It boggles my mind that you're just now *planning* your garden... amazing how much climate influences your life. Down here in Houston, I was late because I planted my tomatoes at the end of March... whether I can get a good amount of fruit to set before it gets too hot is up to the whims of the sun and the wind. Okay, I'm done being captain obvious :) I'm not an expert, but here's my opinion on a couple things. What kind of self watering containers are you doing? DIY sub-irrigated planters using the soil as a wick (like the ones often made in rubbermaid tubs)? If so, your quantities look good to me, except for the beans. Even with non-vining beans like filet beans, thats a lot of plants. From I've seen and read, climbing beans are a better choice for SWC's, because you get a larger harvest with a small amount of soil. I'm not sure how long your growing season is, but even one or two climbing bean plants can easily overtake a standard trellis, and will often continue to grow as far as you support them. If you can, train the cucumber plants to separate trellises. They're also vigorous growers once they get started, and you'll want the extra room for them to sprawl and produce! Separate the herbs... oregano is almost as vigorous as mint, and can easily overwhelm another plant. If you're growing Genovese basil (the most popular), note that it does tend to sprawl as it gets bigger, with the stems unable to fully support their own weight. Rosemary is a slow grower, and performs poorly when crowded out by other plants. I know the temptation to combine herbs is strong because of how herb boxes are often represented, but for practical use and best plant health, you should simply get smaller dedicated pots for each herb. If you're making your own containers, be conscious of the safety issues with PVC and other plastics. If you want to be meticulous, don't use five gallon buckets from hardware stores - they're not food safe, and contain potentially harmful dyes and mold release agents. Use copper pipes or HDPE piping meant for potable water for your irrigation set up. Be sure to give your tomato plants a calcium and magnesium source. Prominent sources on the internet recommend dolomitic lime, though its not clear if the pH altering effects of this addition are relevant. Regardless, those sources have seen incredible success - so perhaps its best to just imitate at first. A holesaw kit for your powerdrill will make your life much, much easier.

Okay - so I took a long lunch today and went to our awesome little nursery here. I broke out the pocketbook, but I am going to take the left overs home to my house so here is what I got: I ended up going with a white/lavendar/purple/green theme . . . begonia - white tiarella cordifolia elephant ear - illustris diamond frost - euphoria petunia - superbells white sweet potato vine - sweet caroline snapdragon - angelface angelonia - serena lavender cabana - trailing blue bacopa snowstorm - giant snowflake saparagus fern lysimachia - sundew springs coleus - velvet lime new guinea impatiens - lavender creeping jenny heliotrope - baby blue imp. coneflower - coconut lime zinnia - star white polka dot plant - white splash a small bay tree parsley oregano - sweet and spicy golden oregano greek basil whoo hoo!

Certainly! If a standard variety of zuke; plant 3 seeds then thin out to leave the 2 strongest

I plan sort of. I have a garden blueprint from 10 yrs. ago. I spent many hours making it. Without this I would not know where anything is. At the end of each season I do a rough "inventory" of everything that has been added and where (roughly) then put it away until January. Then out it comes along with the photos from the garden last season and I plan what I need, wish and want for this year. It's my greatest tool because as the garden matures, my memory fades of what I put last year or 3 years ago. It helps but like others who have spoken before me - if I don't like a look, I change it. In the fall the master blueprint gets changed to reflect what I have done. It sounds tedious and time consuming but each fall it takes about 1 hour to mark the changes on the plan; but it saves hours and hours of work in the spring - because I know where all the holes and nooks are that need a little something.