Raised Bed Plans

Recently I wrote about my plans to utilize companion planting and vertical growing methods to maximize the space in our small garden this year.  I was asked to post my plans for these 4×8 wood-framed beds, so here they are!  These are packed tightly, as it’s an experiment to see just how intensively I can plant.  The books I used to come up with the spacing parameters can be found at the bottom of this post.

Note: “SP” stands for succession plantings.  Green lines indicate trellis.  Areas in red will be sown with my 4-row seeder.  Areas in yellow will be planted using homemade seed mats.  (Click here for more information on how I make hexagonal spaced seed mats for direct-seeded crops.)

Bed 1: 8 half-sheets of parsnip, two 8-foot hormanova trellises with 8 pruned indeterminate tomatoes each spaced at 12″, 4 sheets of SP lettuce, 4 sheets of SP chard, various herbs (will be purchased from the local nursery)

Bed 2: two basketweave trellises with 6 plants each (6 determinate tomatoes, 2 determinate tomatoes + 4 tomatillo) spaced 18″, 8 pepper spaced 12″, 8 watermelon spaced 18″x24″

Bed 3: 8 melons spaced 12″ along hormanova trellis, 31 cucumbers spaced 3″ along hormanova trellis, 12 summer squash spaced 18″, 6 okra spaced 18″ or 8 okra spaced 12″ (will be planted at 6″ and then I’ll decide when I thin them)

Bed 4: 12 winter squash spaced 18″x24″, two 8-foot hormanova trellises with 31 pole beans per side spaced 3″ (total: 124)

Bed 5: 8 kale spaced 12″ (spring/fall), 12 cabbage spaced 12″ (spring/fall), 8 half-sheets SP carrot, 8 half-sheets SP beet, 8 half-sheets SP radish, 4 whole + 4 half-sheets SP kohlrabi (spring: fresh, fall: storage)

Bed 6: 9 broccoli spaced 12″x18″, 9 cauliflower spaced 12″x18″, 6 Brussels sprouts spaced 12″x18″, 8-ft SP mesclun with 4-row seeder, 4 half-sheets beet (spring), 4 half-sheets carrot (spring), 4 half-sheets turnip (fall), 4 half-sheets rutabaga (fall)

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