A place to discuss your working garden design

heirlooms777

What is your working crop plan now?

We are trying to start a group out here in Michigan to help each other with gardening, such as starting seedlings, canning, fermentation, helping with the gardens, etc. We are also helping the poor learn how to garden.

I rent, but I have four 8’x4’ garden beds in a local community garden, and I am gardening in huge bins and buckets around the house (it’s amazing what you can do with bins — almost the whole garden for one person could be done in these). I also am helping others with their gardens.

Here is draft #1:

Today I’ll prepare a couple of the 8’x10’ beds and plant something , like peas as suggested by the amazing @VermontCathy . At her recommendation, I might also put in the ground today lettuce, spinach (I will transplant seedlings and direct seed), mustard, and collards, although I’ll keep an eye on it, and cover with a sheet when it’s cold, which does happen in Michigan. (Looking for greenhouse fabric). I’m trying to decide if I should direct seed blue Hubbard squash and butternut (for storing in winter), and still need winter trumpet squash, which I will use early like summer squash and then let the best grow out into winter squash.

I am learning to use soil blockers (I figure if the soil is sopping wet when I start I won’t kill everything :)) I’m using the soil blockers to starting now: celery; leeks; onions; cabbage; collards; kale; kohlrabi; Swiss chard; mustard; yarrow (although it needs to warm up from its chill in the the fridge so the seeds don’t get moldy); savory; parsley; eucalyptus; local rose mallow; and maybe marsh mallow (same refrigerator situation, new seed); local Canada wild rye and barley (cover crops for at least the paths to walk on, wanting to follow biointensive gardening with 70% cover crops like daikon, Canada wild rye, other grains); local echinacea; and maybe some shorter sunflowers in huge pots. 

Here is a draft of my garden basing it off of my friend’s garden (see picture). This is one and a half plots of my four plots. I’m looking for a better trellis than the wooden sticks I have been using.

What is your plan?

—Christina

Ήλιος

Torey

Well, it certainly is a good idea to have a map and keep it for next year, for rotating crops.

Also helps if you have planted a fall seeded crop or perennials that die back, so you can remember where everything is.

Don't forget species names. I planted a couple of blueberry bushes a few years ago and just wrote down blueberry. By the next year I had completely forgotten which varieties I had bought and which ones were which.

Michelle D

I definitely echo Torey's comments about details. Every year when I write out my plans there always seems to be some specific details that a miss writing down. When I go back to look I find myself wondering exactly what my notes meant.