Square Foot Gardening Help Needed

butterflygrooves

Since I have such a small space for my garden (13' x 5 1/2'), I am thinking about dividing the bed into 3 3'x3' patches or 2 3'x5' patches.  This will allow for paths so I can get to everything without compacting the soil.  As I have said in other posts, this in going to be an in-ground garden so the paths are necessary.

If you had this space, how would you divide it up? 

I am planning on planting tomatoes, peppers, rosemary, sage, chives, basil, dill, oregano, cilantro, parsley, arugula, cabbage, carrots, radishes, cucumbers (maybe), kale, lettuce (head and leaf), onions, peas, spinach, swiss chard, and tomatillos.  I would like to plant strawberries and some companion plants as well if I have the space.

hoping4septimus

You could do 1 long square garden.. something like 4'x8'. You want to have one side that is no more than 4' wide but the other side can be as long as you want.  I have pics of my SFG in my blog. I did 4x4 but I had more room than you seem to.

kastle

ditto pp.  If you want to grow strawberries, I would consider doing a longer SFG (that you can walk all the way around) for your vegetables and then do a smaller separate garden for strawberries since they are perennial and spread.

You could maybe also do a smaller (like 2x3 ft or so) separate herb garden maybe closer to your back door.

Just make sure you place the gardens in places that won't be shaded by your house or trees or a fence.

butterflygrooves

This area gets perfect sun all day, from sunrise to sundown.

So if I do a 3x10 garden I should be fine?  That will give me a wide enough path on the front (South) side and I will be able to reach everything at the back.

hoping4septimus

I should add, strawberries spread like crazy... and take a couple years to take hold. I planted 25 roots my first year. We got a couple berries but DH joked we never got enough for us to each have 1 a day. My 2nd year I had a tonne. I brought a gallon bag of them to DS's school for snack we had so many.  They are low to the ground and actually make a nice ground cover so you might consider that.

Also the herbs. I don't know what your climate is... when I lived in Boston I did pots on my back stairs with herbs and then brought them inside for winter. Here in TN I have them right off my patio, but in the ground. My rosemary is now year round and huge. Basil, cilantro and parsely are self propogating now... the seeds drop and new plants grow. It is pretty cool.

butterflygrooves

I live in Southern California near the mountains, it easily gets over 100 in the summer and we get frost on the grass in the winter.  I planted rosemary in my garden space (before I had the intention to plant a garden there) back in October and it did fine over the winter and now has tons of purple blossoms, it's a happy little plant.

I am thinking of doing a strawberry tower, I found a blogger that lives about 2 hours from where I live and she has a large strawberry tower that produces tons of berries.

I don't want to do a lot of container gardening in the area I live in, it gets too hot and dries the plants out or heats the roots up too much.  I tried doing container gardening on the patio of my old apartment, not much luck.

kastle

butterflygrooves:

This area gets perfect sun all day, from sunrise to sundown.

So if I do a 3x10 garden I should be fine?  That will give me a wide enough path on the front (South) side and I will be able to reach everything at the back.

Yes, as long as you can walk around it.  I have a 3x15 box against a fence and my 5'6"-self has difficulty reaching the back row.  

My paths are about 3 ft. & I think it's sufficient...except in late summer when the tomatoes are going crazy ever which-way!

butterflygrooves

So I need to be able to walk around the back side of the garden too?  That would cut my space down by at least another foot which would leave me with 2x10.

kastle

butterflygrooves:

So I need to be able to walk around the back side of the garden too?  That would cut my space down by at least another foot which would leave me with 2x10.

Unless you are tall, yes.  I mean, I deal with it, but it's totally a pain and sometimes I have to step on the beds thus negating the purpose of a raised bed.  It's not so bad when you're planting or the plants are small, but reaching the tomato in the back row against the fence when they plants are mature is really hard for me.

