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mckendricknd

Beginning my first garden--HELP!

9 years ago
Hi All,

Can you check my research? I live in Zone 6. I'm building 4 4X6' raised beds (will take recommendations on materials and soil). I may not plant all right away, but want to get the layout down. My garden will be South-facing (one section is slightly shadier than the other). I want to begin with tomatoes, peppers (green, red, jalapeno, etc.) and maybe cucumbers.

A) Can I/Should I grow these all in the same 4X6' bed?
B) Are these good "starter" veggies (I'm a first-timer)? Or is this plan too ambitious or too safe?
C) What--if any--berries are great for this region?

I'm happy to receive feedback on anything I've missed and/or just beginner tips. Many, many thanks! I'm so excited to begin my first garden!!

Nicole

Comments (5)

  • 9 years ago

    Generally, a north-south alignment is suggested for raised bed placement. That maximizes the amount of sunlight the beds receive, which should be in the 8+ hours range.

    You should allow about 2 square feet for each indeterminate tomato plant and at least a foot square for each of the peppers. If you plant the cucumber in a corner, you can take advantage of the ground outside of the bed to allow room for the plant to sprawl - and they do! You can also train the cuke to grow up a wire trellis to take up less space.

    Would need to know more specifics about location to be precise, but most berry plants will work in your zone. Keep in mind that berries like strawberry or raspberry spread and so take up quite a bit of real estate and that blueberries are really shrubs and have rather specific growing requirements.

  • 9 years ago

    Thank you GardenGal48! So this is a terrible photo, but the left side of my yard (where you see the front of the privacy fence) is south facing. The backside of the yard (where you see the "ugly side" of the fence) is West. The plan is to put the beds in back center. Do you think that will work?

  • 9 years ago

    The cukes would need to be put on a trellis. I would also cage the tomatoes in cages that are 18" diameter 4 ft high. They are make from fencing material. A five foot length will make the 18 diameter, I think. Just put the tomato in the middle, stack the cage and let the tomato plant grow. See photo below. I would not suggest the 2X4 inch wire I used. It makes it hard to get the tomatoes out. You can fit 10 or more in the 4X6 bed. The peppers would not need as much room. The little 3 ring tomato cages you get at the store work pretty well to support peppers.


    Depending on what part of the country you are in, blackberries and raspberries are pretty easy. They should be grown in separate beds from the tomatoes and raspberries and blackberries can spread diseases to each other.

    Blueberries require well drained acidic soil and in parts of the country are easy, other parts are difficult.

    Nicole M thanked garybeaumont_gw
  • 9 years ago

    Thank you, Gary! I'm in Zone 6a/b (literally right on the line according to the maps I've looked at). Blueberries are my favorite, so if I can grow those, it would be great, but blackberries are awesome too!

  • 9 years ago

    The zones will tell you which type of blueberry you can grow Northern, southern highbush, or rabbit eye. I think that the northern would be the type for your area, but rabbit eye might also work. The main problem with blueberries is the soil and water. You would need a soils test to see if the soil is acidic enough. Most areas in the western part of the US is too alkaline and so is the water. Blueberries need a pH of between 4.5 and 5.5. If the soils are above 7.0 it is extremely difficult to adjust the soils down to a level that is acceptable for blueberries. They also need well draining soils.

    Some people will put blueberries in containers and grow them that way. You would need an acidic soil less well draining mixture and water with rainwater. You can use tap water but might need to adjust the water down to a pH of 5.0. You would also need to use a completed fertilizer for acid loving plants such as azaleas.

    Sunshine blue and Pink lemonade do well in containers. There is information on doing this on this site.

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