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beans - harvest quantity per square? and other veggie questions.

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

Hi gang,

I can find info on how much space each plant takes, but not much info on
how much each plant or square will *produce*.

I have Royal Burgandy bush beans and Kentucky Blue pole beans.  I eat out a
lot, and when I eat in it's just me at dinner (and sometimes my SO), but
when I "cook" it is usually for myself and a few hungry friends, and I
don't mind having extra to give away.  I'd like perhaps 1-2 pounds of beans
per week.  (I have already planted beets, squash, and corn, in addition to
salad veggies and 'maters, and I have 4 broccoli plants left over from the
winter.)

I just started 12 Burgandy seeds in 2 old transplant 6 packs.  Is that (=1
1/3 squares) enough plants to get ~1 lbs a week?  How often do they need to
be harvested to keep producing?  And I need to know how many pole beans to
plant, and how much to stagger the plantings etc. to also get ~1 lb a week.

I have a fairly large planting area for a single person[1], with 4 4x4
raised beds currently in place (and wood for 2 more), and a 8'x12' open
area remaining that goes up to 2 fences.  I can also plant in other areas
of the yard.  I also need to fit some corn into this area and was wondering
what will shade what if I plant the beans near the corn.  Can I plant the
pole beans along the fence and then the corn right in front of them, or
will the corn grow faster and shade the beans?  (This fence faces south).
Will a 3x4 block of corn fertilize the ears OK?  (I was thinking of 3
plantings 3-4 weeks apart.)  If I get an over-abundance of corn, I'll just
have to have a BBQ and invite friends over.  :-)

I also have a "dead area" along the back wall of the house, full of weeds
at present.  This wall faces west, and it gets real hot in those rooms in
the summer.  There is a fence to the west 6 feet away, so the soil only
gets sun for about 4 hours, but up on the wall it stays sunny later.  Can I
plant my beans here, will a 1/2 day of sun be enough?  What about
sunflowers?  I would like to plant something tall that will take advantage
of the sun that comes over the fence in the later afternoon, and will also
help shade that side of the house.  There isn't room for corn.  A row of
squares 12 inches (or perhaps 2 squares, going to 24 inches) planted about
2 feet away from the house to not be under the overhand is all that will
fit and still leave a walk down the side next to the fence.  I'm also going
to try some peas along the fence because they will have some shade in the
afternoon.  (I love peas and even though it may get too hot for them in the
summer here I'm going to try it and if it doesn't work then I will replant
in the fall for a winter/spring crop.)  The ground in this area isn't too
hot, so crops that tolerate poor soil are best.

Thanks in advance for all replies and suggestions!


jc  

[1] If you know of anyone looking for housing in Silicon Valley (Sunnyvale,
CA) who is interested in sharing a house (and gardening :-), please point
them at:

http://vo.cnchost.com/house.html


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