Gardening 101: Plant Layout

The simple way to plan your garden layout is to pick up a pencil and paper and start drawing!  That's it.  You don't need a computer program, an app, or special sketching skills.  Those things are tools that you can use, but that are not required.  

The image above shows our layout using the Basic Crop Rotation layout I wrote about last week titled Gardening 101: Crop Rotation. If you missed this post I recommend reading it first before continuing this one. This post shows you how to space your garden and finalize your plan in six easy steps using the SFGM (Square Foot Gardening Method). 

STEP 1: Draw the outline of your garden.  
I will draw one of our 4 x 8 size raised beds for example. 
Typically if this is your first year gardening I would recommend starting with a 4 x 4 raised bed. 

Vertical Frames at the end of the raised beds

Also all plants that vine (cucumbers, peas, squash, vine beans and vine tomatoes) are grown using a vertical frame at the end of the raised bed (which saves a tremendous amount of space).  Add a vertical frame at the north end of your raised bed. Here is a link to my other post on Building A Vertical Frame for a Raised Bed

Drawing outline of garden

Building A Raised Bed

Cedar raised beds we built last year (2013)

 After 2 years of planting directly in the ground with no added soil, 4 green metal garden stakes, and a chicken wire fence we realized it was time for an upgrade. Moving forward we realized that we wanted to build something more permanent that would be a design that we loved and would last for years.  We also wanted to include a fence and a gate to keep out the animals and make it easier for us to access.

Why we choose Raised Beds: After I did my research we decided to invest in building some quality raised beds.  One of the articles we found that convinced my husband this was the way to go was from OSU's Horticulture and Crop Science Department.  Here is the article: Benefits to Raised Bed Gardening  I highly recommend reading this if you are trying to decide between raised bed gardening verses just planting in the ground.

Instructions for Building A Raised Bed: If you are interested in building your own raised bed I have included the link to Sunset's website: Your Guide to Making a Raised Garden Bed  This is how we built ours and they are amazing!  There are step by step instructions and great pictures to go along with the instructions.  

Materials for Sunset 4 x 8 Raised Bed:

(1) 6-foot-long 4-by-4

(6) 8-foot-long 2-by-6s

(1) 10-foot-long 1-inch PVC pipe

(2) 10-foot-long ½-inch PVC pipes

(32) 3½-inch #14 wood screws and 
(16) ½-inch #8 wood screws

(1) 4- by 10-foot roll of ¼-inch-mesh hardware cloth 
(8) 1-inch galvanized tube straps (semicircular brackets)
(32) cubic feet (1- 1/5 cu. yd.) soil mix*

Modifications we made to the design:  
1.  *I highly recommend using the Best Raised Bed Soil Mix from the Square Foot Garden Method (SFGM) that I wrote about in the previous post. Just click on the link above and you can find the instructions.

2. We wanted (5) hoops per bed as seen in our final picture below. (The original design called for 2).  Two hoops were not enough support for the row cover fabric.  So we added more tube straps and PVC pipe for this modification.

NOTE: The PVC hoops are used for Row Covers (special fabric that protects plants from frost and pests).  You can read more about them in this post: Using Row Covers

3. If you are interested in adding the Vertical Frame with the net (shown below) for growing vine crops vertically I explain how to build them in this post: Building Vertical Frame for a Raised Bed 

Our final raised bed design with (5) PVC hoops & added Vertical Frame in Pine bed. (Picture taken 1 year after construction).

My view on selecting lumber: We built (2) of our beds from untreated Pine and the other (2) from untreated Cedar.  We didn't feel comfortable using treated lumber when we were going to be eating the vegetables from the raised beds!
You can coat the boards with linseed oil or there is a product called  Eco Wood Treatment that is made of naturally occurring plant and mineral extracts.

Pine lumber: will be more cost effective and is readily available.  Pine will last approximately 10 years as a raised bed. 

Cedar lumber: is more expensive than Pine and can be harder to come across.  The major benefit is that it can last up to 30 years!  (Our Asparagus bed can last up to 30 years so that is why we built it out of Cedar).

Pre-made raised beds (shown above) are another option if you want to save time.

Keep in mind you can purchase pre-made raised beds at your local home improvement store or many are also available through gardening magazines.   

