Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The Plan

I have really been thinking about what to put in these raised beds as I have been filling them. Usually I don't do any kind of garden plan. I have actually been known to scoff at those people that do go all out and plan. However, my garden has not been nearly as great the last few years as I would like so I think that calls for a plan this year. Now, not all the raised beds are done yet, I still have two more that I want to put in that I haven't found "building material" for yet but here is how I hope it will look by planting time next spring. This first picture is the lower garden in the front yard (you will have to click on it to see it. I could not figure out how to put a Microsoft Word page on here so took a picture of my screen.).
This is basically the main summer garden. In the spring there may be a few radishes and lettuce in there somewhere but I really tried to restrain myself because my gardens have always been way too crowded and I don't want them to be that way anymore. 
The corn and sunflowers are just in their for experiment purposes. When I have grown corn here before it could never stay standing upright because as soon as the clay soil got wet and soft, it would fall over. I want to see if it can stand upright in the raised beds. As for the sunflowers. I have grown them here before but it was always by accident. I just want to see if they will grow in the raised bed.  So for that bed there will only be around 4 corn plants with sunflowers in between and the tomatoes in front.


Here is the backyard plan. Not much to see here. This bed will likely be used just in the spring unless lettuce and greens will grow in it all summer long since when the leaves get on the trees it becomes too shaded for other crops.

This likely is not where my planning will end. I am thinking of planting the grapes in front of the garden on a fence type trellis. I have seen one at a house we pass on one of the back roads to take Phil to work (or to my brother's house where he catches a ride to work). They have a wooden rail fence out front yard and on each post they have a grape vine and there are maybe 6 or 8 posts that they string across the two rails to the side of the grape plant. I like it a LOT and I WANT one! But I can't do that in the front of our yard so I will have to do just a two or three post fence in front of the garden.
I also need a strawberry tower. One of those nice round ones would be great right out in the middle of the lawn but I need to find something to make it out of first.
I also need another blueberry/berry bed too. Just not having any luck where I plant them even though I made sure to amend their soil last year. Perhaps now that we have cut the trees the garden on the hill will get enough light again for things to grow in it and the old strawberry bed is over there too. That would be ideal.
Anyway, these are the thoughts for right now. I am sure I will find somewhere else to put a few more beds before spring. 

3 comments:

  1. Wow! Impressive stuff. I'm not one for making fancy plans though. Although I make some rough plans I do prefer to adapt to changing circumstances. (We call it "Winging it"!)

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  2. Well, I have never made a plan before but I feel like I should this time. I am sure it will get changed a bit before spring.

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  3. Looks like a good plan so far.
    For us, some years are plan years and some are 'winging it' years. Last season was a wing it and with all the rain the wing was washed out.
    So, this year could be a 'wing plan'...

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