Garden Layout

Even though I am still missing a few things like potted plants and potatoes, I do have seeds of those things I like to plant, eat & preserve in hand! But before I get carried away I have to ask myself some basic questions. The first and foremost question that needs to be answered is how much can I take care of with only one other person helping me. This question will determine whether I plant for summer consumption or if I'm going to harvest, process and store for winter meals. Taking care of the garden is a big deal especially if you are not using any chemicals as weeding and cultivating can be back breaking. After this moment of intense honesty, I can determine how many sprinklers, tomato cages, trellises, straw, etc. I will need. Then I can begin the work of laying out the garden plot making sure I estimate how many tomato, pepper, celery, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and herb plants I need, their location and space required. I then assess how to make my garden as productive as possible. To achieve this I need to incorporate crop rotation as different crops contribute to the nutrition of the soil or the deplete the soil nutrients. Then I will achieve better production with companion planting. For example, when I plant corn I might plant it with sections of sunflowers. Not only are the sunflower seed edible but they will attract bees which will be garden pollinators and birds such as humming birds which will eat white flies. I might plant the corn with dry beans which will use the corn stalks as a trellis and will add nitrogen to the soil. Plus, I will add squash underneath the corn to hold water into the soil. The planting of corn, beans, and squash together is called "The Three Sisters" and has been used for centuries by the Native Americans. An added bonus it that planting these three crops together will also reduce garden space. Simply put there are many consideration to planting the garden and a good garden takes time to layout and time to take care of in order for it to be productive.