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JoAnne Davis questions

JoAnne,

Your 50' X 9' area is ok for 7 4'sq beds.

I have almost the same situation. I chose to put 5 beds in a 40' line and 2
more set off to the side because here at No 47 Lat. I was concerned w/
early and late season shadows from the squash, cucumbers, pole beans et al
that would climb up trellises and shade the beds to the North of them (my
back yard runs north-south.)

I chose 7 beds because that is prox how much I wanted to grow AND a good
rotation period. Five is probably just fine for rotation.

The trick with rotation is to plan the beds so that you have a plan for
each bed. Brassicas in one, Legumes in another, corn. . . . . . . . . . .
taking into account companion planting factors whenever possible. Each
successive year you leap frog beds (i.e. corn starts bed 1 to 3 to 5,
7,2,4,6. this moves a crop two beds each year and it takes 3 yrs before
anything is even in the bed next to a previous location.

I was generous with my spacing because I have the room. Since your 9'
dimension runs relatively north- south you may choose to have them closer
together. I would divide the 50' so as to accommodate 7 4'sq beds in a
line, with trellises on the north side of each bed so when it is time to
use them the shadow is minimal.

This should leave you plenty of room to work and marvelous access from the
driveway.

NOW is the time to pile all the organic matter available to you on that
clay/shale soil so by spring it will have broken down and made the soil
much more usable. You can, over time, improve your soil by the inclusion of
manure, grass clippings, leaves (NOW) and perhaps some rock phosphate.

Get a cheap PH kit and check that to see if you need Dolomite Lime. The
Magnesium in the Dolomite seems to have a beneficial effect on opening up
the clay.

Dolomite and Rock Phosphate; sparingly, Organic Matter; all you can find.
Surprisingly, this is consistent with a slim gardening budget, ain't nature
grand. I carry old plastic trash bags in the back of my car, along with
gloves and a "flexible" style rake with a cut off handle. So armed, I can
stop at any and all targets of opportunity and help out my neighbors, as
well as total strangers, by removing their leaf piles. Run over these
leaves (or don't) with your rotary lawnmower and pile them on the beds. You
can do this whether or not you have constructed raised beds, which may be
constructed later. There are no absolutes. Do what you can, when you can.
The most important thing is to start NOW.

Hope this helps,
DT (aka Dore Tyler)  deetee@accessone.com

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