Now that all the seeds are here, I’ve got to start actually planning the garden. The biggest question is raised beds versus in-ground. There are advantages to both and I’m really not sure which I plan to do. It seems that all the local gurus in the PNW recommend raised beds as the soil warms faster, stays long warmer and drains better.
Mike is advocating that I do an in-ground garden, mounded. But that’s because he wants to have something to plow. Ha! It took a lot of back and forth the last week or so to figure that out.
I’m leaning towards raised beds for all the reasons I mentioned above. But also because they look nicer in my opinion. So much more organized and neat. And while I’m normally not the neatest person around, the garden is going to be visible to everyone driving by on the street.
For years I’ve been admiring raised planting beds in magazines, books and other peoples’ yards. Now I get to plan my own. That’s what I’m sitting here working on tonight – let you know when it’s done!
*****
Because we’re having a thrilling Friday night around here, I had time to work on my proposed garden plan. These are 4′ x 12′ raised planting beds. They’d be spaced 3′ apart. The bottom edge is south. What do you all think? Have I made any rookie mistakes about plant combinations or placements?
It’s pretty damn ambitious I think. So I’m posting it with the caveat that it’s dependent on seeds sprouting successfully and me convincing Mike to help me build and till it all.
Comments and ideas and guidance more than welcome! If you click on the unreadable image below, a larger, legible version should open…
*****
Possibly Related posts (newest to oldest):
Hi Laura: I think you definitely should do raised beds. Things are a lot tidier that way, and yes indeed they dry out and warm up much more quickly. Have you any idea what kind of soil is on the new place? Ours is clay, so raised beds for us was a must. (Sorry Mike.)
Your planting plan looks great, too. I will have you know though that those asparagus will take over that whole bed eventually! (nothing wrong with that, though.) With beds that large, too, you might find you can pack more stuff into them than you’re showing, though your tomatoes seem just about right. And what’s great about your plan is you can expand it either direction!
Thanks El. I don’t have a specific idea of the type of soil at the new place. However it is on the farming flats of the valley so I’m guessing that it’s reasonably loamy. The current owners have a rose garden, but no veggie plot.
That said, as wet as it’s been this winter I think we’re going to have to do them, even though the expense of the cedar bugs me. Are yours just mounded? Or are they contained with wood somehow? Was searching through your blog because I can’t remember, but I got so busy re-reading that I didn’t get very far…
I was tempted to make that bed only asparagus. But then I figured it will take it a few years to get going and the artichokes are a total experiment. I don’t know anyone that grows them around here, but since they grow in Oregon I thought it was worth a try! If there’s any extra space I want to try potatoes…
You need to mix it up a bit. Companion planting, that is. http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/complant.html is one website with a big chart to get you started.
Also you have both artichokes and asparagus in the same bed. They’re both perennials. I would put them in separate beds and grow annuals with them. The artichoke should grow just fine, I had a couple of monsters in Anacortes. Not as much luck here.
Will you be trucking in dirt or just letting the beds fill in over time?
Hi again, Laura: ours are raised beds within lumber. Pine was easier for me to get than cedar, and, had I had millions at the time I would’ve done 2x12s but…well, 1x8s it was. I haven’t had any problems with them splitting apart or anything, but on occasion one will rack pretty hard so I will have to drive a wood stake into the ground to straighten it out. I use deck screws to hold them together.
Your plan is pretty good re: the asparagus bed! They do get bigger after year 3. I have successfully grown artichokes here in the cold north for a few years, and cardoon too; I just need to make sure it’s heavily mulched under burlap is all. They’re beautiful plants, but be warned they are BIG plants. They’ll die back to the ground probably in your climate, as they do in mine.
And potatoes! Better plan a couple more beds! They are miracles, those spuds; so much better eating out of the ground…
Ah, you have a lot of fun ahead of you!
Hi Laura,
Love your blog. About artichokes, a number of folks in our community garden in Seattle grow them, some for the foliage and big thistly purple flowers rather than for the choke itself. A neighbor grows them to eat, though in her small backyard she’s talking about taking them out to grow something else because they take up more room than she wants. They seem like hardy perennials, though I planted some late last summer and they’re not looking super spry right now. I’d bet as long as you get a reasonable start on the plants they’ll flourish.
Good luck with the beds, I’ll look forward to reading how all the growing goes.
Re: Mint…. It spreads like MAD via seed & underground runners etc. I recommend you plant it in a pot, otherwise it will take over the bed.
Re: onions/pepers/herbs: You may try interplanting them with bug prone plants to repell bugs (i’m still learning, i will try planting onions & garlic in the perimeter of my veggie beds, my cabbage got hit hard by bugs last year)
I’ve been following your blog since last fall – I’m so glad you found your new house. A friend of mine did the same a few years ago, and they haven’t looked back. I just started a new blog about our farm. A diary of an 1881 -2008 homestead. Come check it out, maybe I will post about some things of interest to you. http://matronofhusbandry.wordpress.com/
I found your blog via a Portland group that bought some of our pastured hens when we liquidated our restaurant egg business.
Thanks again – love the recipes, info and pics.
Saara – I’m planning to bring in some dirt I think. We’ll see how it goes once we get it tilled up. On the artichokes, good point, maybe I’ll move them over with the lettuce. Thanks for the companion planting link!
El – yeah, I was figuring potatoes were probably year two when I can expand a bit.
Audrey – glad to hear that they’re growing for you as well. I’m feeling better about actually getting a homegrown artichoke. Maybe we should move some roses and put them in the driveway bed…
Crystal – thanks for the reminder on the mint. Somehow I always manage to kill min
so I forget that if it doesn’t die it can take over. In a pot it goes!
Nita – welcome and thanks for the compliments.
Haha finally something I can add to on your blog. I’ve been reading it for a couple months and love love love it.
Here’s the deal. This is what I do, research and experiment with garden planning, xeriscape, smallish scale organic and sustainable production. I spend hours researching this stuff everyday- no joke.
If I write the plans for the raised bed plan here- it would be way too long and I couldn’t put in reference pictures, so if you are interested please email me at beecharmersbuzz@verizon.net.
Btw from my tests and experience, the raised beds are the only way to go, regardless of soil type. The benefits are amazing- for the plants and for you in the ease of caring for it. Like i said I have plans for Mike that are easy, possibly inexpensive, attractive and long lasting additions to your landscape.
Here’s a freebie for you- Rosemary in the ground (needs some real space for the root system, i dont recomend a container unless it is huge) near your dryer vent. Which for some reason is always on the hottest side of the house (i dont know why) which is perfect for the rosemary being a mediterainian plant. Whe the dryer is running the hot air comes out and releases the rosemary scent. The whole yard will smell like rosemary while the dryer is running. I discovered this by accident 10 years ago- Now I always have rosemary near the laundry room.
Hey and nice to finally meet you.