Corrigan, I think, as they say in Las Vegas, "you are trying to make your point the hard way". It doesn't matter what way your form your beds, its the sun exposure that makes the difference and since you are aware that some plants will be taller....or with more foliage, than others, then it comes down to how you plan your beds. Make a sketch of just how you see your vegetables in the beds. As far as how the beds receive sunlight, that can depend on other obstancles --such as trees, buildings, fences etc. The main concern about raised beds is how they drain well and how you can properly moisturize the soil. If you have, perhaps, an automatic sprinkling system, that would not be what your vegetable patch would like since the water is timed and such watering may not be according to how the plants should be given their watering. Since beds that are raised---even slightly, will drain much better than surface beds, a better means of delivering water--such as a hose that will reach satisfactorily the furthest plants. One point; the size of the bed is good...4 by 8, since this allows you to easily reach the center of each patch without having to step into the bed....thus preventing compacting the soil there. You mention in other years your tomatoes have had problems. You should really do a google search on each vegetable you plan on putting in for their advisability to be rotated. As long as the patch is 10 feet away from where it was prior to, that is OK. Then there are families of vegetables that should be considered to be planted near each other. In this way, like vegetables can be given applications of fertilizer and pesticide in a like manner. Crop rotation prevents building diseases up in the soil and preserves micro-nutrients. Rotating is not very difficult, but does take a little advance planning as well as a basic knowledge of the vegetable families. Vegetables are broken down into basic family groups. These groups should be rotated together as they use soil in similar ways and share similar pests. Alliums Include Onions, Garlic, Scallions, Shallots, and Leeks Brassicas include Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, and Kale. Crucifers include Turnips, Radishes, Rutabaga, and Collards. Cucurbits Include Cucumbers, Squashes (from zucchini to pumpkin), and Melons. Legumes Include Peas and Beans. Solanaceae Include Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplant. Perennial vegetables such as Asparagus, Rhubarb and Artichokes should not be rotated and therefore should be planted separately. The rest should be rotated every year on a four year plan (so that the same family of vegetables is not planted in the same location within four years). This is easy to accommodate if you have planted four beds for your rotating plants and one bed for your non-rotating perennials. See where that advanced planning starts to come in handy? Rhubarb can be re-invigorated once it loses its good growing..dig up the plant, remove at least 1/2 the soil it has there with some good compost. Wood ashes can be added to soil that is heavy loamÂbut do add lots of humus with compost. If annual vegetable crops are grown in the same place year after year, there is a risk that soil borne pests and diseases will become a problem, and that plant health and vigour will decline. Organised rotation helps to prevent the build up of problems in the soil. Likewise, there are certain combinations of plants that will inhibit the growth of one or both types of plants. Here are a few combinations to avoid: Potatoes  inhibit growth of tomatoes and squash Beans  inhibit growth of onions Broccoli  inhibits growth of tomatoes Carrots  inhibit growth of dill This isnÂt to say that you canÂt grow these plants together in the same garden, just donÂt grow them right next to each other.

I don't know that seashore paspalum is more aggressive since there are articles published by uga discussion bermuda supression in it but it can be used for greens and fairways and roughs, it's a multi-purpose grass. And no, I didn't mean annual rye. That stuff is ugly as you know what. I meant perennial rye as in, not meant to die. The test area is a good idea but I think you really can't go wrong removing your bermuda in place of something more ecologically friendly. I presume OP is in the upstate of SC. A bag of proven tall fescue varieties is Easy to get, easier to get going and a lot cheaper. Or perhaps you can get teh thermal blue/tttf blends that are available in big boxmart and super boxmart. There was someone who posted here last year that was in Ridgeway SC that had been using KBG with success and I can guarantee you that is one toasy, muggy area during the warm season.

