doesn't make the bif stalks, just lots of luscious dark green leaves.It's extremely hardy and just grows and grows!