For the past two years, the Savvy Garden has focused on tomatoes and beans (and basil, of course). It seemed logical: tomatoes are so versatile, and beans are my favorite summer vegetable to roast or grill. And they are both “pick and come again,” so I can make the most of my limited garden space.
But they are also both nutrient-sucks, weighing heavily on the soil. I tried rotating the crops last year, but there’s only so much rotation you can achieve with five 4′x4′ beds, especially if you want to fill three of them with tomatoes. As soon as the bean plants were more than a few feet tall last summer, the leaves began to yellow. Despite regular fertilizing, the plants remained weak and susceptible to disease. Then by the middle of the summer, the tomatoes were beginning to struggle as well. In the end, we didn’t get much out of either crop.
I know that if I plant a bunch of tomatoes and beans again this year, things will be even worse. The soil just needs a break. I made sure the beds got plenty of mulch to add some nutrients back to the soil over the winter, and this spring, I’m switching up what I plant.
In 2013, the Savvy Garden will look like this:
- Only one-half bed of tomatoes, instead of the usual three, and it will be one of the beds that has never held tomato plants. I’ll only be growing sungolds, as they are our favorite to eat fresh and make excellent preserves. The other half of the tomato bed with be filled with basil and garlic.
- Only one-half box of beans, instead of the usual two.
- One box of zucchini, nasturtiums and borage. The past two times I’ve tried to grow summer squash, it has been taken over by pests, but both the nasturtiums and borage should help deter them. Plus, the flowers are edible, and will be fun to add to salads!
- Which is good, because we’ll be eating a lot of salads. I plan on devoting the remaining two and a half boxes largely to arugula, spinach and basil, with a few shallots, cucumbers and carrots mixed in.
- The cold frames in the front yard will also be used for salad ingredients: lettuces and radishes.
- The box in the front yard will have carrots, bush peas and turnips.
Hopefully, this modified garden plan will serve as crop rotation, so that we can successfully grow more tomatoes and beans in 2014!
The garden looks great!! Do you have any resource recommendations for starting a container garden? I live in a basement apartment with one window and a driveway that gets lots of sun.
I’ve written about growing herbs in containers: http://www.savvyeat.com/how-to-grow-a-herb-container-garden/
I also recommend You Grow Girl. The site can be hard to search/navigate, but she has two great books: You Grow Girl and Grow Great Grub, both of which talk about container gardening. I reference both of them in my own gardening often!
I am so looking forward to gardening this year! Zucchini was my favorite to grow last year but I’m pretty sure that I over did it (I planted 3)
If the conditions were right, I’m sure you got a ton of zucchini!
We’re blessed to have the space so that we don’t have to plant the same thing in the same place for quite a few years. Our old garden was a lot smaller and we often had things struggling to survive. I would also second the opinion that you check out You Grow Girl, and add to that looking into French intensive gardening methods – a way to grow a lot of stuff in a little space. Now if only spring would get here…
I’m not familiar with French intensive gardening — what is it?
There are a lot of books about it, plus plenty of info online – basically it’s a method of growing a lot in a small space, using deep cultivation, and plenty of organic soil enrichment. I’m not real familiar with the exact methods because we have room for a huge garden, but I know it is a very workable solution for people with less space.
I’ll definitely look into it!
Do you generally do transplants or grow your own from seed? We’re taking the gardening plunge this year (a balcony garden!) and are trying to figure out the best way to start out. I think I remember one of your earlier posts about where you buy seeds?
I start nearly everything from seed, and get most of my seeds from Seed Savers Exchange: http://seedsavers.org . They offer all heirloom varieties, which I love. But, my first summer gardening, we did start from transplants. If it is your first time, perhaps start with a few transplants, just to get a feel for gardening in your space? And then when you’re ready to take the plunge or feel more comfortable with it, start with seeds!
Oh good, I was thinking something similar, but I’m always glad to have my ideas reinforced by someone with more experience. Thanks so much!! I am already excited about the heirloom seeds, too