Gardening & Landscaping
Dear Community,

Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.

If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.

Thank you.

Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.

Garden Orientation

I'm doing a raised garden this year, and am planning two 4x8 beds.  I'm confused about which way the beds should run and also the rows within them.  Everything I've read online to plant rows running north/south, but in the same breath to place taller plants on the north side of the garden to keep them from shading other crops... which implies east/west rows, right?  What's the best way to lay it out?  I'm planning to start with a manageable crop of bush beans, tomatoes, basil, and squash.

Thanks,

Katie 

Re: Garden Orientation

  • ~NB~~NB~ member
    5000 Comments Combo Breaker
    imageKatie&Dan:

    Everything I've read online to plant rows running north/south, but... place taller plants on the north side... which implies east/west rows, right?

    No, that doesn't imply east/west. I'm not sure how you are misunderstanding it, but in most cases you want beds to run N/S and plant the taller plants to the N.

    You can make beds that run E/W if you want to, but the taller rows should always be to the N edge.

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • I don't do rows. You get much more use out of it if you stagger your plants!
    I twitter randomly about gardening, sustainable living, local restaurants, cooking and more. Follow me on Twitter at Sarah_STL
  • Also - My garden is on the south side of my house - and I plant the tallest growing plants on the west side of my garden, so it doesn't block the early/day sun  from the smaller plants.
    I twitter randomly about gardening, sustainable living, local restaurants, cooking and more. Follow me on Twitter at Sarah_STL
  • ~NB~... I think I get it... I was assuming a row should be planted with all the same veggie.  Are you saying I should plant a row with different crops in it?  For example, an 8ft north/south row would have 4 ft of tomatoes in the northernmost part and 4 ft of carrots (or whatever low plant) in the southernmost end of that row? 

  • imageKatie&Dan:

    ~NB~... I think I get it... I was assuming a row should be planted with all the same veggie.  Are you saying I should plant a row with different crops in it?  For example, an 8ft north/south row would have 4 ft of tomatoes in the northernmost part and 4 ft of carrots (or whatever low plant) in the southernmost end of that row? 

    Rows don't have to have the same veg.  And, you don't have to plant in rows.  I plant in squares (so, my garden looks kind of like a quilt).

    Basically, you don't want your tall veg to shade your short ones.  So, you should put your tall veg on the north side of whatever bed you have.  This doesn't matter if you're planting in rows or squares.

  • ~NB~~NB~ member
    5000 Comments Combo Breaker
    imagekastle:
    imageKatie&Dan:

    ~NB~... I think I get it... I was assuming a row should be planted with all the same veggie.  Are you saying I should plant a row with different crops in it?  For example, an 8ft north/south row would have 4 ft of tomatoes in the northernmost part and 4 ft of carrots (or whatever low plant) in the southernmost end of that row? 

    Rows don't have to have the same veg.  And, you don't have to plant in rows.  I plant in squares (so, my garden looks kind of like a quilt).

    Basically, you don't want your tall veg to shade your short ones.  So, you should put your tall veg on the north side of whatever bed you have.  This doesn't matter if you're planting in rows or squares.

    This. You can plant in any number of veggies in any shape garden. The most intense sun is AFTERNOON sun, which comes from a south westerly direction. Therefore, it's recommended that you plant taller plants toward the northeast boundry, so that they will not cast a shadow over smaller plants.

    http://organictobe.org/2008/08/15/seed-saving-and-the-heirloom-vegetable-garden/

     

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
Sign In or Register to comment.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards