Seasonal Sunday: Garden Planning

Planning your garden takes a little time and finesse.  Some plants need to be rotated year to year and others don't care.  I found out a few years ago about "companion" plants.  Apparently, some plants get along and other plants are assholes and can't get along in the garden.  You need to think about what blooms early versus late, what might block out the sun for other plants, and things like that. 

Our first garden was a plot in a community garden before we moved into our current home.  I didn't want to tear up the yard in case gardening was something I didn't enjoy.  We only factored for space and plopped everything in there without giving consideration to who gets along with whom or any of that business.  It was a huge success and everything did really very well.  I had more tomatoes than I could even think about canning and we were begging people to take zucchinis off of our hands.  Obviously, we lucked out and the weather was such that it was a spectacular run for our first attempt.  Had it not gone well I doubt I would have wanted to continue gardening since the very nature of it exploits almost every aspect of life that I despise. 

Since settling into our new home, I have learned the hard way that many plants are high maintenance divas and require much more than to be randomly plopped together and expectedly produce high yields.  I've also learned the hard way that garden pests are real and are every bit as frustrating as I've heard they can be. 

As I've said before, I'm not a very good gardener.  I've learned a lot in the years that we have been gardening and I'd like to pass that on to others who may be considering taking on this rewarding hobby.  I'll list companion plants and what I've learned about plants for garden planning purposes.

Asparagus:  Asparagus gets along with everyone but especially enjoys tomatoes.  I made the mistake of planting asparagus in rows down the middle of two of my garden boxes and that, in hindsight, was incredibly stupid.  Clump asparagus together because they have to spend part of each season growing tall and bushy.  When you plant asparagus crowns, know that the roots need to be spread out, not stuck down in a hole.  They grow out like fingers, not down like so many other plants.  I ripped out my asparagus before the start of last season since it was the thick variety and I didn't know that when I bought the crowns.  They were haggard each year from asparagus beetles and I was done with it.

Beans:  I like bush beans.  They are so much easier than pole beans.  Once you try growing bush beans I doubt you will want to grow anything else.  Beans get along with celery, corn, cucumbers, radish, and strawberries.  They don't like garlic or onions.

Carrots:  Carrots get along with everyone but especially enjoy beans and tomatoes as companion plants.  The trick with carrots is to make sure they are planted thin enough and to make sure the soil is soft enough for the roots to easily grow.  If your soil is tough, try adding some sand in with it to make it easier on the carrots.  Homegrown carrots taste a million times better than anything you can buy at the store.

Corn:  I hate corn.  It has never turned out for me.  If you dare to even attempt corn, known that they like to be around cucumbers, melons, squash, peas, beans, and pumpkins.  They dislike being housed near tomatoes.

Cucumber:  Cucumbers are everyone's pal but especially enjoy close proximity to beans, corn, peas, and cabbage.  I have used large tomato cages for my cucumbers to climb and that works quite well.  It's easier than building something for them to climb and the tomato cage is easily moved from year to year.

Onions:  The onion likes beets, carrots, lettuce, and peppers.  They despise all beans and peas.

Peas:  I haven't grown peas since that first community garden.  I know peas get along with beans, carrots, corn, cucumber, radish, and turnips.  They don't want to be near garlic or onions.

Potatoes:  Tubers are a fun thing to grow and taste better than anything store bought.  Potatoes like beans, corn, and peas.  They are a natural enemy of the tomato.

Squash:  Squash gets along with everyone but especially enjoys corn, melons, and pumpkins.  Squash is a crop that needs to be rotated year to year.  We have had a lot of trouble with squash vine borers but we still manage to get plenty of zucchini and squash each year.  I would only wish the horror of the squash vine borer on my worst enemies.

Tomatoes:  I rotate my tomatoes each year but I'm not sure if that is required or not.  Tomatoes get along with carrots, celery, cucumbers, onions, and peppers.  They dislike both corn and potatoes. 

As I've mentioned in other posts, I keep a garden book and draw out my garden plans for each year.  It's easy to look back and remember where everything was and I can move it accordingly.  If I only grew a few things it wouldn't be necessary but since we do such a variety I have found it to be very helpful.  Below is a diagram of my 2019 garden plan and there is a key to what all my marking mean. 

A Asparagus

C1 Carrots

C4 Carrots (Dragon)

C2 Cucumber (mini)

C3 Cucumber

B Green Beans (Provider)

B2 Green Beans (Dragon’s Tongue)

P1 Green Pepper

J Jalapenos

L Lettuce

O Onion

P2 Peas

P3 Potatoes

P4 Pumpkins

DS Delicata Squash

SS Spaghetti Squash

SP Spinach

S Strawberries

SC Sweet Corn

T6 Tomato (Amish Paste)

T1 Tomato (Beef Steak)

T4 Tomato (Brandywine)

T2 Tomato (Cherry)

T5 Tomato (Early Girl)

T3 Tomato (Roma)

W Watermelon

Z1 Zucchini (Regular)

Z2 Zucchini (Round)