If you haven't gardened since you were a child, why are you jumping in with so many boxes. Seems like you're doing your best to take all of the fun out of it.

I'm in the same boat as you, but am starting with one 4X4 box to start with this year. I think this is one of those things that needs to be eased into.

Steve - I would like to give input for questions 2 and 7.

2. I'm laying out 10 4x4 boxes with 2x12s. My yard is sloped sufficiently that in order for the backs of some of the boxes to be 6" above grade, the fronts will be 12" above grade. If the pattern is 2x5 (two rows of 5) running E-W, can you put trellises on the second row of beds if you have 3 feet between beds? I can just squeeze in 6 against the fence with 4 in the 2nd row if I can't in order to maximize trellis area.

You might get by with 2-3 foot trellises, but that would be about it.

7. With respect to those seedlings. I have 5 broccoli and 3 cauliflower babies. The broccoli seem...spindly. The light is 18" away to cover 4 flats. There is also a seed heating mat. Is the light too far away?

You need to get that light as close to the seedlings as possible, being mindful of the heat from the light, also. Somewhere between 6 and 12 inches is more like it, especially with that 400 watt fixture.

EG

I'm a newbie too, and the one piece of info I can offer without hesitation is to get those lights down to about 2" from the seedlings to avoid spindly plants.

And yeah, that's about the extent of my wisdom!

Here is a link that might be useful: Gumshoe Gardener

Aw, EG, you stole my thunder! :)

EG & Peel, you both stole my thunder. I had this all written out and lost my internet connection! I'm submitting it anyway ;-)
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I say go for all the boxes. You have nothing to lose but a bit of seed, and a world of knowledge to gain about what will or will not grow well in your garden. Experiment this year, and be a real pro by next year!

There are no stupid questions, but I won't guarantee my answers ;-)

1. Put your warm weather crops where you get the most sun...tomatoes, peppers, etc. Lettuce, root crops, peas, cole crops can go where you get the least sun.

2. I'd keep my trellises all on the north side, but EG will address this one for you...I'm not a trelliser, and he has a fetish about it.

3. I think Mel feels it drives the bugs crazy when you mix it all up. Me, I like the neatness of blocks of like varieties, the exception being in my herb bed, where I do mix it up.

4. So plant your broccoli in bed #1 the first year, bed #2 the second year, bed #3 the third year...I have never heard not to compost broccoli, so will let someone else weigh in on that.

5. I try to have a planting range of dates. If a spot turns up empty, I look to see what can be planted at that time and that's what I put there. All the years I've gardened, I've never kept a journal that let me know how each plant performed, but this year I'm going to do just that...then I can look back and see what is harvested and when, and I can have something ready to take its place.

6. For your spring planting dates, use this on-line tool:
http://bioarray.us/Skippy%27s%20planting%20calendar.html

For fall planting dates use this one:
http://bioarray.us/Skippy%27s%20fall%20planting%20calendar.html

7. Your lights MUST be 1-2 inches from your seedlings. I drape mine with foil and line the container with foil to help reflect light all around.

8. I start mine in a vermiculite/peat mix and transplant them into bigger pots when the first true leaves appear. I haven't any experience with the peat pellets, so I'll let someone who knows chime in here.

Good luck, and have FUN with gardening!

Granny

Some of my things I'm planting in clusters, others are far apart...reasoning is...well, I haven't figured that out yet. Most possibly it lies with shade issues from other things that are growing taller, but honestly, deep down, and TOTALLY realized is a bunch of bunk....I secretly hope that the bugs will find one plant but their friends won't forward their calls in order for them all to find the secondary plants.

Ok, another honest reason is so they can be by the different companion plants that I have scheduled to plant.

3. I'm way too much of an "organizer" to split up plants all over the place. It would really bother me to see carrots in four different spots around the garden!

Here is a link that might be useful: Gumshoe Gardener

Peel - That 400 watt fixture puts out way too much heat for that close. It will seriously injure the plant. I have a 400 watt metal halide fixture at work, and couldn't get it any closer than 6" from my tomatoes, because of the heat it puts out.

Granny said...
I'd keep my trellises all on the north side, but EG will address this one for you...I'm not a trelliser, and he has a fetish about it.
Yes!!!! Finally, someone acknowledged that I'm sick - when it comes to trellises. Ha!

EG

Thank you everyone for your input.

I lowered my light to about 6 inches above the tray covering. I'm afraid it's probably too late for the 5 broccoli seedlings I started last week. Poor guys. Sacrifices to the gardening lokas.

Now I'm not sure how many seed trays will get light (2 instead of 4). Only 1 1/4 are planted now...and more seeds to start soon. Eek.

