Layout plans for my first 4x4 SFG, any comments?

I just built my first 4x4 SFG (I'll post some pics tomorrow after I get it filled with MM, I think it's a rather unique design) and I'm wanting some feedback on my fall garden layout plans.... This is what I've come up with... The top row with the peppers/sugar snap peas will be the northern row.



I have another 1x8 SFG w/ trellis that I've planted tomatoes, cukes, and pole beans in.

Any suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated!

This layout looks very similar to what I've got going on in my first fall SFG, just substitute cauliflower for your red peppers and beets and we'd be about identical. Are your carrots in high rise box? Will your peas need to be trellised?

Can't wait to see pics of your unique design! I hope you include pics of your trellised 1x8 too!

I think it looks great. If you want to plant green onions might I suggest planting sets instead of seeds. This is what I do and why.

I don't dedicate entire squares to green onions because they take very little space, grow quickly, and repel many insects with their, ah, scent shall we say. I plant them in between other slower growing crops. By the time the other plants need the space I have harvested the green onions. That was a tip I got from Mel.

If you wanted to try that you could have 2 more squares to play with.

The slower crops in your plan would be the peppers and broccoli, and white onions.

Hi Jersh!
Welcome to SFG! It looks like you did your homework in companion planting b/c most of these neighbors are going to play nice! Don't know if you caught this thread on the topic, but there are a bunch of good links to read.

I do have a thought about your broccoli placement. The leaves get really big and will spread out of their one square. And the plant will get much taller than the lettuce next door. They may end up shading out the neighbors too much.

If you swap the broccoli with the peppers in the 'northern' corners, they won't be crowding out the little guys. The snap peas can out reach them and the 'southern' lettuce will be out of their shadows.

BTW, I grew a bushel full of broccoli leaves last year and fed them to the chickens down the road. Too bad I only got a handful of broccoli heads to actually eat. No broc in my SFG this year!

Thanks for that great tip, Shannon! I'll be sure to do that next year around my cukes and tomatoes. It'll give me another square for the kids!

Jersh, just be careful to keep the onions away from the peas. Or so says this handy companion chart. I keep a laminated copy out in the garden.

That is a great chart just printed a copy. Yep onions are great. I could count the flea beetles I saw in my garden on one hand this year while my poor neighbors had much FB damage in thier gardens.

Thank you all very much for the feedback, I greatly appreciate it!

I ran into a hick-up this morning as I was finishing my SFG.... So I'm basically making a 'portable' SFG that I will be able to roll into the garage this winter if we get any freezing weather. I also want it to be portable because I'm not sure where in my backyard will be best, so in theory this will allow me to roll it wherever I want.

It's turned into a bigger project than I thought though :-) (Don't they always) Anyways, this morning I THOUGHT I had it finished, so I loaded the various bags of the MM components into the box and proceeded to wheel it on it's maiden voyage around to the back yard. As soon as it rolled off the driveway and into the grass one of the legs snapped off :-( So I had to re-evaluate my construction. I think I have it refortified to where it should be able to handle the weight... IF this fails then I'm SOL and will have to throw in the towel and make it stationary.

Pics to come later tonight, I need to wait until this evening to get back outside, it's too bloody hot right now.

shannon1 wrote:Yep onions are great. I could count the flea beetles I saw in my garden on one hand this year while my poor neighbors had much FB damage in thier gardens.

Pest control totally by accident, but I have onions in most of my boxes, and I have nasturtiums in the 2 boxes with melons or cukes. No wonder I have had no bug problems! I just put the nasturtiums there because I like the climbing ones and they are edible, and I had SOOOOO many onion plants that I had to spread them out through most of the boxes because 150 plants take up space (even at 9 per) and I didn't want a dedicated Onion Box! I definitely have to remember this for next year!

GG

Onions are awesome! Last summer, I had a little four legged beast come through my garden and eat almost every single plant down to the ground (tomatoes, beans, peppers, cucumbers, you name it). I was so upset, crying my eyes out, until I looked at my onion squares. The little beasty pulled up and ate one onion and apparently changed his mind! LOL The rest were totally untouched.

I just posted some images of my new portable SFG HERE