Final Garden Layout - Community Patch

Well I had a design plan.  Something I worked on for several weeks before going out into the garden.  I have to admit, I knew that this plan would change at planting time -- I was right.  I started planting hearty plants on May 18.  Added more seed and a few other plants on May 26 and finished with Zinnia seed, Dalias and herb seedlings and basil plants on May 31.  The I added lavender and more basil on June 3.  At which point there is not much space left to plant.  However, the patch next to mine (71) is empty and neglected, so if I do find more plants I want to grow, I may start planting them over there!

Plan on a clip board for reference on planting days

Here is the original hand written plan:

Here is the final version of that plan:

I have officially run out of room (I think) so there is little I can add to the plan now.  The first compromise was I bought more tomato plants than the original plan called for.  As a result this took the space for musk melon and zucchini, so I had to move them.  However I decided not to give the tomatoes a full 3 feet of space, going instead with the recommendations of the square foot gardening book and giving them a bit less space and caging them right away.  I will keep them trimmed and hopefully not regret this decision.

I added more paths to the garden than the original plan called for as well.  I realized how unrealistic I was being about walking in the soil as I began to plant things into the space.  I still may regret not adding one more path through the middle of the vegetable patch, as I am already having access issues.

There is much to tell about each of these plants, so I will focus on each one separately in other posts and then link them back to this one as they are written so you can just bookmark this post if you want to know the details of the plants.

Here is a breakdown by bed of the plants (the bolded letters are those used on the garden plan):

Thyme Bed
French Thyme
German Thyme
Silver Thyme
Golden Lemon Thyme
Common Thyme
Doone Valley Thyme
Lemon Thyme

Herb Bed
Kentucky Colonel Mint
Tri Color Sage
Common Sage
Dill
Hyssop
Parsley
Cilantro
Summer Savory
Greek Oregano
Fennel
Bronze Fennel
Sunset Hyssop
Tarragon
Spearmint
Calendula

Tomato Bed
Early Girl
Better Boy
Roma Tomato
Mortgage Lifter
Cherokee Purple
Pineapple Tomato
Sweet 100 Cherry
Grape Tomatoes
Sweet Basil

Salad Bed
Red and green early greens
Micro Greens (from seed)
Red Rib Sorrel
Collard Greens (from seed)
Red Giant Mustard
Arugula
Butter Crunch lettuce
Tiburan Poblano Peppers
Jalapeno Peppers
Root Celery
Broccoli
Yellow Spanish Onions (I think they all died)
Zinnia (Flower from seed)
Lemon Basil

Vegetable Bed
Burp-less Cucumbers (climbing)
Bush Salad Cucumbers
Sunflower Teddy Bear (Seed)
Better Belle Peppers
Black Beauty Zucchini (seed)
Hale's Best Jumbo Muskmelon (seed)
Dwarf Gray Sugar Peas (seed)
French Filet Bush Beans
Tigers Eye pole Beans
Christmas Lima Beans (Climber)
Dalhias (3 plants as an experiment)
Acorn Squash

Garden Planted!

I had a plan to plant on May 9.  Instead we had downpours that resulted in soil too wet to plant in.  Then I had to wait a week due to a turn in the weather.  I was finally able to plant on Sunday, May 18.  It was in the 80s that day, but had been cold and snowing just two days previous.  It was still a risk to put plants in the ground with our changeable weather, but I went ahead and planted plants and seeds in an all day marathon.

Time wise (so you can compare)  I was able to get the plants and seeds in the garden in about 3.5 hours.  I started around 10 am and worked until about 1:30 with a break for lunch around noon.  That included planting and watering.  I spent another hour on that day placing some peat moss around some of the plants and rewatering so that would not blow away.

I had to rake out the weeds that were sprouting int he space, but did not need to till the soil,m as the park district did that.

Here are some images of the work:

Plot #72 with a few planting areas marked with flour.

