Where to plant...

[nachoqtpie]

So... we were only able to put in 6 raised beds for planting this year. We will continue to get more lumber and make beds in the off season and again in the spring, but we're working with what we got for now! ;-)

Anyways! We have a dedicated bed for strawberries, which I'm not counting towards our planting beds. It's on the far north east side. (If we would have planned this out a lil better we would have put it on the south west side of the garden.. but.. we live and learn! LOL) So... this is how our beds are set up now

S TTTTT BBBBB BBBBB PPP CCCC
S PPP CCCC
S PPP CCCC
S PPP CCCC
S RROO BBBBB WWWW PPP CCCC



S = strawberries
B = blank
W = watermellon
P = pumpkin
C = corn
T = tomato
R = carrot
O = onion

We have cucumbers and bush beans (green and yellow) left. Where do you think that we should plant those? Do you think that this is an okay set up for the first year?

Suggestions and comments are, as always, quite welcome! (Also.. if we need to do it completely different, PLEASE let us know! LOL) Right now, the only thing that is planted is the strawberries.

 

[patandchickens]

Do you think that this is an okay set up for the first year?

Of course it's fine, don't worry

If it were me I'd probably put the cukes in the totally-empty bed just because they tend to be viney and sprawly even if you trellis them, and that way you don't need to worry about them flopping onto other plants.

And then put the beans in the rest of the space.

If you aren't going to plant a whole bed's worth of cukes, they can share with the beans too

You will probably want to give the watermelons a wide berth when you plant your other stuff -- ideally you'd have planted lettuce or some other early-to-mature-and-be-removed crop near them, because soon they will be going all over. Even if you direct much of their growth onto the lawn (which is what a lot of people do, and just mow around them) SOME will go all over that bed by the end of the summer.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[nachoqtpie]

Well... there are 3 empty beds...

I guess what I'm trying to ask is should I plant the cukes or the bush beans with the tall stuff? We have about 15 cuke plants (hubs LOOOOOOOOVES pickles... LOL) so... I'm going to need something for them to climb, correct? And the beans should come out looking a bit like a tomato plant correct?

Or maybe I could plant one bed of beans (a 4x8 bed full of beans should be enough??) and dedicate a bed to just the watermelon? Or is that a bad idea? LOL

Or son is 12, and he about had a heart attack when I told him that he could pick something to grow because I KNEW it would be pumpkins. So, I'm giving him some room to plant him some pumpkins. And of course... we ran out of money before we ran out of space for beds... haha.. Hubs as complaining that there wasn't enough compost in the beds and they weren't high enough. I told him to quit worrying about it... that this was our first year and we'd already spent about $80 on freakin DIRT and I didn't want to spend any more when we were capable of making our own! LOL

 

[Reinbeau]

Well... there are 3 empty beds...

I guess what I'm trying to ask is should I plant the cukes or the bush beans with the tall stuff? We have about 15 cuke plants (hubs LOOOOOOOOVES pickles... LOL) so... I'm going to need something for them to climb, correct? And the beans should come out looking a bit like a tomato plant correct?

No, beans don't look much like tomatoes at all The cukes will do better if they can climb, so you could plant them near the corn, but better would be to give them a trellis of some sort, that leaves more room on the ground to grow other things. I plant lettuce in the shade of the cukes, it helps during the heat of the summer by offering them some shade.

Or maybe I could plant one bed of beans (a 4x8 bed full of beans should be enough??) and dedicate a bed to just the watermelon? Or is that a bad idea? LOL

If you're planning on picking all those beans and putting them up then plant that whole bed all at once - but what you can do is plant a few rows every two weeks, to stagger your harvest, so you'll have fresh beans for a long period.

The watermelon will definitely do better if you give it its own bed. Those plants are large, they'll definitely crawl out of the bed.

Or son is 12, and he about had a heart attack when I told him that he could pick something to grow because I KNEW it would be pumpkins. So, I'm giving him some room to plant him some pumpkins. And of course... we ran out of money before we ran out of space for beds... haha.. Hubs as complaining that there wasn't enough compost in the beds and they weren't high enough. I told him to quit worrying about it... that this was our first year and we'd already spent about $80 on freakin DIRT and I didn't want to spend any more when we were capable of making our own! LOL

Pumpkins definitely take up lots of space. You should plant them in one of the edge beds, so they can wander out into the yard.

 

[nachoqtpie]

*giggle* What I meant is that we're planting bush beans, so while they won't look like the tomato plants, they will be bushy like tomato plants. Should we invest in some tomato cages or stakes for them?

The way the layout is right now, the corn, pumpkins, and watermelon won't be in beds, but rather straight in the ground. I don't think we're going to be able to eat a ton of watermelon and I have no idea how to can or freeze it, or if you even CAN freeze or can it! LOL

The pumpkin on the other hand, Monk wants to can so he can have pumpkin flavored foods all year. I swear if I would let him he would eat nothing but pumpkin! I think we're going to put in 3 mounds of pumpkins and leave it at that. I'm hoping that I can contain it a bit and it won't go in the neighbors yard. I have a feeling if it does they will run it over with the lawn mower because they're a bunch of jerks.

 

[patandchickens]

I figured you were going to just fill all the remaining space with your cukes and bush beans?

What Reinbeau said about doing successive smaller plantings of your beans unless you deliberately WANT lots all at once.

