Re: how many plants?
Gail,
I am in the same situation as you. Next year will be my fourth year
as an Ag grower. What I find works best for this amount of area is start
with four plants. Two very good proven seeds for sure that you plan on
keeping and also good proven seeds if you have them and can afford it as
backups. If not, maybe two seeds of your own from last years patch. Give
your primary plants your two favorite locations and all the love and care you
normally would. set you backups somewhere else in the patch so that if you
lose one of your main plants the backup can take its place. As your plants
grow you can pull your backups if the main ones look ok. Obviously you have
to make this choice before the start to overlap but it gives you a backup
plan for about the first 30 days of the season if you need one. Case in
point, One of my main plants went down on me last year and I had to let a
backup plant fill its place. Weather, disease and bugs can take their toll
on your patch. So have a backup plan or plan(t) to help prevent total
disaster.
Hope this helps,
Brad Walters
IPGA organizer
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