if you had a 5x20 foot plot, what would you grow?

i have a little 100 square foot plot at the community gardens. and i have a few packets of seeds to start off with. i think i'd like to grow things that would normally be on the expensive side if i were to buy them, but, i'd also like to be pretty space efficient so that i can get the most out of my plot.

 

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

 

BUD!!!! I'm just playing, probably all sorts of things, peppers, tomatoes, watermelons are cool to watch grow so are pumpkins. potatoes, etc... but I'd make sure they were grown organically. It's so expesive to buy organic food in stores, food stands aren't so bad.

 

Is now the best time of year to plant where you are and how much sun will your plot get during the day?


August

 

i think all the plots are in full sun, but i wont know for sure until the next work party how much sun my plot will have. the entire garden is organic only, it's really cool. the cold weather plants are growing well around here right now~i've been eating chard out of my bitty garden at home.

watermelons and pumpkins take up a lot of space... i dont think i'll be really doing any of the big viney plants. unless, do you know if watermelons can be trellised? hm, that sounds like it could be pretty labour intensive!!


dhs~now i've got that song stuck in my head. thx!

 

What to grow if you must keep it within 100 square feet?

HMmmm ..... You pose an interesting question. I agree with dhs: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. I would add basil (a couple types), dill, lemon balm, oregano (or marjoram) and mints (spearment, peppermint, apple and orange). These are all fairly small plants, so shadows should be little problem. Most are perennials or freely re-seed. Oregano (or marjoram) and mints can become invasive, but not too bad.
When you compare price you pay at a store per square foot needed to grow them, it's hard to beat herbs. Also consider that a small amount of fresh herbs can make a really big difference within what you cook or when added to a salad.

Peace,
poor_old_dad

 

well sence its kinda small choose plants that dont need much room and plants that dont vine out. anny herb plant is good for this and some vegies like ocra,eggplant,tomatto,garlic,onion,zuccinni,peppers,leek,collorobi, the list goes on and on.lots of possabilitys.green healing thoughts

 

thx for all the great ideas!

 

The herbs are a good idea as you can grow loads of them in just a few square feet. I'd also do root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and then maybe some lettuce and spring onions....

 

Well Tomatoes, Zuchini, squash, peas, beans, and other "viney" plants can be trellised and grown upwards instead of out, taking less room. This year I'm growing things that can be preserved and used all winter. I hear that Broccoli, Cauliflower and other things do well even in colder weather and can be grown right up into fall. Have fun!


Senk

 

Hi Nimh!


i live on the other side of the planet so I feel a bit funny giving gardening tips on this forum sometimes(but let me know if I shouldn't!), hence the Q's about the sun and the weather conditions where u live! I'm more than happy to share with you what I know and u can take from it what u please okay!

well...about viney plants, i wouldn't give up on them so soon. Things like zuchinni, pumpkin, squash and cucumber are the most greedy plants. Needing lots of space and sun and nutrients. But in turn i find that they crop the best, and will provide u with beautiful organic produce to eat/sell for a few months to come which is fantastic.

my vegie garden is only about 15 feet by 7 feet if that!

So my mind boggles with endless possibility at the size of your garden! So what i've found is plant these types of vegies at the very edges of the patch. You can them start out in the patch but then encourage them to grow outside of it,on top of the grass or earth next to it (mine grows onto concrete next to the bed) which leaves space and sun for the other plants but lets me have a wonderful, heavy croping viney plant too.

Are u growing the produce for yourself and others to share and live off? Have a look at what kind of vegies you usually eat and try to grow these. But always have a space for herbs and chilli and garlic etc.. too. This way you will always have a meal ready to cook straight from the garden!!

Let me know if this sort of thing is any help to you. And if you would like any more suggestions let me know!

lots of love&happy planting!

August x

 

hello,
over here salad crops are the most expencive and are also of poor quality in the shops so i would deffinatly grow a selection of, at least anual herbs, lettices and other leafy salad crops like spinich, pak choi, land cress, rocket ect... also some roots carrotts raddishes beet roots, kohl-rabi. tomatoes grown in a corden (with all side shoots in the leaf axles removed) can be grown a foot apart and are well worth it. also grow a pyrmid shaped circle of runner/french/your favorit been or pea, Also a few summer cabidges just to give your self a good selection of foods.

my other advice would be to try to get away with putting things closer together than advised (on seed packets or in books) if you cant water regularly or if you have poorer or sandy soil, more times than not more smaller plants with produce more than bigger/farther spaced apart plants, with exceptions such as sweeds with need vigerious thinning out.
a lot of these crops like leafs and raddishes can be sown every month or so to get small amounts of fresh vegtables
as for potatoes oinions ect which would be normally main crops its better if limited for space to get a bulk organic sack of them.

best of luck
best wishes
;~)

 

peppers and onions... mmmmm

 

And please let us know what you decide and how it does. Remember, fresh herbs make great barter material. Grow them and trade for the other stuff. You should know, I biased on this because a big chunk of my income is from fresh and dried herbs.

Peace,
poor_old_dad

 

I would trellis one side if possible and grow malabar spinach as it climbs. And some half runner green beans.
I would also have a few cherry tomatoe plants, a few early tomatoe plants and a few long season large tomatoe (beefsteak type) tomatoes..also a few roma types for sauce.
Depending on the size of your family...I would have 2-4 zuchinni..2-4 yellow squash.
I would grow a bush type water melon like baby bush. I would also trellis a couple of cantaloupes. If you like peppers..a few bell type, afew banana and a few hot...I love cubanelle peppers. And get some red and ellow onion sets and stick them around EVERYTHING...this helps with bugs...and don't forget some marigolds.
Herbs have already been covered.
I would also (if your not familiar with) go to the library and get Mel Bartholomews book "Square foot gardening"...this book is the greatest for tiny gardens as it is based on a series of 4X4 raised beds..however many you want to put in. He has plans in there for how to get the most from the least space.
His premise is to plant 1- 16 plants per square foot(depending on the plant) and as the plant is depleted, you pull it up,add compost to the hole and follow up witht the next seasons plant.Thus you have a garden going for most of the year.
I use alot of his advice.
And was able to find his book at a yard sale for 25 cents.
Before that I checked it out constantly from the library.

Don't know what zone your in but in 5/6, we're just getting going in the last week for warmer weather. I just planted a bed of kale today. They called for flurries 3 days ago but it didn't happen here.
I'm in a little valley where 3 large hills come together so the cold rolls right down them onto our land so i have to be careful of frosts.

Watch out for cut worms.
teepi

 

A butterfly garden ! It reseeds itself and brings gorgeous butterflies to the area.

 

A big amen to Mel Bartholomews book "Square Foot Gardening". I think every gardener should have that book in their home library. Even though in my veggie garden I have 36 beds that are each 4 feet wide and 48 feet long, I still use his book as reference. Efficiency - that is what I've learned from him.

Peace,
poor_old_dad

 

Watercress and Bok Choi are fast growers, so you could likely get more out of your space with those. Maybe a few fruit vines if you have a fence, so you can get some more space vertically.

 

i want to grow peppers and eggplants and herbs

and i might get to bc i just moved and we have a backyard now!

yay!

 

Amen on the butterfly garden!