Does anyone start their seeds in a greenhouse? We bought one because we're tried of losing our outdoor tropical plants every winter.

I didn't notice the 400W specification until after I posted. Good catch!

Steve, can you add some reflective surfaces to expand the area your light will reach like granny does?

I've never heard anyone say not to compost broccoli. Maybe it gives worms gas or something...
Eg's trellises are lovely.
I'm lazy and plant what I have in the packet in front of me. I would never move box to box, so all the carrots end up together, else, I'd have to not be lazy. And I don't love that idea. You know what? Maybe Mel's schema comes from his succession planting? Maybe he just tosses whatever he figures he'll want in the spring after whatever flower just stopped blooming. I see that as a possibility.
I have a box that has sort of split sunlight and it did as well or better than the others.
Mel says 3 boxes? He must eat less than my kids...
Well, that's all the lack of information I can pass of to you tonight. Have fun in that garden!

I think crop rotation would be much trickier if you interplant everything and have plants split up. One of my planning goals is to be able to simply rotate throughout the beds if/when I find a general plan that works well for us. I also am trying to plan by height so they're easier to cover and to put the cool season crops in a bed together so I'm only planting and maintaining one bed "pre-season".

That's how I'm TRYING to plan at least...

Here is a link that might be useful: Tales of a Transplanted Gardener

I did pretty well planting lettuce right into the soil in between tomato plants...or rather I left room for the tomatoes. Did pretty well...till the shade got to the lettuce. Had other lettuce planted elsewhere.

Tomatoes will do fairly well in partial shade...best in full sun.

Radishes were a big disappointment...I think they need sandy soil.

Going to try cucumbers this year. Maybe something to go with the lettuce...a darker leaf.

About this crop rotation thing.........You folks do realize this is for large scale farming. It's very different to deal with 400 acres than to deal with 40 sq ft. Yes there are diseases that can follow some crops but you're not using native soil and you can easily replace your soil. And yes there are insects that over winter or lay eggs in your soil but you're able to inspect all your soil so don't get too hung up on that crop rotation thing. Just keep track of what you plant where and where it came from and have fun.

Leave the big headaches to the professionals.

I'm under no illusion about the size of my garden. I know I'm not dealing with 400 acres and I'm not going to go broke if I have a crop failure, but it still makes good sense for me to not plant tomatoes in the same spot every year when I can easily move them to the next bed. I don't consider it a big headache. Part of my rotation plan is also to swap "givers" and "takers", for example, plant the corn where the beans were last year.

I rotate my spinach to try to avoid spinach leaf miners. It's not working so well, but I'm trying. If I could, I'd move my spinach to the other side of the yard, hehe.

There are many articles out there (Google). That say that crop rotation is unnecessary for the home gardener. The home gardener pays much closer attention to his/hers garden and takes appropriate actions to correct problems. If broccoli were bad to compost, so would be cabbage cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. I have never heard of that before and have not paid attention to it, they make great greens to balance out the browns and have gone all over the garden.

John

Beans only give if you till them in before they produce.

You plant the beans after the corn......not the other way around.

Thanks again to everyone who has answered. I'm still a bit sketchy on the crop succession to utilize the space to the fullest...especially when my broccoli is supposed to yield throughout the summer according to the seed packet. This will be quite the adventure.

I wanted to clarify something I wrote earlier about broccoli. I got it a bit wrong. The study showed that broccoli extract actually increased broccoli germination and growth but inhibited cauliflower germination and growth. Here is a link to the results (2 page PDF): http://uvalde.tamu.edu/pdf/brocdil.pdf

It strikes me that, in theory, if you are doing all your veggie gardening in raised beds/ boxes, instead of rotating crops you could rotate the soil/mix.
It would be a lot more work, but that way you could keep plants where they have the sun they need.

Like shebear says, you can replace your soil if it gets infected with something. Don't throw the old soil out though -- I'm pretty sure you can put it in a temporary bed and solarize it during the sunny months to "clean" it.

Stephynb, In all reality, as blocks come open, you'll do like everyone else... you'll pick up your seed packets and see what "fits" in that spot best. Will carrots or radishes grow quickly, or do you need a square of beans to make up for the ones that aren't producing yet? Oh, or would lettuce be better there because the tomatoes are getting big and the lettuce likes the shade better than the beans like it.

You can plan your crop rotation and everything else to your heart's content, but your garden will tell you when it's ready for something else...and that something else may not fit the "plan" you have drawn.

I rotate the heavy hitters from year to year. I planted my maters in a different bed this year than last year. I used what I learned last year about the sun patterns on my beds to lay out this year's garden.