What's your garden strategy?

[Libertine]

What\'s your garden strategy?

The purpose of this thread is to solicit reports, comments and possibly reasons as to what strategy you use in gardening (those of you who have gardens); not so much what you may grow, but rather how.

There are two areas (methods). First, what could be referred to as extensive vs. intensive, and, second, row vs. bed. By extensive I mean, as the extreme, minimal ground preparation, planting far more than you might actually use, little or no cultivation. By intensive I mean, again as an extreme, creation of "perfect" planting medium (make your own soil from vermiculite, charcoal, peat moss, etc.), a "no weed tolerated" policy, etc. As an example, say you like radishes in your salads. An extensive gardener might plant a package of seeds, pick as needed until they become too large and woody for use, till under what's left and then plant another package. An intensive gardener on the other hand might figure his family used say a dozen radishes per week and so planted 12 seeds one week (plus a few extra to account for any germination issues), 12 seeds the next and so forth, which, because of an ideal weed free environment gave him the amount required. I realize these are the extremes, but I suspect we all tend toward one direction or the other. Which direction do you tend towards and why?

The second issue is bed vs. row. Of course, a bed is really a wide row (or a row is a narrow bed, depending on how you look at it). Usually, an intensive approach is often associated with a bed approach, but there's no reason why you couldn't use rows to garden intensively, or, vice versa. So do you use rows or beds and why?

JEH

 

[Egon]

Re: What\'s your garden strategy?

Brown Thumb Reske has usually used rows in the past.

Next year he intends on trying some raised beds. This is because the land he works with is very rocky and the soil in the beds will be screened. The raised beds may also be easier to cover in early spring. He'll also try interplanting some types of tall vegtable or grain with a climber to see what results he gets.

The raised beds may be easier to maintain. Some could become dedicated to certain plants like assparagass.

There will also be an attempt at mixing sawdust, leaves, sand and seaweed with the addition of a little ammonia nitrate to provide compost material. The soil is slate derived clay and rocks.

The grizzly for screening was built last spring but time has not been available to screen soil.

Egon

 

[Glenn9643]

Re: What\'s your garden strategy?

Mine is a combination of raised beds and conventional "rows". I have three raised beds about 6x40 which provide good drainage and have excellent ammended soil. In these I plant my garlic, onions, peppers, tomatoes. There's another raised bed about 4x25 that houses my asparagus.
The garden area is about 40x100, and this spring was my first attempt in that area. Being a creature of habit I planted everything (corn, butterbeans, field peas, okra) in a "water furrow" as I had been doing when living in Mississippi where the land was better drained with intentions of throwing dirt to the crops as I cultivated. Needless to say with all the rains this spring I couldn't cultivate, weeds took over, and everything I planted was stunted from too much water. Since clearing the remains off the garden off I've added about 25 cubic yards of compost to the garden and tilled it in. I've also acquired an old disk bedder and rebuilt it from 4-row to 3-row to lay out my garden with raised rows/furrows to help with drainage and dug a v-ditch to help move standing water away from the area.
I've got two compost piles working presently that should produce another 25-30 yards of compost by early spring that will go into the garden and raised beds.
The raised beds are easier to maintain and I take a more "intensive" approach there with everything planted. I generally tolerate more weeds in the garden area but still try to keep it within reason. We have plenty of room to garden and I've found that it's not that much more work to plant more than you need. I probably plant 3-4 times more than we need or actually use of everything except asparagus. We've used the same approach with our fruit trees... a dozen blueberry bushes, three peaches, three apples, and a half dozen plums. We have friends who appreciate being invited to the pea-patch, etc. and often will pick and carry to older neighbors and friends who can no longer garden. And you have to consider some for the varmints, at least those that won't try to get it all (deer).

 

[Chuck52]

Re: What\'s your garden strategy?

I've got pretty good soil, though it's heavy and sets up hard when dry. No rocks at all. So, I tend toward the "extensive" end, though my garden space at present is only about 50x50 feet. I usually plant way too much of a few things like beans, okra and tomatoes, and when the year is good, like this was for beans and okra, I end up with enough excess to make lots of folks at work happy. We invested in a decent canner this summer, so I expect to put up more of our excess for ourselves in the future.

As I said, my loess-clay is good soil, but it could use a lot more organic matter to make it more friable and help keep it from setting up when the big dry comes. I've got access to free horse manure/sawdust and I hope to have time to get a few loads on the garden this fall. In the meantime, I put all the leaves from the yard on the garden and will till them in when it dries out enough. I did that a couple of years ago in a limited area of the garden where I put in tomatoes and I got a bumper crop. Lightening up the soil with organic matter should also help my root crops, which have been pretty variable. I don't really want to add sand, which would be the other way to go, I suppose. If I ever did raised beds, I might well dedicate them to root stuff because I could then fix up a limited area specifically for those things that really need looser soil.

Right now, I have dedicated beds for asparagus and berries, but again these are just areas set aside for them and not raised beds because my dirt is pretty good.

Chuck

 

[PineRidge]

Re: What\'s your garden strategy?

My sandy soil is a real challenge. This year all my tilling and pulling weeds still resulted in very few vegetables, all the cool nights and excess rain didn't really help either. So this fall I had 20 dump-truck loads of composted manure brought in and it is sitting 7-8 inches deep on top of the soil waiting to be tilled in. This is not the fresh stuff, it has already broken down to rich black compost. I figure next year I may have a lot more weeds because of the manure but I had to get the soil improved quickly and I figured this to be the best way. We'll see....