Do what works for you and get your raised bed ready for planting in early March or April of 2014!

The Best Raised Bed Soil Mix (from SFGM)

If you have decided to build a raised bed for your garden then you are going to need soil to fill the bed!  There are so many benefits to building a raised bed versus planting in the ground and one of the positives is that you get to mix your own soil instead of having to "fix" the soil you have.  

This has been our favorite soil mix that we have shared with friends and family.  Vegetables love this mixture and its amazing how healthy they are!  

Bush Beans and Onions happy to be in good soil! (mid summer onion tops fall over allowing the bulbs to mature)

Amazing Soil Mix (our family favorite)
taken from: Square Foot Garden Book (80's version) 
by Mel Bartholomew


Ingredients: 
1 bale of peat moss: 6 cu ft
1 large bag of course vermiculite: 4 cu ft 
10 pails (2 1/2 gallon size) of sand: 3 cu ft
2 pails of wood ashes and charcoal*  
*(we left both of these items out)
10 pails (2 1/2 gallon size) of compost: 3 cu ft
1 coffee can full of lime
1 coffee can full of organic fertilizer
TOTAL volume of mixture: 16 cu ft.

This amount will fill one garden block to a depth of 12 in or two blocks to a depth of 6 in.

Mixing Procedure:
1. Mix all ingredients with a flat bottom shovel. (We mixed little by little in the raised bed....or you can mix it on a hard surface and then move it to the bed).

2. Spray with a hose to dampen the materials (don't soak) as you mix the pile.
 
3. Fill garden block with mixture turning over to mix it well.  Again spray with hose as you mix.

4. Level and add enough additional mixture to fill the raised bed, level again spray once more with hose, and the block is ready for planting.  

NOTE : If you want to simplify this process you can also purchase Mel's Mix Square Potting Soil on Amazon.    

Raised Bed complete with soil and ready to plant!

Planning your Garden Layout using SFGM

The simple way to plan your garden layout is to pick up a pencil and paper and start drawing!  That's it.  You don't need a computer program, an app, or special sketching skills.  Those things are tools that you can use, but that are not required. 

This year we have chosen to simplify our planning process so I will show you how we are planning in six easy steps!

STEP 1: Draw the outline of your garden.  
I will draw one of our 4 x 8 size raised beds for example. 
Typically if this is your first year gardening I would recommend starting with a 4 x 4 raised bed. 

Vertical Frames at the end of the raised beds

Also all plants that vine (cucumbers, peas, squash, vine beans and vine tomatoes) are grown using a vertical frame at the end of the raised bed (which saves a tremendous amount of space).  Add a vertical frame at the north end of your raised bed. Here is a link to my other post on Building A Vertical Frame for a Raised Bed

Drawing outline of garden

Planting Zuchinni, Peppers, Eggplant, & Cucumber

We planted the Zucchini, Peppers, Eggplant and Cucumber plants in the garden a week earlier than planned on May 19th.  Because we have row covers with Garden Quilt Cover Fabric we felt confident that these heat loving plants could be transplanted with confidence. 
Normally you would wait to transplant eggplants into the garden until soil & air temperatures are consistently in the 70’s. For peppers you hold off until the soil is 65 degrees F.

Wheelbarrow with all supplies for planting

Laying out plants with Square Foot Gardening Method (SFGM) for spacing

This year we decided to start all the squash seeds indoors (our first time trying this) to give the plants a head start.  I planted them all in pots that decompose when planted because its best if you don't disturb their roots. All the seedlings were successful and we actually gave many away to friends because we didn't have space for all of them in the garden. 

Cucumbers (to grow up trellis) with Eggplants in front

This is our first year growing cucumbers so it will be a learning experience.  We are going to grow them vertically which is recommended in SFGM so we can conserve space in the garden for other plants.  

Below is a picture of the actual layout of Bed #4 and then beside it is the plan we drew up this winter using the SFGM spacing.

