Starting new Garden

[Code54]

We have always had a garden and this year we have decided to expand our old garden. Last year we used all raised beds but found that we are running out of room. This year I opened up about 3000 sq ft and fenced it all in and we are now deciding on how we want to set it up.

We are leaning towards non enclosed raised beds but are open to other ideas. The "old" enclosed raised beds will still hold the tomatoes, peppers, carrots, etc The new open area will have corn, potatoes, squash, more peppers, and I am not sure what all else. This is where I debating if we should have non enclosed raised beds or just plant it without doing the raised bed styles. We have a new BCS 853 on the way with a power harrow to help with this and I have access to a rotary plow if needed.


Do you all like raised beds or feel it is better to skip them and just plant it

 

[jaxs]

Production is so much better in raised beds,I think it's best for most things. I'm in Tx and just plowed up tall rows last week to be knocked down and planted next season. I will plant onions,squash,corn,beans and okra in the rows,tomatoes,pepper,and cabbage in raised beds. To build soil,conserve water, control weeds and keep my feet clean after rain or heavy watering I fill middles between rows with fall leaves and lawn clippings during growing season. In late fall,leaves and clippings are tilled into soil.

 

[TnAndy]

We use a combination of raised beds inside a hoop house for crops like broccoli, carrots, lettuce, etc, then about two quarter acre outside patches of conventional garden for corn, potatoes (white/sweet), beans, tomatoes (both those also grown inside). The 1/4ac patches get rotated from year to year with grass grown on the alternative one that year.

Outside garden areas, fenced to keep deer out.

Our raised beds in the hoop house are waist high, so no bending. Tried the normal raised beds before...didn't care for them, decide this is much better way to go. Also, you nearly eliminate broccoli worms, bean bugs, etc, by growing inside, plus the extended seasons let you double or triple crop each year, without additional heat. You can grow an amazing amount of food in a small hoop house...ours is 20x36.

 

[oldballs]

Wow Andy, that's impressive. I've done a few sorta raised beds without the hoop house. As the years have gone by and I started using a garden tractor versus the walk behind tiller, I've found that the timbers get in the way of tilling etc. Same is true of the fencing required to keep the large and small critters out. Even with the full family to feed I've found that I could raise more that we could eat anyway. Now that they are all gone, I still garden with the fence (PITA) only and give 99% of it away.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[TnAndy]

Wow Andy, that's impressive. I've done a few sorta raised beds without the hoop house. As the years have gone by and I started using a garden tractor versus the walk behind tiller, I've found that the timbers get in the way of tilling etc. Same is true of the fencing required to keep the large and small critters out.

Cheers,
Mike

Thanks Mike...it's a labor of love.

We found the same thing on tilling the lower raised beds....just no good way to work them, so when building the hoop house, elected to go with the waist high version. Since we never walk on them, and did the top foot or so in a custom mix of soil, sand, peat moss, vermiculite, compost, it is easy to hand fork as needed, and weeding is really easy.

That hoop house is the best thing we've ever done in terms of food production.

As for fencing...yep, it's a pain to work around, but without it, we'd raise almost nothing....the deer pressure is simply to much.

 

[Deere Dude]

Very nice looking gardens there. What do you do with plants that spread like squash or watermelons and musk melon? When they get bigger and spread out 10-15 feet they seem impossible to weed.

 

[oldballs]

Very nice looking gardens there. What do you do with plants that spread like squash or watermelons and musk melon? When they get bigger and spread out 10-15 feet they seem impossible to weed.

Funny that you should ask Dude. This summer we had an unusual amount of rain and I was quite busy with other things. Thus, the watermelon and cantaloupe went crazy among the tall weeds. They seemed to like flowering and making amidst it all. Go figure?....had some of the biggest melons ever.

 

[sixdogs]

TnAndy and oldballs...Those are great looking gardens.

 

[TnAndy]

Very nice looking gardens there. What do you do with plants that spread like squash or watermelons and musk melon? When they get bigger and spread out 10-15 feet they seem impossible to weed.

Squash doesn't seem to be too much of a problem, and we never have any luck growing melons....the cucumber beetle that spreads the wilt seems to hit us hard every time we try, and I don't like the use of wide spread pesticides needed to knock them out.

Few more pics of one of the outside areas:

Other garden space, 10 years ago prior to permanent fence and hoop house build.

Same view now days, garden in 'rest mode' this particular year.

 

[Code54]

The pictures are awesome and help give us some ideas - thank you all!
Here is what we have now and I marked the photo on the items being moved (Blueberry, blackberries and just a couple of the small raised beds.)
thinking we are going to move the berry bushes elsewhere (with electric fence around them and some netting above them).

Do you all have problems with deer bothering the corn? We are are overrun with deer. The damage is never-ending Everything needs fenced or they eat it. I normally get a few permits from the DNR yearly to thin the heard a bit to give you some idea.

anyone have any thoughts on how we should lay this space out?