Brand New to SFG - Two 4x4 Plan

Brand new to SFQ and have been researching for weeks.  Plan on building and making Mel's mix this weekend.  Will have two 4x4's.  Looking for any feedback on my plan.




Thanks to any established folks out there who can pass on some tips.  Trellis will be built for Tomato/Bean side on the left box.

Welcome to the forum.  A couple quick questions/comments.  Which way are you orienting the garden, meaning which way is north.  Usually, a map is oriented with north at the top which is where a trellis would be placed.  Also, bush beans do not need a trellis. Good luck and I am sure you will get some good advise.

meatburner wrote:Welcome to the forum.  A couple quick questions/comments.  Which way are you orienting the garden, meaning which way is north.  Usually, a map is oriented with north at the top which is where a trellis would be placed.  Also, bush beans do not need a trellis. Good luck and I am sure you will get some good advise.

Thanks for the welcome meatburner.  My map is not oriented correctly.  N is S, S is N.  Thanks for the heads up on the beans.  Will have to think of something else that could benefit from the trellis.

Peas and cucumbers are good for that if you like them.  The layout looks very well thought out.

  to SFG!

I would put the tomatoes on the end corners with the beans in the middle of them....same with the peppers and onions....peppers on the out side and onions in the middle.....

I would also plant the peppers and tomatoes at the back of each bed so not to block or shade the other veggies unless you are trying to provide shade for something like the lettuce & spinach......

I have never grown okra but I believe it gets pretty tall as well, so I would also plant that behind shorter veggies....

also.....the radishes will be done sooner then the spinach will be, maybe switch the radishes with the spinach you have plan to plant next to the squash, that way by the time you harvest your radishes it will give the summer squash a bit more room   

happy gardening
rose

  Hi and welcome, NewGardenerAL001!

Okra does grow tall. 

I'd say pole beans on the trellis.  Or cantaloupe, Sugar Baby watermelons, bottle gourds, luffa gourds, zukes/other summer squash, peas...

Looks good, tho.

Hi NG and welcome to the forum. First of all when you ask a question like this you will get a lot of answers with different opinions because everyone does things differently so don't let it overwhelm you. With time you will figure out what works best for you and how you like to place things in your garden to make it easier for you to work with. You have gotten some great advice already but I guess I might as well add my 2 cents worth while I'm here lol. 

While bush beans don't need the trellis if there isn't anything else you want to put on the trellis this year you could still plant them there it won't hurt anything. If you opt to plant pole beans or something else on the trellis then I would go with FG's suggestion of putting the beans in the middle with the tomatoes on each end so that it is easier to reach the tomato plants to keep them under control. But if you are going to stay with bush beans in that spot then I would leave it like you have it because reaching around the tomato plants to reach the bush beans would be to much trouble with the trellis up.

Okra does grow tall but it won't take off growing til it gets really warm so don't be alarmed when it just sets there and doesn't seem to grow for a while. You could even plant something else in that spot like more radishes, green onions,  or spinach and then plant the okra after you harvest them if you wanted. I planted my okra in May last year when I planted the rest of my garden (got a late start getting my beds ready) and they didn't do anything til end of June or first of July. When they started growing they grew fast and produced well. It was nice to have a low maintenance plant producing so well with so little effort in the heat of the summer.

You could plant your summer squash in buckets so they could spread out without taking up so much space in the garden which would free up 6 more squares for you to plant in. Or you could do them vertically on a stake and still regain some of that space. You could put your bush beans here if you plant something else on the trellis or you could plant more okra or add in something you wanted to plant but didn't have room for.

I agree with meatburner it is a well thought out plan. You have your layout right with the trellis and tall plants on the north side of your beds and the shorter plants in front. Good luck and have fun gardening!!!

+1!

NG, Welcome to the Forum!