Vegetable Garden Layout


by Ginger Baer
For many years vegetable gardens were spacious, spread out and required a lot of weeding, water and upkeep.  I loved my BIG garden, but hated the weeding and tried many methods to cut down on that kind of work. It wasn’t until I moved to the mountains and joined our community garden that I actually tried intensive gardening (due to the fact that my space was limited). Each garden plot measured 4' X 12', a far cry from my 20' x 20' garden at a lower elevation.

In-ground garden
The most important part of selecting your garden location is location.  You need to have plenty of sunlight, well-drained soils and availability to water.  Leafy vegetables, such as lettuce and spinach, require the least direct sunlight, only 4 to 5 hours. Root vegetables require 5 to 6 hours, and fruiting vegetables (such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini) require at least 8 hours. In Colorado, water can be a challenge unless you have water rights.  This is why I have a plot in the Gilpin County Community Garden.  They provide the water.

Broad forks
If one has plenty of space, water, time and energy, row gardening can be a great way to garden. It does require a bit of money to amend the soil, maintain and water. I had successfully gardened this way for many years. You will need to be sure that your rows are straight (you can use a string for your layout) because this will make tilling between the rows easiest. In this style of garden, you will need to take care that you don’t walk on the rows as to avoid compaction of the soil, which will inhibit root growth. 

Until recently, mechanical tillers were the recommended method for turning the soil.  Recently, however, it is recommended that you hand till the beds with either a garden fork or a broad fork.  This can be labor and time intensive if your garden is large, however, you are minimizing the chances for compaction (by footsteps and heavy equipment). If this is your style of garden, then by all means, go for it.  

For me, however, I have really loved my smaller, intensive garden. Square foot gardening is a trend that started out in the 1970’s and 1980’s and was developed by Mel Bartholomew. [1] This method has been further developed and there is a garden note from CSU Extension on what is called Block Style Garden. [2] I have adopted this style of gardening in my community garden plot. The idea of this style of gardening is to maximize yields for the space allotted. In your space you should lay out a plan to plant crops with an equal-distance space between neighboring plants in both directions. In doing so you will also need to consider the sunlight requirements of each of your plants.


Another consideration is how much room each plant requires for growing.  Lettuce, radishes and carrots are ideal for block gardening, whereas squash and vining vegetables such as cucumbers may require too much space.  One thing that can help with those types of plants is a trellis. Remember the direction of the sunlight when using this method so that you do not shade the other plants in your garden.

Due to the fact that there is such intensity in your plantings you will need to be sure that you maintain the richness of your soil. Concentrate on improving soils with routine applications of organic matter and get soil testing along the way to be sure that you have a correct balance.

Block style gardens are well suited for both in-the-ground plots or raised beds. As mentioned above, I started mine in a plot that measured 4 ft x 12 ft and it was in the ground. In this plot, I was able to grow onion, lettuce, spinach, arugula, carrots, peas, radishes, turnips, beans, squash and a cherry tomato.

Raised beds in Community Garden
The community garden also offers raised beds by way of galvanized water troughs measuring 3 ft x 10 ft.  I love mine! Last year I grew onions, carrots, radishes, lettuce, arugula, peas, beans, squash and cucumber.  One error I did make was to grow too many squash plants, and you know how those squash multiply (keep your car windows closed!).  The squash really spread and overtook the cucumber plants and beans.  One plant will be enough in the bed this year.

Whatever method you decide to use, it is always a good idea to layout your garden plan with pencil and paper.  This way you will be sure of how much room you have for your plants and you will also have a good record from one year to the next of what you grew, what did well, and what did not. Make the most of your space and happy gardening!

[1] https://www.almanac.com/video/planning-square-foot-garden

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Makalah Kesehatan Anak Usia Dini

BAB I PENDAHULUAN 1.1 .    Latar Belakang Kebutuhan dasar seorang anak adalah asah,asih, dan asuh. Asah adalah stimulasi atau pendidikan, asih adalah kasih sayang dan asuh adalah pemenuhan kebutuhan fisik yaitu pemberian gizi atau nutrisi dan kesehatan yang optimal.Artinya seorang anak hanya akan dapat tumbuh kembang secara optimal bila memperoleh zat gizi yang memadai bagi pertumbuhan fisik dan otaknya serta mendapatkan perawatan kesehatan dan pencegahan penyakit. Tidak bisa dipungkiri aspek kehidupan sangatlah penting bagi kita, karena bila kondisi kita tidak sehat, maka aktifitas kita akan terhambat. Begitu pula dengan anak-anak, bila kondisi kesehatan mereka terjaga secara fisik maupun psikologis maka proses pendidikannyapun akan berjalan dengan baik. Guru memang menjadi salah satu pihak yang bertanggung jawab dalam menjaga kesehatan anak, tapi yang paling bertanggung jawab adalah orang tua. Karena anak belajar dari keteladanan dan kebiasaan, gaya hidup orang tua sang...
Read more

Mengenal Karakter Pohon Rambutan

Image
Pohon rambutan merupakan tanaman tropis yang menyukai panas sekaligus senang sekali dengan tanah yang banyak mengandung air. Semakin tanah yang ditum buhi pohon ini mengandung banyak air, maka pohon rambutan ini akan semakin cepat besar dan tinggi. Di hutan, karena tanahnya cenderung lembab dan memiliki simpanan banyak air, pohon rambutan bisa tumbuh hingga setinggi 8-10 meter. Hal ini karena pohon rambutan mendapatkan suplai air yang melimpah sekaligus harus bersaing dengan tanaman lain untuk mendapatkan sinar matahari yang banyak sehingga pohon rambutan bisa tubuh tinggi di dalam hutan. Di daerah pemukiman, pohon rambutan jarang dibiarkan hingga tinggi. Umumnya pohon rambutan yang ditanam di daerah pemukiaman relatif pendek dan memiliki banyak percabangan yang menjulang ke samping. Hal ini sangat menguntungkan karena denga begitu ketika pohon ini mulai berbuah, maka pemilik pohon bisa dengan mudah memanen buahnya. Meski pohon rambutan suka panas matahari, akan tetapi menurut penelit...
Read more

Panduan Praktis Budidaya Bawang Merah Di Lahan Sawah Bekas Padi

Image
Tanilokal - Bawang merah termasuk salah satu produk hortikultura yang selalu dibutuhkan oleh masyarakat. Di mana untuk melakukan budidaya bawang merah sendiri tergolong mudah dan cepat.  Tanaman sayuran yang juga cocok dibudidayakan di lahan bekas padi ini bisa dipanen hasilnya hanya dalam waktu dua bulan. Selain digunakan sebagai bumbu penyedap, olahan seperti bawang goreng juga sering kita temui pada aneka makanan.  Permintaannya yang cukup tinggi turut menjadikan harga bawang merah bisa lebih stabil diban dingkan produk hortikultura lainnya. Budidaya bawang merah atau Allium ascalonicum ini cocok dilakukan di dataran rendah sampai dataran tinggi, mulai dari 0 mdpl – 900 mdpl.  Supaya mudah dalam melakukan perawatan sekaligus mencegah timbulnya serangan penyakit khususnya jamur, ada baiknya budidaya bawang merah dilakukan di akhir musim penghujan dan pertengahan musim kemarau. Yaitu antara bulan April hingga bulan Juli. Persiapan Lahan Bawang merah termasuk tanaman ber...
Read more