When my wood rots out, I'm not going to have beds that deep unless I can walk around them.

butterflygrooves

Mine is going to be an in-ground garden, does that make a difference?

kastle

butterflygrooves:

Mine is going to be an in-ground garden, does that make a difference?

Not really.  If you're doing SFG the point is that you don't compact the (ultra-fertile, well-draining) soil by standing on it. 

Are you amending your soil?

You could do a regular in-ground garden, but then you'd need to space the plants further out if you're going to step on the soil (not a path) and/or not amend.

hoping4septimus

butterflygrooves:

Mine is going to be an in-ground garden, does that make a difference?

it would be a lot easier to do a raised bed.... lumber is pretty cheap and a lot easier to screw some wood together than get rid of grass, amend the soil etc for a inground bed.

kastle

I just saw your post below, butterfly.

If your soil is compacted, build a raised bed.  Trying to work in amendments to loosen it & improve drainage & fertility will be back-breaking work.  If you really want a SFG, you need to do the full SFG method which includes a raised bed, soil-less planting medium, etc.  The reason you can grow so much in a square foot is because of the fertility & drainage of the soil.  Less fertile soil, means plants further apart.

And, as far as companion planting, I did that a bit last year.  This site is interesting:

http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html

But, honestly, most of keeping plants pest-free has to do with making sure they're healthy & happy.  You may want to google Integrated Pest Management...it's a rather holistic process/system to control pests in your garden.

butterflygrooves

kastle:

butterflygrooves:

Mine is going to be an in-ground garden, does that make a difference?

Not really.  If you're doing SFG the point is that you don't compact the (ultra-fertile, well-draining) soil by standing on it. 
The plan was to put a stone/brick path along the south side of the garden and add some stones in key places so I can reach the stuff in the back.

Are you amending your soil?
I'm going to be adding compost to it.

You could do a regular in-ground garden, but then you'd need to space the plants further out if you're going to step on the soil (not a path) and/or not amend.
I think this is what I'm going to end up doing.

butterflygrooves

kastle:

I just saw your post below, butterfly.

If your soil is compacted, build a raised bed.
I actually took the shovel out this morning to loosen some dirt and it's really nice soil!  It was pretty easy to dig up and crumbly with lots of worms. I prefer not to do raised beds, I like to get inside my garden and see whats going on.  Square foot gardening isn't going to work for me. 

Trying to work in amendments to loosen it & improve drainage & fertility will be back-breaking work.
The last garden I had was in dry and really compacted soil, I watered it for 3 days straight and used a shovel to dig up a 20x50 garden (completely by hand and all by myself, Phew!).  I added compost and had a great yield at the end of the season.  I haven't had a garden for 9 years though so I'm starting fresh with a new house and different plants.

And, as far as companion planting, I did that a bit last year.  This site is interesting:
http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html
Thanks!  Going to add that to my list of sites to check.

But, honestly, most of keeping plants pest-free has to do with making sure they're healthy & happy.  You may want to google Integrated Pest Management...it's a rather holistic process/system to control pests in your garden.

tommyandy

If this is your first garden, cut your plant wish list to 1/3 of its current amount.  Next year you can always add more once you've gotten your feet wet/muddy.   Remember, peas love carrots love peas.  I would definitely put a path between the house & the garden.  Also, measure how long your arm is from your wrist to the pit & do not make your beds any wider than twice that if you can reach from both sides.  Marigolds are good for keeping bugs down & they are pretty.  Ladybugs work wonders too.  Check with your local bee keepers to see about them installing a hive box thingy in your yard.  An in-ground watering system will save you time & money in the long run.  GOOD LUCK!!

tommyandy

I would put a 1 foot wide path between the house & garden on both sides of the L, I would then put 3 10-inch wide paths evenly spaced in the remaining area to get a total of 4 beds with easy access to all plants.  I would plant the lettuces & other delicate plants in the bed that got the most shade.  I would build a trellis or a section of chain link fence (where the red bar is on your graphic) for the climbing vines or tomato plants. This will help support them as they grow tall.