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Re: how to arrange your plants

Hi Rob:

Given the crops you specify, I think I'd do a checkerboardy kind of
layout, alternating my root-crop squares with my leaf-crop squares,
kind of like this:
        BEETS           LETTUCE TURNIPS

        SPINACH CARROTS LETTUCE
That way, no two crops of the same type would be next to each other;
also, the leafy guys grow faster than the root crops, so by the time
the beet, turnip & carrot tops were getting large, you'd probably be
pulling the lettuce and spinach, right?
Of course, if you're going to pay attention to your crop rotations,
(as a good square-footer should! 8-]) you're going to need to keep
pretty good notes so you know what NOT to plant in those squares next
time or the time after. I personally think a rotation of at least
three different crops in one spot is the minimum, but I know of
people who do well enough with just two -- so do whatever works best
for you.

When you get a chance, do check out Louise Riotte's books on
companion planting, as well as the Rodale Encyclopedia of Organic
Gardening -- lots of interesting stuff there. Eliot Coleman's book,
_The New Organic Grower's Four-Season Harvest_ has a great section on
crop rotation, if you find that you enjoy playing 'musical plants' in
a serious way. Above all, have experiment and have fun with this --
that's what gardening is all about! Hope this helps.

Happy trails.....

     Sue Drake
     Southeastern WI -- USDA zone 4b/5a
... Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves,
        for they shall never cease to be amused ...

----------
> From: Rob Loach
> Subject: how to arrange your plants
> Date: Saturday, March 08, 1997 4:37 PM
>
> I am going to try to do as much as I can this year in the sqft
method.  I
> have Mel's book, and I've been "lurking" on the list.  What I'd
like to
> know is how do you find it best to arrange your various plants in
the 1
> ft. squares?  If I'm going to plant several squares of lettuce, for
> example, is it best to put them side by side or to put something
else in
> a square between the two squares of lettuce?  This may seem really
> elementary, but I'd like to know what works best for the rest of
you.
> I'm planning to plant some leaf lettuce, spinach, beets, carrots,
and
> turnips in the next several days, so I'd like to get some opinions
before
> I do.  TIA !  :-)
> Rob
>
> -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=-
> Rob Loach in Greenville SC
> rdloach@juno.com
> "For in Him we live, and move, and have our being."  Acts 17:28
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