 

[EastTexFrank]

Re: What\'s your garden strategy?

I use both methods.

My "wife's" garden is 4 raised beds, about 4' x 30', that I rigged up to the well with an automatic soaker hose watering system and enclosed with wire fence. It gets composted and tilled every spring and is planted pretty intensively. I don't know why I refer to it as my "wife's" garden as I seem to do most of the prep work and weeding although she is a great planter and picker. She loves to grow vegetables, especially tomatoes, and I tried to make it as easy as possible for her.

"My" garden is much larger as far as area goes but is planted less intensively in rows. It gets composted every spring before tilling. I stole an idea from Bird and plant the rows 5' to 6' apart which allows me to get between them with the tractor and tiller. That saves so much hand weeding during the heat of a Texas summer. It also lets me use the FEL to carry the produce when harvesting. It does "waste" a lot of land but that is not really a issue as I plant and pick a lot more than we are ever able to use. It does give the rest of the family an excuse to come over, visit, spend the day and pick what they want too. In fact during the winter I usually ask them all what they want me to plant so I can get prepared for spring. I'm still experimenting to find out the best, easiest and most efficient way to water "my" vegetable garden. I don't know what method I'll try next year but I'll come up with something. The improvement process never ends.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I never till in the old plants when they are finished producing. I pull them and they usually go in the burning pit. I think it's easier to keep the next years plants healthy if you destroy the old ones and don't let any diseases or fungus overwinter in the soil.

 

[RICHARDG]

Re: What\'s your garden strategy?

I have been raising or working in a veg. garden,since I was 6-7,,I'm now 49, and have raised a garden,on my own, for past 20 years.... I do it the old fashined way,,,row,no raised beds,no wide rows,,,and don't water anything except transplants,,,now have about a 1/2 acre garden,,so I always plant more than I need,,assuming everthing grows cause you might not get enough rain or late frosts... Wife cans,and freezes stuff,,,,,,always plant a cover crop of winter rye and greens in fall,,,right now my garden is green. Don't burn anything,chop it or till in. Its all about the dirt,,if you got good dirt and enough rain,,,you can plant it in any fashion you want and it will still do good,,,,,now if I was trying to sell stuff to make money,,might think about those raised covered,drip irrigated bed deals,,,,but am not,,,and we always have plenty,,,plant a little of about everything to,,,,there needn't be any high tech modern methods used,,,just takes good dirt,rain,,and a little luck and knowledge...thingy

 

[Libertine]

Re: What\'s your garden strategy?

Pineridge:

<font color="blue">So this fall I had 20 dump-truck loads of composted manure brought in and it is sitting 7-8 inches deep on top of the soil waiting to be tilled in. </font>

Wow. 20 dump truck loads - that's doing it up right. If your soil is real sandy, wouldn't adding silt & clay loads have helped the structure better? Don't know just asking. I think you can get the structure of your soil by taking a sample (about 1/3 of a quart mason jar, filling it up with water, shaking it real, real good and then leaving it sit in a window sill for a day or so. When the water clears you have sand at the bottom, then silt, then clay, then water, and humus (organic matter) floating on top and can easily figure the relative percentages of the different parts. My soil is way too high in silt, low in sand and fairly low in clay. If you have a lot of sand, but little silt or clay will the composted manure help the structure? (Sure should make it grow good tho).

<font color="blue">raised beds . . . 4' and 5' bed widths </font>

I've been using rows and plan on switching to 30" beds next year. If you use the wider bed (like 5') or so do you have problems reaching in for picking? I am going to try a 30" bed width for several reasons (plan on using an 18" walkway between beds - that's the width on my tractor tires and the tractor is about 32" between inside of tires so I can "straddle" the bed with the big tractor). Have a two wheel tractor with 30" tiller, 31" brush mower (for cutting down the winter rye, etc.). Also, the bed + walk-way is on a 48" module (sounds good anyway). We'll see. That's one reason I posted, to see other experiences.

So, do those of you using wider beds find it more difficult in the harvest end, weeding and so forth?

JEH

 

[Libertine]

Re: What\'s your garden strategy?

EastTexFrank & Glenn9643:

<font color="blue">I use both methods. </font>

Have you ever reflected on the relative labor inputs per output between "your" rows, and your wife's beds? Yeah, I know, gardening is nice pleasant, generally relaxing hobby. It's a real pleasure watching stuff grow (and sometimes even nice to help it along). But I was wondering if you've ever though about it? (am NOT suggesting a time motion study).

JEH

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Re: What\'s your garden strategy?

I have a few acres in soybean this year that I am planning on converting to part lawn and part garden next year.

My plan is to have 50" wide tilled beds because my tiller is 50" wide. In between the beds will probably be at least 60" of grass, but I'd guess the grass would be a bit wider. The B2910 has a 60" bucket on it, the TC24 has a 54" bucket and a 60" MMM. So the reality is that a 60" grass strip between the 50" bedss would be very tight to run a tractor down. I'd guess I'll end up with closer to a 72" grass strip between the rows.

I suggested to the lovely Mrs_Bob that she might want to buy me a 2 row planter, the one I have my eye on comes set at 30" row centers but is adjustable. Just to make things easy for her, I provided her the contact information for the guy who is selling it /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif But if she opts to pass on that one, I have a back up that is very similar in configuration /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

If all goes as planned, I'll have enough stuff planted to feed the family, and that pesky herd of deer that trample over and eat everything that I don't fence in!