First time gardener....Help please.

[Angels4]

This year is the first time I've EVER had enough space to even think about having a garden, the soil here is mostly sand and I've taken care of that by using raised beds (well actually an old 6' bookcase turned on it's back for one bed and the shelves made into another bed) filled both with the best organic soil I could find and viola a garden.

I wanted a variety of plants so I did 3 types of tomatoes, 4 types of pepper, corn, beans, cukes, watermelon, and to round it off I did sweet basil. When I first planted the plants they were quite small and now they have grown quite large and I'm seeing lots of little buds on all the plants with flowers blooming, falling off to expose the fruits of my labor.

I am however concerned that I may have planted some plants too close together (didn't think to pay attention to spacing and spaced everything 1 foot apart) so now I'm thinking I should make a couple more beds and move some of the plants to give them more room. Will this cause the plants that are moved to go into shock and stop producing or will they just contine to florish with more room?

 

[bid]

I don't think your cukes, corn, watermelons and beans will take to kindly to being transplanted, especially if they have any size to them which it sounds as they do if they are blooming.

Tomatoes and peppers are pretty forgiving when small plants, but if blooming... they will resent being moved as well. If you can get them out without damaging too much root structure they may recover and produce. It is really hot in a lot of places now and they need all the water they can get.

Of course if you think the plants are being stunted by being too close, some culling may be in order and it won't hurt to try and save the plants you remove. Just bear in mind that you don't overly damage the roots on the plants you want to leave in your current raised beds.

It could be that they will do fine a bit crowded. My garden is starting to look like a real jungle. It makes harvesting a challenge but I think a lot of us try and put in as much as we can in the space we have.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Good luck and

 

[boggybranch]

One, possible, up-side to planting too close together....they hold each other up (downside to that...they all fall over, together). Last year, I, either, planted too close or too far. Tried to follow recommendations this year. Has worked out good, so far. I imagine that everyone of us planted too close on our first tries at gardening, it's human nature.....so your in the same boat with a lot of good folks.

 

[Angels4]

I don't think your cukes, corn, watermelons and beans will take to kindly to being transplanted, especially if they have any size to them which it sounds as they do if they are blooming.

Tomatoes and peppers are pretty forgiving when small plants, but if blooming... they will resent being moved as well. If you can get them out without damaging too much root structure they may recover and produce. It is really hot in a lot of places now and they need all the water they can get.

Of course if you think the plants are being stunted by being too close, some culling may be in order and it won't hurt to try and save the plants you remove. Just bear in mind that you don't overly damage the roots on the plants you want to leave in your current raised beds.

It could be that they will do fine a bit crowded. My garden is starting to look like a real jungle. It makes harvesting a challenge but I think a lot of us try and put in as much as we can in the space we have.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Good luck and

Thanks for the welcome. All the plants are blooming and producing so I'm going to just leave be....don't want to upset the apple cart. I did move two of the peppers (red and green bell) into the same beds with the anehiem and thai last week, and I thought I was going to lose them but they perked back up and seem to be doing fine (they were being overcrowded by the cukes and watermelon and didn't appear to be thriving) they have even grown some after the move.

@boggybranch They are doing a good job of "holding each other up". I will be proactive and stake them so they don't "all fall over, together".

This first garden has really opened my eyes to how far removed I have been from where my food was coming from. I never knew that hidden behind those flowers was the fruit/vegetable was. I was amazed to see how quickly the plants became established and started to flouish and when I saw that first tiny pepper and that first tiny cucumber emerge it just filled me with awe. Already planning for next year.

 

[journey11]

Hi Angels4!

Yep, does sound a little crowded, doesn't it. What is your zone#/geographic area, btw? That always helps you get a more accurate response.

This is JMO, if it were me.... The basil can definitely be moved into a flower pot, that part is easy.

The watermelon and cukes I would leave alone. It will kill them to move them. Even when quite small, they are delicate and don't take kindly to transplanting. Although they will vine out and get huge, really the space taken up by the roots is not so bad. You can trellis the cukes upward and allow the watermelon vines to spill over the side and go their own way--it won't hurt anything.

