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Friday, June 1, 2012

How Does Your Garden Grow? - June 1st

I thought it would be fun to do a little photo journal of my garden this year. This is the first year I have really had it set up how I want.  We've been slowly tilling up new land, running hogs in it for fertilization, and battling the joys of starting a new garden. (Weeds, grass, soil quality, etc.) There's a little more work that needs to be done - putting a border and rock down at the hydrant, tilling up the berry/grape end (not shown in the drawing) and fencing it in. (We will be using field fence and will be including the orchard in the fence, which is directly behind the garden - this is as much to keep our livestock out!)

I have decided to garden with quadrant gardening.  I will be rotating the 4 sections of my vegetable garden each year (moving 1 section to the right) to help control disease and nutrient loss.  I used some resources to piece together my quadrants.  It isn't exactly what was recommend, but it is what works for the types and amounts of plants I grow.  I also have some permanent and semi-permanent beds.  On the back, north side of the garden, is my asparagus.  In the front I have a strawberry patch and cut flower patch.  I will rotate the strawberries and flowers every 3 years for the benefit of the strawberries.  And then directly behind the strawberries and cut flowers is a permanent border with rhubarb.

Click to Enlarge

I realize that it is a little hard to read the words on my drawing.  Here's what's in each quadrant.

Quadrant 1: Peas, cucumber, dill, green beans, yellow wax beans, cauliflower, broccoli, cantaloupe, herbs

Quadrant 2: Sweet peppers, green bell peppers, banana peppers, zucchini, summer squash, acorn squash, carrots, onions, lettuce, spinach, slicing and cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, San Marzano tomatoes, onions and carrots, basil

Quadrant 3: Corn with beans, pumpkins, gourds

Quadrant 4: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, watermelon.

I have almost all of the above planted. I got things in a little later than hoped, but it's much earlier than I have been able to other years. I'm also excited that this year I was able to start all of my plants from seed, either inside or in the garden, except my hot peppers.  I only wanted 1 or 2 of each variety so it just worked better to buy those.

So with all of that said . . . here's how my garden grows in June. :)

Full View: Enjoyed a few strawberries from new transplants. Excited to see experimental direct seeded asparagus up and joining asparagus transplants started indoor from seed.

Quadrant 1: needing to plant herbs, lettuce behind peas, and eventually fall broccoli and cauliflower
Quadrant 2 : harvesting lettuce and baby carrots - needing to plant acorn squash and basil
Quadrant 3 - needing to plant 3 rows of late sweet corn, sunflowers, pumpkins, and gourds
Quadrant 4 - needing to plant 3rd row of sweet potato slips, watermelon and beans
Blueberries and Vines: nibbled on some unripe, but nicely tart, blueberries - needing lots of work and planting yet!



4 comments:

Donna OShaughnessy said...

Very nice Becca. What a hard worker you are! My garden looks great too but I donlt have several little ones at home anymore. Well done!

Maggie said...

Inspiring! We are just about to move on to our newly purchased land .... so glad i found your blog and another Creation Care family .... living the life! Blessings to you!

Cyndi said...

Becca,
Your strawberry & asparagus gardens should be like your rhubarb garden ... pretty darn permanent with area to grow.

Asparagus needs a good 5 years to develop from seed .. rotating it every 3 years will leave you less in harvest.

I started my strawberry patch 4 years ago with 6 plants. The first year, I plucked off every runner and flower. The 2nd year, I plucked off the flowers and let the runners go. The 3rd year, I harvested huge berries. This year, I am also harvesting huge berries and later his fall, I will dig up all my strawberry plants, retill their area (now filling about 15' x 25') and replant to a bigger space.

Likewise, with my asparagus. My old patch was dug up from its site on the old farm yard and replanted. I've since started new asparagus roots last year. They did 'okay' this year but I don't expect them to do great until next year. Like the strawberries, rhubarb, horseradish, comfrey, raspberries & sunchokes, they will have a permanent place in the gardens ... every few years I will expand their space, but I will NOT rotate them.

Muller's Lane Farm

The Beginning Farmer's Wife said...

Muller's Lane Farm-
Thank you for the comment. I went back and clarified my original post - It is the strawberries and flowers I will be rotating every 3 years. Strawberries fruit best on younger plants and can have problems from nematode so it is a good idea to rotate them on occasion. I do hope to be able to expand my strawberry area some day though! As for my asparagus - it will stay right where it is. :)

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