Wow those are some big gardens!!
Not having neither a tractor (yet) or a tiller, I dug up my roughly 20' x 10' area in January using the old tried and true double dig method with a shovel /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif After I double dug it, I hoed it until I had broken up all the big clods. I also put up a fence around it using apron fence and T-posts and existing horse fence (for 2 sides) to keep rabbit out. I had an old chain link gate for an old dog lot that I put up and in one corner is one of the horse fence gates (that goes through my real dog lot /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif).
I also dug in about 4" of manure along with some lime and 10-10-10 and then took the dirt from the walkways and made psuedo raised beds, 4 of them, each 3' wide and 10' long. I then planted as closely as I thought I could get away with in these beds (not in rows) and intermixed all kinds of things (e.g. onions around the outside of my lettuce beds did real well, onions around the potatoes did not /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif).
I'm in NC and around the 1st of Feb, I planted all my cold weather crops, lettuce, peas, onions, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots.
I'm getting potatoes out now about the size of my fist, had and still have tons of lettuce, lots of onions and small carrots. My peas are just about filled in, will pick a pot full this weekend /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Cabbage heads are just starting to form, hope they make it before it gets too hot.
I've started planting warm crops in as I remove cold crops, got a bunch of tomatoes in and growing fine, bell peppers, 2 habaneros /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif, one row of beans (I'll add more as I free up some more space) and cucumbers. I've got some more tomato, tomatillo, and hot pepper seedlings brewing too that will be ready rigth about the time I clear out the cabbage/carrot and potato beds.
I find that with this little area and doing these compact but loaded beds I can do it all with hand tools and grow enough food than my family can eat. Plus I can water it without running the well dry.
I also did plant a few things off to the side (the habaneros and 2 cantelope hills). I also dug up and planted a bed of about 20 strawberry plants, but probably won't get much this year. I also got a bunch of fresh herbs growing around the house to add in as well /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.
The nice thing about this small area is weeds are easy to control, I mulched with clean straw in the walk ways and around big plants and hand pull the rest. The plants grow so dense they shade out most of the rest.
I did have problems with some insects, but I've been staying away from the pesticides and just hand picking them off. I let the grass hoppers have their fill and they put holes in my leaves, but didn't harm anything. I've seen enough lady bugs, spiders, praying mantis, toads, & lizard in the garden I think they keep most of the pests down and I really don't want to poison those guys. Colorado Potato Beetles have been my worst pest so far, but I was able to hand pick them and their eggs off and don't see them anymore. Begone you evil vermin /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
A couple of mistakes I made along the way:
I planted my peas in 2 rows in beds but didn't plant anything between them. Wasted space would have been great for onions or carrots.
I planted carrots and onions around my cabbages not realizing just how huge cabbage plants get. Some are now dwarfed under the leaves.
For some reason my cabbages (transplants) never did well (got them from a big box store), only 2 are full size and only 4 survived, but I'm lucky they didn't as I wouldn't have any carrots and less onions.
I planted way too much lettuce, 3 beds each 5' x 3' (3 different kinds, 2 leaf, and 1 butter head). I had to cut out huge amounts and throw in my compost pile.
Not enough carrots or onions.
Too many potatoes, I think I might plant them off to the side as well in their own little box, they just get really big and kinda fall over into the walkways.
