> Im just growing for fresh veggies for my little family of 3 and of > course the love of watching things grow :) Dont want too little and > certainly not an over abundance either i was thinking where i already > have 10 tomato plants to continue that pattern and just do 10 of each > veggie if that works. How big of a space would i need? Danger, danger! One pumpkin can take up as much space as ten tomatoes. :) My opinion: - Ten tomatoes: Assuming that they all live and thrive, that's a whole lot of tomatoes, far more than you're likely to need for fresh eating, but, hey, there's always sauce. I'd recommend giving each tomato a minimum of an eighteen inch by eighteen inch square. - Peppers: I'd give them at least a foot by a foot. They're much less productive than tomatoes; ten plants would be fine. - Ten healthy successful cucumber plants will feed Nebraska. OK, maybe that's an overstatement, but I wouldn't grow that many. My plan for my garden this year is to prepare three spots for vining cucumbers, plant three seeds in each spot, and then thin to one plant per spot when they're all up and healthy, for a total of three plants. - Ten healthy successfun pumpkin plants will cover Nebraska with leaves. OK, I'm really exaggerating, but pumpkins sprawl over a _lot_ of space. On the other hand, if you're not overprotective of your lawn you can plant the pumpkins near the edge of the vegetable garden and let them crawl over the lawn. But i still wouldn't plant more than five, and I say five only because it's always upsetting when you plant only two or so, and one of them dies. - Ten corn plants, on the other hand, isn't quite enough. The customary minimum recommendation for corn is a four-plant by four-plant block, sixteen plants total. The block planting increases the chances of good pollination. I plant my corn at eighteen inches; many people plant it much closer. This post was edited by chickenfreak on Thu, Apr 11, 13 at 0:57

I think it will look fabulous and the butterflies should love the mix. They can graze without flying far! Now you can call it the broadcast border. Cameron, try broadcasting a few spider plant (cleome) seeds too; they have self-seeded for me many times. I just collected the white cleome seeds and left some to fall and tossed some around; brought the rest in for insurance. Over the years, I lost them out. I figure because of digging or tilling the beds which I no longer do. Nell, post pictures regardless of how you think it turned out, please. I haven't checked out the bed yet but will later this afternoon. I am out mulching the beds; should I say in and out mulching the beds. We had to have a coffee break.

Insect pests will vary from area to area, but the only tomato worm that I'm familiar with is the big honking green ones, which are best destroyed by finding them on your plants and flinging them into oncomming traffic. Don't even bother with the sprays ... this is a better excuse to go walk among your plants. As far as corn earworm, it's a different beast entirely, and I would say the best treatment would be applications of Bt as the corn ear is developing. And your tomatoes and corn can live side by side, provided the corn isn't blocking out your tomatoes light.

jstropic, I think with this particular plant that the Haddock roots (main heavy roots) are very thick and would easily split right up the center toward the caudex. Not worth forcing it and the foam would most likely get squished over time with the roots growing. Most times when you use a piece of rigid foam, it is to keep roots growing in a desirable direction (like if they where crossing) then removed over time. It seems that the roots would grow tight together, but not fuse and become one, as you see with some older Vines. Rick