Raised Bed Plan for 2014

Philadelphia Garden Plans

So we have moved again, and God willingly this time we will be here for the long haul, which in turn will allow for me to finally get another garden established, as we have moved the last two summers, disrupting any real chance of getting a garden established. So my initial plans are to start off with a 4’x8’ raised bed and a 3’x8’ raised bed, both over the asphalt portion of the yard. We have decided, instead of taking away lawn space we are going to garden over the paved half. And at least initially instead of digging up the asphalt, we are going to build the raised beds directly over the asphalt where it is raised up on shims. I am looking at doing a similar system  as seen in the article: How to Build a Garden on Top of an Asphalt Driveway.

The thinner of the two raised beds will go under the family room casement windows, creating a buffer, so people (specifically kids) don’t crash into the windows when they are open  when it is nice out. I will most likely plant a salad garden in this bed, with perhaps a few perennial herbs along the border. Currently I am still playing with the idea of making the beds nominally 12” deep, consisting of two 2”x6” stacked on top of each other.

As for the front yard, I have already planted saffron bulbs, and am hoping they come up this summer/fall. I also plan to hopefully fill the borders of the entry walk with phlox and then plant daffodils and tulip bulbs to come up through the phlox in the spring. But ideally I should find some perennials that bloom in the summer/fall to plant amongst the phlox to have color there for a longer part of the year. 

Garden Planning | Southern Bed

I am getting excited for this year's garden. Now that we live on a 1/4 acre lot, we are finally going to have space to grow more. So now the tricky part is trying to plan it all, so we get a good yield without over extending myself now that we have the space for me to easily do so. I have already started my sweet peppers and hot peppers, and have also started my tomato plants. My current set up is that I have two 8'x4' raised beds, as well as all the pots on the patio. I have three fruit trees that I planted in the lawn. Just this past few days I have begun to pepper some more areas for planting.

Southern Bed
The first one being a bed all along the south side of the house. My plan for this one so far is to plant a row of peas up against the house, and build some 4' tall supports for them to climb. And start rows of lettuce, radishes and carrots and perhaps some cilantro and an area of spinach. My thoughts are that this bed will be warmer than the rest of the garden, as it will get the reflected light from the house, and will get sun for most of the day, so I will be able to get a few extra days/week ahead due to the microclimate there. Then once we are definitely past the threat of any freezes, I will hopefully plant the 8 sweet pepper plants that I sowed under my lights in this garden. As I figure that they will love to soak up the heat. One thing I plan on trying this year other than in my raised beds, is a living mulch. So I will also plant some watermelon and melon here and let the vines creep around my pepper plants.

I also plan on constructing a trellis to place on the south side of my air conditioning unit (which is located at the easet end of the southern bed) and have either cucumbers or pole beans grow on it. The reason I am planning on doing this, is to help keep our cooling costs down. If you have an air conditioner, shading the unit can increase its efficiency by as much as 10%.