Actually, that was the side I didn't do anything to other than cut a few of the larger berry bushes at the bottom of the hill. That birch is in rough shape and without staking it up and waiting several years, it won't survive. I would just assume take it down since it's not really in a great location anyway. I hate to do it since they are becoming relatively scarce due to disease and insects. This picture http://minus.com/lbx4OfKnwRF4xc shows what are definitely blackberry/raspberry bushes. I wouldn't mind having them, in fact I would welcome having a ton more, just not here. Being on the slope they will not be easy to get to when the mature and have fruit. If there was a way to transplant them or something I would love to hear it. I had tried it in the past, but the only way I have ever seen them grow was by accident and negligence. Based on the size of a few of the lower bushes, I would bet they may produce a limited amount of fruit. The smaller ones at the top of the hill however are definitely not mature enough from my experience. Going off on a tangent... I loved having berry bushes growing up and we had a large sandy area on my parent's property that they grew like crazy in. They eventually began to die off and my dad chopped them all down. The began to come back by the time I went to college, but it took a while to get any amount of fruit from them. My last year at college I rented a small cottage on a back road that had the biggest patch of black raspberries I had ever seen. I started picking as soon as they began to ripen and then ever couple days for the next 3 weeks. I stopped for lack of room in the freezer for 1gal ziplock bags. I made at least a dozen pint jars of jam and a few quarts. I gave a bunch away but i'm hoarding the last few of the "good" batch for myself. :) So in other words, I would love to have berry bushes, just not where they are. A lot of what you see on the ground on the left side (looking from the house) is debris and not much in the way of live plants other than some weeds. Obviously it is still very early here and not much has come up yet though. The tree shown in the background of this picture http://minus.com/lbwhVJrx76OE9d appears to be planted from what is left of the mulch/preparation around the base. This shot http://minus.com/lvFny84VUSjeW shows a rock swail that comes down from what is left of the last owners fish pond sort of thing. There is a reddish low lying plant growing on either side that I failed to get a close up picture of. It appears that it will look nice later in the spring but needs some weeding and/or mulching. I will take your advice and try posting some pictures on the "name that plant" forum. In the meantime, would I benefit from getting some sort of tall meadow grass mix to put down in a few weeks? *whoops, I wrote a book

Wow, I like bmorepanic's design in many ways (especially how it solves many of the concerns voiced here). I think if the counter outcrop of the island is moved to the opposite length/half of the island it's even better (bringing counter and living room entertaining closer together). It does allow for two stations with sinks... but it does put one against a back wall instead of looking at the huge view and/or the tv above the fireplace (we're not huge tv viewers so there's no desire to put a tv in the kitchen, but I do watch a lot of sports so I do see myself looking up at a game while doing light kitchen activity), which was kind of a major rule I used in reviewing designs. So, there's the trade-off with the staions, a near optimal layout for functionality vs. focus on view positioning. That is, if we were to move the gas access and revise cabinet production mid-build. I'll offer some more details on our activity to make it easier for commenters to offer tips (and help us identify our designs shortcomings to best manage). We don't really do any baking. In fact, I don't think I've used an oven to cook something (other than broiler) but a couple times in the last year. Most of my cooking is in the wok, some saut and I hope indoor grilling in winter - using a 36inch BlueStar with a 1200CFM Wolf 42inch wall chimney hood with external blower. We don't use almost any frozen foods. I think anytime we sould rewarm leftovers in the microwave, the food would need a landing/prep spot inbetween. In our current place the microwave is on the counter next to the refrigerator, but that placement never seems to assist much in the flow (although I see my design has it a little bit too far away). We use a ton of counter top appliances, some that will never get put away due to every day or thru the day use (coffee grinder and coffee maker, juicer, smoothie blender, rice cooker) - so we wanted a design with a lot of counter space to not only allow for always out appliance but hopefully uncluttered work area. Last, you might be wondering about the large sinks. We're going with a 42" cabinet for cleaning as my wife doesn't use the dishwasher and hand washes almost everything (with just the two of us, we can go many days without DW use - can today's lower priced KA or Miele type DWs clean 3- or 4-day old dishes with light food crust?), so a large sink will allow a dish rack to be hidden down inside the larger sink of a double (she's requiring a double). Also, she cooks a lot of soups/stews, so a big sink is good for those large stock pots. Last, I want a large sink for cleaning the BS grates and bowls (and hood baffles?).