Question on Laying Out Garden

[Tarc]

I am starting to grow in a raised garden bed. It is about 8 feet by 7 feet. I purchased cucumbers, lettuce and cantaloupe and will plant them this week. My bed is by my deck and I am going to install something to allow the cucumbers to grow up that. This is in the back of the bed.
My question is about the best way to lay out my garden.I will have the cukes in back. Would the lettuce be the item to put in the middle and the cantaloupe in front?

Thanks for your help

[Thomas W]

I am starting to grow in a raised garden bed. It is about 8 feet by 7 feet. ...

My beds are only 4 feet across, so that it's easy to reach the middle of a bed. I'm even considering switching to 3.5 feet beds. If they get any wider I'll have to step onto the soil and I don't want to compact it making it hard for the plants to dig in.

[Mo Plants]

In garden design, whether you're growing veggies or ornamentals, the goal of arrangement is to ensure that each and every plant gets the sunlight it deserves. When laying out a perennial border it is done by height, with the shortest fellows at the front of the border and the tallest at the back.

So it should be with raised beds, particularly if they are against a vertical structure like your deck. The bulk of sun comes from overhead and the side facing away from the deck. Therefore, always put your shortest plants furthest from the deck and step up as you go back.

This illustrates how important it is to know exactly how the sun impacts your garden as the day passes, particularly from June 1 to September when the majority of food crops are most active.

[Newt]

Hi Tarc,

Some great advice from other posters.

Would the lettuce be the item to put in the middle and the cantaloupe in front?

I'd say to put the lettuce in front or the middle as it will bolt with the hot weather and you will need to remove it then.

Here's an a-frame trellis you can build for your vining veggies.
http://doityourself.com/vegetables/vegetabletrellis.htm

Newt