orientation of rows?

[Snow]

I only have a small 3 X 2.3 meter plot in my garden. My garden is north facing, and the plot is right at the back of the garden by the fence on the east side that gets the most sun.

Should I put in rows north-to-south or east-to-west, to give things the most sun?

I'm thinking North south with the tallest at the back?

[Bigmallly]

Your bed lends itself to sq ft gardening, it will give you 80 squares. It won't matter whether you plant NS or EW. You are right in saying that the taller plants go to the back so as not to cast a shade on other crops.

[Scarlet]

BM got in before me, but here you go
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ing_44388.html

[bearded bloke]

Rather than rows, I wonder if you might get a broader spectrum of crops in usable amounts by using the square foot method & successive plantings to avoid gluts.

[bearded bloke]

Plenty of oppertunity for me to say .... SNAP then

[Snow]

You're a consistent bunch aren't you!

I must say I am interested in the idea but I havent had time to read it all and think it through fully. I guess there are a few things on my mind. I'll post those thoughts on the other thread.

At the moment I am thinking of doing rows but putting things closer together than in often suggested.

[Zelenina]

Hi Snow! If you're going with rows, north to south is generally recommended. I don't use the square foot method, but I often plant things out in a grid pattern or in double or triple rows to save space. But I find rows are usually better for things that I sow directly from small seeds, so I can tell veg and weed seedlings apart, and can hoe between them.

[bearded bloke]

At the moment I am thinking of doing rows but putting things closer together than in often suggested.

That will normally end up with undersized root veg, you could also get a problem with lack of air movement around leafy veg

[Zelenina]

As BB says, it's best not to decrease the spacing between plants. But if you don't need to walk or use wide tools between the rows, you can reduce between row spacings, and plant the next row at the between-plant distance, so you end up with a block of evenly spaced plants. This is actually recommended for corn because it improves pollination.

[Kristen]

I have raised beds, which run North-South, and then I plant short rows "across" them. However, tall crops (like Runner Beans) I plant North-South along the raised beds (can only get one double-row in a 4' wide raised bed), and I plant them at the North-end of the beds - so that the shadow they cast doesn't fall on any other plants.

My permanent perennial plants (Globe and Jerusalem artichokes, Rhubarb, Comfrey) are planted at the North end of the raised beds, for the same shadow-casting reason.

I have a tall hedge a long way to the South of my vegetable patch, but it casts a shadow in winter, so I plant my over-wintering crops (Parsnips / Leeks / Garlic) at the North end of my raised beds, so that they are beyond the shadow that the hedge casts in the winter months.

[sparrow100]

I have a tall hedge a long way to the South of my vegetable patch, but it casts a shadow in winter, so I plant my over-wintering crops (Parsnips / Leeks / Garlic) at the North end of my raised beds, so that they are beyond the shadow that the hedge casts in the winter months.

Me too! Plus I take the loppers to the hedge about now so sunlight has a better chance of getting through.

I do the same as Zelinina for my raised beds. I only have a half plot so I have tended to cram as much in as I can. I underplant my fruit bushes with strawberries and saffron to get more out of the space. Where I can, I shove taller plants in on the western side of the plot, so any potential shading is minimised. And if things can climb I encourage them to - I grow most of my beans and cucumbers over cheap arches between the beds to save on more space. And constructing a munty frame (like a football goal structure) on the north side means you can grow things under the beans as well as ease of picking as they are easily spotted! Shed walls are also handy for plants to scramble up. Next year I'll also be having climbing squash...

[Kirk]

As the plot is 3 X 2.3 meter I would simply plant whatever as 2.3 meter long rows. It means that you can try a couple of extra items as you can have more rows.

That way you find out what grows well either for yourself or in the soil that you have.

I wouldn't bother with N/S or E/W but go by the shape and dimensions of the bed.

[Two_Sheds]

Sad to say, north facing is going to seriously affect veg growing ~ they simply won't get enough light to grow properly
sorry to rain on your parade

[Zelenina]

Sad to say, north facing is going to seriously affect veg growing ~ they simply won't get enough light to grow properly
sorry to rain on your parade

Doesn't it depend on the length of the garden, TS? Presumably there's a house at the south end which casts a shadow, but if the garden is long enough for the veg patch to be out of reach of the shadow, at least during the growing season, then I think it wouldn't matter.

I mean, if the house was at the other end it would be a south facing garden, wouldn't it? Even though it would be the same plot of land? And if there's another garden and house and road behind it, that would be called a south facing garden, even though it adjoins snow's north facing garden. Because land doesn't really face in any direction unless it's hilly. We only think of it having a direction if there are buildings or hills that might block out the sunlight.

I'm confusing myself now, but do you see what I'm getting at?

[Martin H]

Sad to say, north facing is going to seriously affect veg growing ~ they simply won't get enough light to grow properly
sorry to rain on your parade

The plot is south west facing, it's just at the bottom of a north facing garden. So it should get lots of sun in the summer. How much it gets in spring and autumn will depend on how long the garden is...