Here In Zone 4-A we cannot plant the gardens yet. Plus, we really only get one crop. Not much can really be succession cropped due to the freeze dates. We are not set-up for cloches and other tricks for planting early. This is how my gardens are organized:
Gardens: We have three fenced in sections of Gardens. Eight-foot fences to keep out the deer. The furthest from the house is the most flat and Garden C has 21 beds, plus a bunch of currants that I want to take out because they have gotten huge. Garden B is where we are digging up more now to create specific beds for squash, plus beds against the fences for climbers such as dry beans and cucumbers. I want to move the strawberries from C, to B or A. Garden A is where we started, closest to the house, but with poorly installed fencing that is being replaced this year and needs the most work, and it was so hilly. A is where we put the blueberries, now nibbled to the ground, and to where I want to transplant the currants. A and B have a lot of terrain and need to be terraced. We are going to use some landscape timber to define the beds, especially in B, and build them up a bit which will limit the amount of soil/compost we need to haul in, but not to the “raised bed” height. That is a goal further down the line where we can eventually make mini-cold frames from each one. Gardens A, B, and C have common fencing between them, and a gate large enough for a wheelbarrow.
We are able to rotate our gardening beds, in C, every three years. Goal for this year is to organize B with enough beds for rotation of squashes. I figure I can put in 14 specific beds, with some for perennial vegetables. Goal is to establish some perennial flowers this year to attract pollinators. Plus, a bed for garlic which would be a new crop. Garden B, with squash, dry beans, rhubarb, and hopefully asparagus, etc., would not need the daily attending as C does because C is where the “harvest today” tender crops are.
Garden C has taken a few years to get to the point where we just pull out the weeds and plant. We wanted small beds that we could reach from side-to-side in and not feel as is we were trampling the crops. Yes, it does take mowing between the rows, but the grass is comfortable to sit on while weeding. We are trying to encourage clover in the grass. The length of the beds was determined simply by the area of the land that was easiest to fence-in due to terrain and strips for mowing.
I don’t want to go to specific raised beds to avoid critters, but I may need to because the pocket gophers ate a lot last year. Another goal is to put in a chicken wire fence below ground around the outside to keep them out. But, that is just silly since they can just burrow deeper, right? Perhaps that is why I have no parsnips! Plus, voles can get through the chicken wire. Have not seen any vole stockpiles, but I know I planted a lot more than I harvested.
It has taken about five years to develop these gardens to this point. This has all been hand-dug and hand weeded. I am hoping that next year will be the final year for the garden development and we can just enjoy planting and harvesting.
How are all your gardens doing?