This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: 30 ft long garden on East side of house

Hi Jim:

Sounds to me like you're doing the best you can with what you've got!
I wouldn't worry too much about not having the *exact* size of the
beds; just adapt the general principles to your 12x20" rectangles.
Since you clearly can't plant right up next to the house, maybe
utilize just 18" of the depth in your calculations -- then you have a
convenient extra half-square on every one! I'm sure that big plants
like tomatoes will appreciate the extra room and the warmth from the
brick wall. Is it possible to run strings up to the eaves to train
beans and other heat-loving, viney things up? The less heat-tolerant
crops will probably do fine at the front of the bed.

I don't go exactly *by the book*, either -- several of my beds are
octagonal! I put up a bean 'tower' in the center of each and trellis
beans up one, tomatoes up another and cukes and/or squash up the
third one. I use Mel's spacing guidelines to calculate the area
required and plant the appropriate number of plants in each octagon
-- so far, so good! I plan to add a couple more octagons this season,
and think I'll put determinate tomatoes and peppers in one and either
bush shell beans or Tom Thumb popcorn (maybe both!) in the other. In
each of these cases, I'll do the same calculation to come up with the
optimum number of plants for the space. Experimenting is half the
fun, I think -- go for it, and good luck!

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 ...
----------
On Sunday, March 09, 1997 7:54 PM you wrote:
>
> I'm brand new at SF gardening. Just read the book and set up my
garden on the
>  East side
> of my house (brick). Garden is 30 feet long and 20 inches wide.
<<snip>> I
>  am
> obviously *Not* using the 4 ft by 4 ft beds recommended in the
book, but this is
>  what I
> can do within some limitations of my particular property. I live on
the East
>  side of a
> mountain and North of a forest, so my sun is limited no matter
where I garden.
>  <<snip>>
> Any comments on this garden arrangement or suggestions based on
your
>  experiences?
>  <<snip>>
> Rocket Jim in Rocket City (Huntsville AL)
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index