Our 2014 Backyard Garden Plan

In early May, I decided to change our garden a bit by switching to a raised-bed, square-foot garden, even though we have little knowledge on the subject. We need to study more about the compatibility of plants, watering, planting times, etc. Based upon what grows this season, we'll make better plans and learn more during the winter.

Maybe this fall or next spring, we can try adding plastic over the garden to extend the growing season for some plants. Maybe we should stagger the planting time for each bed. Anyway, that's thoughts for the off-season.

On Sat, May 24, 2014, we shopped for plants at Bench's farm/greenhouse, located along Route 2, a little west of Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area. On Sun, May 25, we bought more plants and seeds at The Andersons on Talmadge Rd. On Mon, May 26, we planted everything in our raised-bed, square-foot garden.

• I built three framed beds. Each bed measures 9-feet by 4-feet.
• The boards used to build the frame are 1-inch by 8-inch untreated pine.
• I bought 6-foot boards, which are connected by small, thin straight and angled brackets and screws. Not exactly sturdy construction, but I wanted to go cheap this first time out.
• The soil within the framed beds consists of our own yard soil, and I added bags of Holy Cow manure compost, mushroom compost, and peat moss.
• I used twine to define the grids.

Original plan to be replicated across all three beds.

A1 Peas (8)	B1 Cherry Tomato (1)	C1 Amish Paste Tomato (1)	D1 San Marzano Tomato (1)
A2 Carrots (16)	B2 Bush Beans (9)	C2 Spinach (9)	D2 Beets (16)
A3 Radishes (16)	B3 Cucumbers (2)	C3 Egg Plant (1)	D3 Broccoli (1)
A4 Pepper (1)	B4 Carrots (16)	C4 Peas (8)	D4 Bush Beans (9)
A5 Pepper (1)	B5 Cucumber (2)	C5 Bush Beans (9)	D5 Peas (8)
A6 Cucumber (1)	B6 Celery (1)	C6 Celery (1)	D6 Celery (1)