Grow organic food without spending $

Step 3 GARDEN PLAN

Make a list of all your favorite foods to grow and eat, flowers, herbs, etc. Find out if any are not suitable for your area, or if you would need a greenhouse. Get a sense for how much sun and and water they need, and what other plants make good companions, allies and which plants should stay away from each other. Talk to other gardeners, ask what kinds of pest problems they have had, what grows really well in the area you are in (can they give you some seeds?).

Now make some drawings of how you want to plant things, keep in mind the height and width of plants, do some plants need something to climb on? What kind of soil do they need? how much light does your site get? plan accordingly.

I used a variation of the keyhole bed system to maximize growing area. Also since my garden is ring shaped I can just stand in one place and water (or use circular a sprinkler) If you plant in long rows you won't be able to see what is going on all at once, and you will have to take a walk to water. In case you cant tell I am very pleased with my garden design, but of course smaller yards will need to be more creative in the use of space.

Here are some useful sites for figuring out companion planting:
http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants#avoid

Comments

[dejitarob]

Interesting idea. If possible, you might want to store your seeds in a fridge in a container (metal if possible, old cookie cans work good). This increases their chance of viability and the container keeps the moisture out. Most farms I have been to do this.

[Speeddemonec]

I like the cd wallet seed storage, I put mine into a wooden box, but I want to organize them for quicker access. AWESOME, I love plants, and am enthralled in many of my own projects with them (greenhouse, drip irrigation system..) I need to organize my designs better, yours seem nice.