The final garden plan (as designed)  This is subject to change during planting, but I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do using this plan I created in advance.

Tools: shovel and rake; watering cans; hand tools including trowels, hand rake, and ruler; plant markers, clip board with plan; brown paper bag with seed packets; cooler with water and snacks.

The plants mixed in two flats and an extra two cardboard boxes

The first thing I did was mark the handle of my rake with markings ever two inches for 1 foot, then 6 and 12 inch increments after that.  Now I just lay it down on the ground and  can easily space plants.

You can see how close the RR tracks are!  This is before work began, nothing raked or placed.

After raking a good portion of the plot (20 feet by 20 feet) I then placed out the plants based on the plan to see if everything would fit as desired.

We have way more tomato plants that originally planned, so that changed the diagram.  We also put in a few more paths that I planned too to make it easier to get in and take photos for future blogs.

That portion int he middle which is not raked is for seeds I did not intend to plant on that day, so I chose not to rake it until I was finished planting the other areas.

Here is a sneak peak of the completed planting, I will provide details of the how we got to this point in another post.

Choosing What to Plant in your Garden Patch

This is harder than you might think to decide what to plant. In my previous post I listed a number of plants that I bought, but I admit that I am using years of experience about how many and what types for my garden.  Even though I have never done this type of garden, I have gardened before now.

If you are starting small, you have to limit yourself to a handful of plants. If you are growing vegetables start with what you like to eat and what you can't find fresh locally. Corn takes a lot of space and remains in the garden a long time before it's ready to be eaten. If you have corn farms nearby, you might want to use your small garden for vegetables that give a longer harvest, like tomatoes, lettuce and beans. My husbands said - NO corn in the garden for just this reason.  He said , if you want corn go to the farmer's market, they always have it and it is good.

Flower gardens can be even harder. Start with what colors you like. Rather than basing your dream on a photograph from a magazine, take a look at what your neighbors are growing successfully. They may even be able to give you a division or two.  The Men's Garden Club of Villa Park is having their plant sale May 9 & 10 and many of the plants available have come from local gardens so not only can you find out how they did, but you know they grow here!

Probably should not start with this!

Take a walk around a couple of garden centers and read the plant labels. Then play with combining the plants that strike your eye until you find a combination of 3-5 plants that pleases you. Make sure all the plants have the same growing requirements (Sun, water, pH...) and that none of them are going to require more care than you can give them.

Keep the variety of plants limited. It makes a better composition to have more plants of less varieties than to have one of this and one of that.

Let the planting begin

Sometimes you have to plant when you have the time, even if that's high noon on a Saturday. But the ideal time to plant is on a still, overcast day. The point is, stress your new plants as little as possible. Here are a few easy steps to follow:

·                        Water the plants in their pots the day before you intend to plant.

·                        Don't remove all the plants from their pots and leave them sitting in the sun for the roots to dry out.

·                        If the roots are densely packed or growing in a circle, tease them apart so they will stretch out and grow into the surrounding soil.

roots

·                        Bury the plant to the depth it was in the pot. Too deep and the stem will rot. Too high and the roots will dry out.

·                        Don't press down hard on the plants as you cover them. Watering will settle them into the ground.

·                        Water your newly planted garden as soon as it is planted and make sure it gets at least one inch of water per week. You may have to water more often in hot dry summers. Let your plants tell you how much water they need. Some wilting in noonday sun is normal. Wilting in the evening is stress.

·         

      Mulching

      You hear a lot about mulching, but it really does make a major difference in a garden. Mulch conserves water, blocks weeds and cools the soil. Organic mulches like shredded or chipped bark, compost mulch from old leaves and grass, or event straw, will also improve the soil quality.

      Plastic mulches are nice in a vegetable garden to heat the soil around warm season crops like tomatoes, peppers, melons and squash.  Whatever mulch you choose, apply it soon after planting, before new weeds sprout. Apply a 2-4 inch thick layer of mulch, avoiding direct contact with the plant stems. Piling mulch around the stem can lead to rotting and can provide cover for munching mice and voles.

