I have two 3' x 10' raised beds, slightly less space than yours, and this is what I grew last season: 6 Indeterminate Tomatoes 1 Cherry Tomato 6 Broccoli 6 Lettuces 3 Bell Peppers 3 Chile Peppers 4 Vining Cucumbers 4 Basil 24 Beets 24 Leeks Based on my experience, I would highly recommend adding a strong trellis or two on one or more sides of your bed. I grew the cherry tomato and all of the cucumbers on a trellis, and they took up very little space in the actual bed. You plant the plants tight against the edge of your bed and they grow up on the trellis, leaving the majority of the bed for your other crops. The comment in an earlier post about trellising the melons is a great idea because you'll still have most of the bed available for your other plants. I also like the way it looks. The rotation of cool weather to warm weather to fall crops will also help you plant many different types of plants. I tried square foot gardening one year and fit even more types of vegetables into my limited space, but have found I prefer a little elbow room and have reverted to more traditional plant spacings. I've gotten terrific yields from my small garden, so I'd expect you'll be pleased with your results as well. Good luck!

Thanks again! ksrogers, you say that Neem oil is okay for herbs? But how does it wash off, and won't it leave a bad taste? I have fungus gnat in my soil (from having the pots indoors!). I was told at a nursery that I should repot it and throw away the old soil. I'm going to do this, but I've read that putting sand/perlite on the surface will make it seem dry, so the adults don't lay eggs. Do you think that yellow sticky traps will solve the problem, because I think of them as more of an indicator that there is a problem than a solution in itself. I had a whitefly infestation last winter (indoors), and had used sticky traps, but it didn't actually stop the infestation :( flora, I think I understand what you mean about outdoors being better. Though indoors, I used an oscillating fan on the seedlings for a couple of hours in the evenings, to make them stronger (though I don't know if it had an effect or not). I also do try to bottom water (though I was not for the basil because the pot is large!), but I water the top at the same time I bottom water, so the whole soil gets completely soaked. Is this bad in general? Should I just get the bottom half wet and leave the top drier? (That might discourage gnats from laying eggs.) Anyway, I was told at the nursery that basil has tricky watering requirements, and I should water more frequently and lightly; they are very susceptible to root rotting she said. And I think she meant to water from the top. I was surprised, because houseplants you water less frequently and deeply (but she's something of an expert, so I trust her advice). Cheers

Ever use the internet to do a search?? Its found in many places on line, as well as Home Depot and Lowes. Safer is one brand thats organic, as are most other neem based products. Neem is from a seed that comes from India and is prized for its abilities to protect many plants agaist some diseases and insects along with other uses. It can even be used as an insect repellent. If you need an actual source, for it, I suggest that you simply type in the word 'neem' in the search window here at the top or bottom of the forum and it will bring up literally hundreds of threads that contain every single bit of info about it. There is even a company selling a highly concentrated product and its mixed with castle soap to act as an emulsifier to be mixed with water. Gardens Alive also sells the product as do many nurseries and other sources for plant supplies. If the holes in leaves are large, it could be due to slugs. My brussels sprouut leaves are badly damaged by slugs that feed at night. Its been extremely wet around here and thats increased sulg populaton. Yesterday, I put down a barrier of Surround, a white powdery clay and it irritates slugs, as does diatomatious earth (swimming pool filter medium), which should prevent the slugs from damaging the sprout leaves further. Here, I also saw many lady bugs, as I used to release them every year. I found many of their larve browsing my sunflower leaves as well a crawling all over my dill. Lady bug large love aphids and I never see aphids anymore.

Thanks stinky!! We have done that before - my aunt, now deceased, was in the same situation as you. She lived in another state but would fill huge yard bags with pine needles for us. I loved it! The pine needles were so much softer than what is formed into the bales. I did do a little research on-line and found that pine straw/needles are just fine for veggies, but need to be careful of overuse (years worth) due to making the soil too acidic. However, we use layers of compost before mulching, so I think we'll be okay. At least for a few years! I also read that we should not put pine straw over a seeded area (such as our okra), something in it can prevent germination. So, we'll mulch that area once we have okra plants. So happy to be getting the garden in! Hubby should be getting the pine straw finished in the landscaped areas this week. He has put his foot down about me helping with the mulching due to my mold allergies. It's possible/likely there are mold spores in the pine straw. Oh well, after all the squatting, weeding, squatting, planting, squatting, cleaning, did I mention SQUATTING??? (OUCH) last week, I am fine with giving up mulching duty. LOL May I ask where you're located Stinky? tina