This time there will be no monkey's paw

[epsilon]

Ok so I know there are a lot of "what would you grow" questions but this one comes with very specific constraints, I know if I had infinite space I would grow everything under the sun, seeing as that I normally see more sun than anything else.

1. you only have 600sqft 144 of that are constrained to raised beds.

2. you're growing zone is 9a/b and you deal with at least 3 weeks worth of 100º+ temps in the summer

3.you have direct sun from 7am till 6 pm

4. you have to grow at least three leafy greens

What would you grow?

Gaston

[oldasrocks]

tomatoes with lettuce underneath.

[lexusnexus]

"Only" 600 sq ft?? That's almost a field for me in the DC suburbs. A 20'X30' garden would be a fantasy. I've never grown leaf lettuce so I don't know how they fair in the summer heat. What about New Zealand spinach? Swiss chard? Probably way too late for spinach.

Dan

[epsilon]

I knew I left something out of there. Apparently old as rocks is a smart alec

[oldasrocks]

sure am. but seriously I'd plant peas as early as possible. We plant in February here. Once it gets hot we tear out the pea vines and plant either beans or tomatoes. This is in a raised bed 2' X 16' Tomatoes grow up into the cattle panel and lettuce either side of the tomatoes in the shade. On alternate years we grow beans instead of tomatoes as 2nd crop there.

Now that's 32 sq ft of your 600. We're in southern Missouri.

In that garden about 20 ft X 48 ft we have2, 2 ft X 16 ft planters, 12 -55 gallon barrels, 15 mineral tubs, and 22 -2 ft X 3 ft boxes as raised beds.

8 tubs/8 tomatoes, -- 8 barrels, 24 peppers, --4 barrels, 4 more tomatoes, 7 tubs of herbs, boxes individually planted with garlic, carrots, salisfy, parsnips, lettuce, chinese lettuce, leaf celery, zuccini (sp), except for 6 boxes which have 5 pepper plants and 2 row of onions in each one. 12 tomatoes in #1 raised bed and beans in the other one.

Now is that less smart assy?

Another larger garden has planter boxes for various herbs and bunch onions. The main garden we use cattle panels for trellises and have tomatoes- 12 Parks Whopper on one, (tomatoes actually take 2 panels about 12 inches apart to climb into) Romas on another set, Big Zac and cherry tomatoes on the 3rd. Beans on another, 3 kinds of cukes, bitter melons, long beans, 3- 40 ft rows of sweet corn for 1st corn crop, and Napa cabbage on the left over ground. Here there and everywhere else we have melons and squash. The gardens have drip irrigation systems. Around garden #1 we have 14 2 ft X 8 ft planters on the south and east side. They have flowers, asparagus, rhubarb, mint, and the leftover peppers and tomato plants I didn't have room for elsewhere.

[epsilon]

Old as rocks

That's a great setup. It'll take ma a while and I'll have to shift some things around come winter but the way your larger garden is situated is, with some changes to the property layout very efficient. Taking a page from you will definitely help me maximize some space that I lost on the hill proceeding to the wall on the opposite end of the garden.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by epsilon

Ok so I know there are a lot of "what would you grow" questions but this one comes with very specific constraints, I know if I had infinite space I would grow everything under the sun, seeing as that I normally see more sun than anything else.

1. you only have 600sqft 144 of that are constrained to raised beds.

2. you're growing zone is 9a/b and you deal with at least 3 weeks worth of 100º+ temps in the summer

3.you have direct sun from 7am till 6 pm

4. you have to grow at least three leafy greens

What would you grow?

Gaston

Collards, Kale, Swiss Chard.

[oldasrocks]

In the meantime you can come over and pull weeds a while in the lower garden. Hoes supplied you don't have to bring your own.

[bughunter99]

Melons or cantalope (couple plants)
Sweet peppers
Hot peppers-Just a plant or two
Artichokes-Couple of plants for the cool factor
Late tomatoes- Half dozen plants.
Sweet potato
Peanuts
something cool and exotic that loves heat like Buddha's Hand!

(These are all things its tough to grow here because they want heat and I don't have it but you do!)

Chard
Lettuce(heat tolerant variety) (under shade I would rig up)
Cilician Parsley
Malabar spinach
Lesbos Basil
These should do OK to meet your green and leafy requirement.

Lavender, chives, thyme, oregano for pollinators and pretty.



Stacy

[lexusnexus]

Originally Posted by oldasrocks

In the meantime you can come over and pull weeds a while in the lower garden. Hoes supplied you don't have to bring your own.

Let me know if that works...

Dan

[epsilon]

Bug Hunter,

I actually have a dwarf Buddhas hand. When the fruit are ripe I can try and see if they produced any seed, I hear this is a major problem with the variety is that they rarely produce any seed

[oldasrocks]

There ought to be a joke here about a hand ( Budda) doesn't produce any seed. At the least no offspring.

Get your mind out of the gutter Old. No I like it here but don't make any short jokes. That's too personal and humiliating. Well if the shoe fits wear it. We're not talking about shoes here. Where did I lose you? Oh enough out of you, I'm going back to the card game. Not three handed bridge again. Well what are we supposed to do? Import another voice for your head to make the 4th?

[epsilon]

if you have a fourth you might play a game of hearts later.

Oldasrocks, I have commitments until the middle of July, so if you have a bus ticket and a cot, I have weeding power. I know I ask for too much.

[oldasrocks]

EP, It depends. Are you M? F? My wife has a thing about me bringing home strange women. What can I say? I met her on Yahoo Pager 16 yrs ago. She ispretty paranoid about this.

One time a lady showed up with her Grandmother and 2 kids, 2nd trip with her hubby.

Another time 35 people showed up and stayed a week for a Get-together.

By July the weeds should be under control, ether by mulching, Round Uped,`or mowed.` Now if you have a massage therapist degree I could use you on a daily basis.

[Darren Abbey]

Malabar spinach, yard-long beans, okra… I don't know anything else that would thrive in those conditions without lots more care than I'd want to give them.