·         

K

      Keeping a Record

      Keep a record of what you have planted or better yet, keep the labels that came with your plants. This will help answer any questions about what the plant may need if it starts looking poorly and will remind you next year of what you liked and what didn't work. It also helps to take pictures and label them. You'll remember color combinations and favorite plants.

·        You can start a garden journal (check out one of my early posts for two types which will work great.) With a garden journal you can record how plants perform, when flowers are in bloom, how large a harvest was and all kinds of information that will help you make a better garden next year.

Hopefully when you were selecting plants you did some background checking and didn't select too many prima donnas. All plants are going to require some maintenance. The idea that perennial plants require less maintenance than annuals is wrong.  Choose a few good gardening books and read up on the plants you choose, so you have less surprises.

It may happen that one of your choices isn't happy and dies.  That is a fact of gardening life and not a sign you cannot do this.  Move on and replace it with something else.  I love to grow thyme.  Thyme dies.  Plants you have had flourishing for multiple years, just die. Each year I choose a new variety of thyme to grow, just in case one of my long-term residents, takes a bad turn.  This year, I will be trying several new plants!!

Water Needs

At the very least your plants will require an inch of water a week.  If it rains regularly, good for you and your garden!  If not, don't let your plants get drought stressed.  Once a plant is stressed it will never recover fully in this growing season.

My first challenge of the Community plot was an email informing me that the water is not turned on at the garden and that they will be repairing leaks and that the water may not be fully functional for some time.  I think this means I will need to bring filled watering cans when I plant later this week.I shudder to think about filled watering cans in my car!!

Enjoy the Garden

You've heard the saying "Stop and smell the roses"? Gardeners can be the worst at taking that advice. We're so busy with our heads down at soil level, pinching, pruning and pulling every weed, that we often don't appreciate what we've created until someone else tells us.

Step back and enjoy what you've accomplished.

Come back Friday and Saturday for the details of my garden planting for this year!

Ready to plant the Community Plot

I could get into my 20 x 20 foot Community Patch as of May 1, however my teaching schedule made that date not work for me.  The weather did not cooperate either as May 1 was cold and blustery.

I knew others would be able to get into the gardens before I could so I stopped over the day before to string off my space and mark a few places where I was going to plant seeds and plants.  Over the weekend I when plant shopping. Here is what I purchased:

•  Peppers: Jalapeno and Pablano
•  Tomatoes: Grape Tomatoes, Sweet 100, Mortgage Lifter and heirloom Tomato plants: Pineapple and Cherokee Purple
•  Cucumbers: Burpless and Salad Bush
•  Salad Greens: bib lettuce, arugula, red leaf lettuce, red stem sorrel, giant red mustard
•  Broccoli                                                
•  Acorn squash
•  “Brilliant” Root Celery
•  Yellow Sweet Spanish Onions
•  Herbs: lemon balm, spearmint, lemon grass, bronze and green fennel, spicy globe basil, lemon basil, sweet basil, sunset hyssop, many varieties of thyme, tricolor sage, oregano,

The weather is going to be warm this week, so I have decided since the last frost free day is between May 10 and May 15 depending on who you listen to, that I will plant the bulk of the perennial herbs and some cold hearty herbs and vegetables as well as a number of seeds on May 9^th.  I may save the tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil until the following week.

This was the originally garden plan I created while working with my books.  I got so caught up in placing things I forgot to pay attention to scale:

 

one square = 1 foot (it was seeing 6 feet of lettuce that I realized my mistake!)

This is what I finally decided on, the spacing is much more accurate and I left myself enough spaces for late additions and whimsey!

scale 1 square=1 foot (now the greens includes more than lettuce!)

I will detail the plot and the plants placed with close up shots after they go in.  This garden is going to have lots of items to can, dry, preserve and share!