How to Plan Your Raised Garden Beds
I’m sick this week, so going to skip doing a podcast. No one really wants to listen to a stuffy, sniffly person!
Usually I use graph paper to draw out my 12, 3x4’ raised beds and draw in all the vegetables. Then I draw out my flower beds and fill those in. This is satisfying to do, as drawing is that way for me, but a lot of times I forget to add some things, I can’t see when I should plant things, I don’t know when plants will bloom or be ready to harvest. I work on spreadsheets all day for work, so I don’t like to do that in my down time!
This year I decided to do it a little different. I set out 12 Post-Its on my floor, labeled 1-12. While I had all my seeds in front of me and within reach, I looked at last years “garden map” (highly recommend making a “final” map of what you planted and make notes) to make sure I didn’t plant the same families in the same beds. Crop rotation lets your beds reclaim the nutrients that last season’s plants sucked out of them. I also don’t plant potatoes in my raised beds, they go into grow bags. I’m not extremely scientific with this, but I know enough that beans and peas are sooo good for bringing the nitrogen back into the soil, so I generally plant beans and peas in a bed every other year. When in doubt, plant beans and peas :)
My raised beds are in two rows and on one end, a fence is next to them, so I tend to plant my cucumbers and other climbing plants here. One must be careful though, if you get some powdery mildew or other squash/cucumber issue, you should give that area a rest from those plants for a season or two. Most other plants are not bothered by powdery mildew, so plant something that may need a bit of support, like tomatoes. And really, if you’re not growing rows and rows of cucumbers to make pickles, you’ll usually never get enough in one picking!) you can go to the farmers market and buy in bulk from those that had a good crop. I struggle with cucumbers, so just try one or two varieties each year and we eat them fresh or make small batch pickles—a lot of times I mix cucumbers and spicy peppers in my pickles to have enough volume.
Choose your garden battles people! If you can’t grow it, someone else can. That’s why I don’t grow corn. It takes up too much space and depletes too many nutrients to get a couple ears of corn. I’d rather drive down the road to a corn stand or the farmer’s market and buy that dozen ears for $5-6. Then I freeze half and have it for the rest of the year.
I digress, back to the Post-Its. In my season, I have around 140 frost free days, in a good year. That doesn’t mean its pleasant out there enough for plants to be added though. Soil temperature actually matters just as much. —I suggest getting yourself a soil thermometer! My raised beds are generally warmer than the in-ground beds, so I do pay attention to this. Here’s how I choose my plant varieties for each bed.
I’m going to add 3-4 seed packets to each Post-It pile.
I choose an early plant (those that can be sown or planted when soil is workable, or in a lot of cases seed packets will say specifically 45 degrees F. Or, if they have a very long growing season, like carrots or parsnips. Some examples are lettuces, radishes, kale, peas, etc. Most of these have a short growing period, so they’ll get eaten or will bolt and be torn out within 2 months. I plant a ton of lettuce and kale at this time, as it all grows well in the cold climate and we love a fresh salad. This space should be available to use for your 3rd group of plantings, or you can succession sow these for a fall crop. In MN, its recommended to start your fall seedlings inside, as its too hot in late July and August to start seeds outdoors.
I choose a “mid-season harvest, but ok to plant close to the last frost date” varieties. Some examples are: onions, scallions, more kale, broccoli, swiss chard, etc. At this point I have my old sheets at the ready, as we can have surprise, late-spring, killing frosts still that if these are babies, they may not make it.
Lastly, I choose a warm weather planting crop. These need to have the soil at a warmer temp and nights at a consistent temperature and no chance of frost or they’ll meet their demise. Some examples are: Beans, tomatoes, peppers, tender herbs, squash, cucumbers, etc. This last bunch generally take up the most space and have the longest growing season, so keep that in mind.
Now you should have a pleasing row of seed packets. I usually leave these for a couple days, come back, think of if I want anything else, etc. Then I get out my notebook. I write down the number of the bed, so #1, and then list under it each plant variety, days to harvest, when to start inside, when to plant outside, plant or seed spacing, and final height and girth of the plant. This last one is very important, as plants really only grow well if they have space. In my 3x4’ beds, two big tomatoes or 3-4 small tomatoes are all that should be in there. I can still have filler crops like onions, herbs, flowers, more kale, and any smaller plant. Remember that these larger plants will create some shade, so think ahead of who will be their neighbor. Last thing I do is use a couple different highlighters to mark the “when to start inside” amounts and then also, write down that actually date to save you time later.
In all of my raised beds I fill in the spaces with pest controlling plants like non-spreading herbs, alyssum, nasturtiums, and marigolds. These plants are also great pollinator attractors as they bloom all season long. I start these plants each year, as it sooo much cheaper to do so. And I always grow way too many, so will just stuff them all over the other gardens and it looks beautiful.
The final thing is to put away your mess! I have a small box that holds seed packets upright nicely, so I use that. I put the Post-It on the front packet and the other 2-3 behind it, then the next one. Be sure to save your paper that has all your plant information on it and maybe even mark on your calendar the dates that you can start your seeds!
I feel a mix of impatience, excitement and a hidden joy this time of year, I hope you do too!