*giggle* What I meant is that we're planting bush beans, so while they won't look like the tomato plants, they will be bushy like tomato plants. Should we invest in some tomato cages or stakes for them?

No, they are not tomato-plant size/shape at all The "bush" part of their name does not mean each plant gets big and bushy, it is simply telling you they are very short as opposed to tall vining sprawling pole-beans or runner beans

Bush beans grow less than knee-high and not very wide at all. You plant them in densely-planted rows or double rows, not individually several feet apart like you do tomatoes. Like maybe 4" between plants. Definitely no cages or stakes for bush beans. Read the packet instructions about spacing etc, or try googling 'bush beans'.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Ridgerunner]

I see that you and Pat have been posting while I have been typing. With the new information, some of what I say will not be all that valid for you, but I'll post it anyway. You may pick something out of it that may help you.

You can easily overthink this kind of stuff. And don't forget here is a lot of personal preference in what I am going to say. Somebody else would lay it out totally differently than I would for different but perfectly valid reasons.

Don't beat yourself up about it. It is your first year. Even after ten years, you will still have some successes and some things that could have gone better. And don't worry about having just six beds. You can grow a lot in them without being overwhelmed your first year.

I think all of your beds are 4x8 but I am not sure how close together they are. Your sun will be coming from where you have the corn, that being on the southwest side. Are the beds close enough together that the corn will shade the bed just northeast of it? If you trellis, cage or stake your tomatoes or cucumbers, they might also offer some shade to another bed. It is probably nothing to worry about, just something to maybe consider when laying it out.

Cucumbers, watermelon, and pumpkins can come in bush or semi-bush varieties that run a lot less than others, but production is usually a lot less too. You'll be amazed at how much a regular watermelon or pumpkin will run, while the cucumbers will get thicker rather than run real long distances. The big problem for me is that you cannot really keep grass and weeds cut so where they go tend to get real messy. You can trellis the cucumbers and keep them better controlled, but they still tend to wander.

I kind of like the way you laid it out. The corn will finish long before the pumpkins and watermelon so they can run that way. Shade from the corn should not bother them, especially after they start to run. I don't know how much production you are after from the watermelon and pumpkins. For your first year, especially if you go with the regular ones instead of bush varieties, I'd be tempted to put half of one bed in pumpkins and the other half in watermelon.

I would be tempted to put the pumpkins and watermelons where you have the corn and the corn where you have the pumpkins. The corn will finish fairly early compared to pumpkins and watermelon. Having it there may give you better access to plant a fall garden, but I think Pat is right. The watermelon and pumpkins will probably be over there too. They just don't take discipline well, especially if you get the non-bush types.

Another alternative is to plant the pumpkins with the corn. The pumpkins will provide a sort of living mulch for the corn once they take off. One potential problem is that the pumpkins may make it a little hard to get to the corn for harvesting if they really take off, but I'd expect you to be able to manage that without any real inconvenience. I've never tried watermelon with corn. Somehow that just doesn't feel right, but I'm not sure why. Maybe the watermelon need more sun at a young age? But growing pumpkins with corn is an old practice, although that was traditionally field corn, not sweet corn. You might want to notice how much the pumpkins are spreading when you harvest the sweet corn and file that information away for next year. See what I mean about overthinking it?

There are so many different ways you can do this and practically any of them will work well. Don't overthink the shade thing. That probably will not be an issue. If it is, next year plant something there that needs a little less sun in that shade. The way the watermelon and pumpkins spread is about the only thing I think will surprise you about growing them.

This is your year to get a handle on how much of anything you want to plant. You may find that a very few pumpkin plants make all the pumpkins you need. Maybe not. If all you want from the beans is some to eat on, one full bed may be too many, but if you are into canning, you may want more. With the corn, if you are preserving it, you want to plant it all at one time, but if all you want is fresh corn to eat, you will probably do better planting half or even a third of the bed at one time so you get a staggered harvest. Maybe plant each planting two weeks apart.

Good luck with it. It is an adventure, but there is nothing like sweet corn going straight into the boiling water. I think you will enjoy the adventure, even with an occasional frustration along the way.

 

[Lorelai]

Ridgerunner already addressed the shade issue, which was going to be my one useful contribution to this discussion.

Regarding watermelon. I'm not sure what can be done with the fruit itself in terms of long term storage, but I do know that the rinds can be pickled. And it actually tastes really good! I tried some last summer and was really surprised. So that might be something worth looking into.

 

[Reinbeau]

I actually do offer support to my bush beans, I've got these two folding grates that I set into place, and I plant the seeds beneath them - they're both about 3' by 3'. The beans grow up through the wire squares, and are a bit supported. It helps to keep the beans off the ground. It definitely isn't necessary, but since I had it I've used it now for a few years. My favorite bush bean is Blue Lake 275, I can't believe how long that will continue to bloom and produce.

 

[nachoqtpie]

Okay... thanks guys!

I'm so glad that this resource is available!! I was talking to my mom today and she said that I shouldn't even bother with the trellis for the cucumbers. We went ahead and bought some bamboo poles that are about 4' tall and we plan on forming a teepee for them.

I'm trying not to over analyze but that's just not how my mind works I guess... hehe

I will try and get some pictures of everything when it's done and post for all of you!