Please give feedback on my 2017 plan

jacobking101 wrote:

Hi Jacob!
I haven't been SFGing for long, so I'd give advice from others with more experience more credence, but this looks pretty good to me. Maybe swap the spinach with the swiss chard so the shorter plant is 'in front.' Having all the kale/collard clustered may attract more cabbage butterflies -- but they'll come anyhow and then grouping them makes it easier to stand in one spot and pick the caterpillars off (or you can treat with BT if you're comfortable with that.) Following peas with something is tricky. I managed it, sort-of, but you really have to have the weather cooperate for starting them early enough, and even then you may need to remove the plants before they are truly 'done.' You might want to stagger the cilantro plantings since they will bolt (then you can have coriander seeds!) I'll let someone who has been successful with carrots comment on those.

I'm curious what varieties you will be growing for the watermelon, pumpkin, and tomato (determinate, indeterminate -- what sort of support do you have planned for the tomatoes?) I'm in zone 6a/5b and can tell you that my oregano and thyme have been successfully overwintering in my old-style SFG (amended dirt, not a raised bed). My parsley in my ANSFG also survived last winter, and then bolted. It's worth considering these things if they will affect your plan the following year, i.e. do you want to keep perennial oregano in that location or will you want to start from scratch each year?

I'm out of town, but I will take a look later.  Nice looking plan!

I was counting on the winter being as mild as usual here (past ~4 years has been very mild compared to what it was in 2010/2011), and I will switch the spinach and swiss chard. I'll update it with varieties soon.

Will you be growing determinate or indeterminate (vining) tomatoes? I usually grow indeterminates (vining) which I train to grow up a trellis or a tall stake. According to the ANSFG book, vining toms can be grown 1 per square whereas bush toms require 9 square feet.

I was planning on determinate tomatoes

Try Vietnamese Coriander, if you want coriander that lasts a whole season. It is delicious, hardy, and spreads like crazy. It also appears to like growing inside if you put cuttings in MM in the fall.

I'll look into Vietnamese Coriander.

I've been told it's very hard to prune an indeterminate tomato to a stake in 1 square. Is it realistic?

jacobking101 wrote:I'll look into Vietnamese Coriander.

I've been told it's very hard to prune an indeterminate tomato to a stake in 1 square. Is it realistic?

I my old style SFG (amended soil) I grow indeterminates (big beef, roma) 15 to 18 inches apart. I prune them and tie them to 6 foot high wooden stakes.

This past summer I grew an indeterminate cherry tomato in one square in one of my ANSFG boxes. I pruned it and trained it to grow on a trellis. It produced very well.

Jacob, sometimes you just have to experiment. Try a couple or more methods rather than settling on one and see which works out best.

I'll second the Vietnamese coriander (Persicaria odorata) for a cilantro-flavored plant that doesn't bolt. I've been growing that one longer than I've had a real garden -- but I've only ever been able to find plants for sale, not seeds. Mimi, do you know of a seed source?

Mine has survived light frosts, but doesn't overwinter for me outdoors, it gives up after the first hard freeze.  I have not tried any sort of covering. This is my third year bringing cuttings inside for winter use, but the first year they seem healthy (because I don't have an aphid covered aerogarden this time ); so I've just been buying a new plant every spring.

Just my thoughts, but I usually plant tomatoes at 1/sq foot & trellis them. No problems so far... except for a little blossom end rot this summer. Got that fixed pretty quickly though.