Plan for BED #4 using SFGM

Bed #4  ready to plant

Plants in BED #4 (starting from the top or back of the bed) : 
(16) Peas (after peas replant spaces)* with (8) Cucumbers
(12) Black Beauty Eggplant
(4) Red Bell Pepper
(4) Sweet Pepper
(2) Dark Star Zucchini

*This is the first year we have attempted to use succession planting (using efficient use of timing by planting a cool season spring crop followed by a heat-loving summer crop).  Unfortunately the timing didn't work out completely.  The peas were planted on March 17th but we had snow and because of that the peas took longer than expected to start growing. 
Next year we are going to have to start the peas earlier so that they have produced before we need to do the next planting.  I ended up just pulling out the peas in this bed (this bed only had 4 plants) so I could plant the cucumbers in their place. 

Pepper plant

All of these plants were grown in pots that I could plant in the garden.  All of these heat loving plants have a delicate root system so this way I didn't have to worry about them going into shock when they were planted in the garden.  You simply cut 1/2" off the top of the pot and then place the pot in the hole you have ready.  Cover up with soil, water and you are done!

Transplanted seedlings

We are excited to see the transplanted seedlings growing and are wondering how they will compare to those we bought last year.  At first we were a little concerned because our seedlings are much smaller in size than those we purchase.   However, I have read that smaller stockier transplants generally outperform those purchased because they experience far fewer problems with transplant shock than large plants.  Only time will tell!

Row Cover with Garden Quilt Fabric

Last Step: always finish by watering your newly transplanted plants.  One important tip: water around your plants not wetting the leaves.  Plants can develop fungal diseases if the leaves are wet going into the night. 

2012 Garden in Review

 Hand-drawn Garden Plan

 This is the rough plan I drew up in 2012 for our garden layout. 

May 27th, 2012 
Pictured below are the two raised beds we constructed out of pine in 2012.  The vegetables are just starting to grow.  The layout and spacing we used is from the Square Foot Gardening Method.

In the closest bed (#3) we had: (2) Butternut Squash which would grow on the trellis, (12) Eggplant- two different types: (6) Lavendar Touch and (3) Black Beauty, and (171) Bush Beans- Bush Blue Lake 274 variety. 

In the farthest bed (#4) we had: (3) Straight neck Summer Squash, (2) Cilantro, (1) Green Bell Pepper, (1) Yellow Bell Pepper, (1) Pepper Carmen, (4) 1 year crown Asparagus, (256) Yellow Onions. 

We also planted (2) Bush Zucchini plants on mounds.  You can't see them in this picture but they were located to the left of the first raised bed.                                                                 

New constructed pine beds with vegetables growing

Pine beds a few weeks later.

2013 Garden Layout

My husband decided to draw up our garden plans on the computer to get things ready during the winter.  This is the first year we have been this organized.  In previous years I would just make a drawing by hand, but I always found myself having to re-draw it this way I can just re-print any changes!  

We also expanded the garden adding 2 more raised beds (made out of Cedar) to our previous 2 (made out of pine).   We will now have 17 different vegetables growing compared to the 11 from last year.  All of this takes some planning. 

We used the Square Foot Gardening Method which I highly recommend.
Each bed is broken up into increments of a foot and then depending on the plant it may be broken down further from there.  Its simple, economical, efficient and very productive!

BED #1  (made of Cedar)

Plants starting from the top (back of the bed) : 
(16) Peas after peas replant spaces with (4) Beefsteak Tomatoes (3) Genovese Basil*
(25) Jersey Supreme Asparagus 1 year old crowns
(4) Asparagus 2 year old crowns- replanted from our pine bed
(3) Double Curled Parsely*
*added after plan was drawn

BED #2  (made of Cedar)

Plants starting from the top (back of the bed) : 
(16) Peas after peas replant spaces with (4) Beefsteak Tomatoes (3) Genovese Basil*
(48) Pole Beans
(12) Corn
(4) Winter Squash
(4) Broccoli
(4) Cauliflower
*added after plan was drawn

BED #3  (made of Pine)

Plants starting from the top (back of the bed) : 
(16) Peas after peas replant spaces with (3) Summer Yellow Squash
(36) Bush Beans
(4) Cilantro
(112) Carrots
(32) White Onions
(64) Yellow Onions
(32) Red Onions

BED #4  (made of Pine)

Plants starting from the top (back of the bed) : 
(16) Peas after peas replant spaces with (8) Cucumbers
(12) Black Beauty Eggplant
(4) Red Bell Pepper
(4) Sweet Pepper
(2) Dark Star Zucchini

OVERALL PLAN:   (drawing to be added)