Now your tomatoes will do better if they are not squashed up against each other. They'll be hard to cage/stake, pick, and will invite bugs and disease if they don't get enough sunlight and air circulation. You can either a) attempt to move them all into 5 gallon buckets/large planters (for the sake of your other plants) or b) remove some of them (and pot them up) allowing those that remain to have adequate space. If they are already blooming, they will probably be set back some, but tomatoes have a strong will to live and they will eventually recover. You would probably just get your tomatoes later than you were hoping.

Peppers don't mind--actually prefer--close quarters. They need that for proper pollination anyway. They will just get tall. However, if they are crowding other plants, you might move them into 5 gallon buckets/large planters, because they would be easy to move. Anything you do decide to move, be sure to give it a large rootball and keep as much of the original dirt intact around the roots as you can to minimize shock, then water well immediately after replanting. You can always add more soil to the raised bed to replace what you took out.

Corn--I would think if you have to sacrifice anything for the sake of space, it would be the corn. It needs a lot of space and it also needs a lot of corn "neighbors" in a large enough planting to pollinate each other or else the ears won't fill out. I don't know how you would fit that into a 6' bed with all the other things and still get any good ears off of it. It is also a very heavy feeder and will probably rob the nutrients from your other plants under your circumstances.

Beans--Are we talking bush or pole (climbing) type? Pole beans will work well in a raised bed--just trellis and grow upward. Bush beans in your small space will not be very efficient. If you have bush beans, you might just go ahead and pull them out and replant new seed elsewhere. They are usually planted in rotations anyway and don't need long to produce. Pole beans on the other hand, will provide you with a steady, continuous harvest throughout the summer.

Having both a raised bed and a regular garden plot, I find it interesting how much more you can grow in a raised bed. Because you can better control the soil quality in a raised bed, the soil can nourish and support more plants, but you still have to consider their individual needs for space and sunlight. As you get more experience with the growth habits of different plants, you'll find that there are many things that will actually benefit each other in close quarters, like growing radishes under your squash, lettuce behind your cukes, and basil around your tomatoes for example.

Don't be discouraged. You are off to a good start and while you may not accomplish all you had in mind for your garden this year, you will still get plenty of good, fresh things to eat! It helps to keep a notebook of what you learn from year to year and what worked well for you. Next year will always be better! Just chalk this one up to a learning experience.

 

[hoodat]

Welcome to our gardens. Take my zuchini - PLEASE.

 

[Angels4]

Thanks for the feedback Journey11. Not sure of my zone looking at the zone map I think it could be 6a but the map is not clear. I am in Northern MA on the coast.

The watermelon and cukes are already spilling out of the beds and I'm allowing them to do their own thing, I might sacrifice the smallest cucumber plant (try moving it and hope for the best).

I have 8 stalks of corn growing, if I were to move them to a bed of their own do you think I might get at least enough corn for my chickens? Or maybe I could clear a larger area for them and plant them straight into the sandy soil amended with some organic soil/compost.

I planted the basil with the tomatos (it seemed like a logical idea since I love tomato and basil together) so I will buy two 5 gallon pots (one for the basil and one for the largest tomato plant) and leave the other two in the raised bed.

The beans I planted are bush beans that I planted from seed...they are not doing very well, I planted 5 and now only have three (2 of which look pitiful) I also planted lettuce from seed "tape" planted 2 rows of tape and then when they started to bloom I thinned them out I have about 7 heads of lettuce.

I'm loving the whole experience, I didn't have any expectations that I would have a very large crop this year and am using this as a learning experience for myself (the notebook suggestion taken) I wish I had taken more before photos as I'm really suprised at how well everything is growing (even in their tight quarters) and I can see what you mean about the tomatos needing space for sunlight and air circulation, that is what brought me here.

 

[hoodat]

You can get by with quite a bit of crowding if you feed heavily but the big danger is that if some sort of disease or pest gets into them it can spread like wildfire with no space between plants.

 

[digitS']

You are getting such good advice . . . but, I can't resist saying one or 2 things. Especially, a note on what Bid has referred to as "culling."

It is hard to sacrifice seedlings but think about it this way: You are making life better for the remaining plants. Think about giving them a better chance to grow.

I suspect that it is too late to move your corn. If the corn is more than just a few inches high, it probably can't take a move. I have read that some gardeners are successful at having good pollination of their corn plants, growing here and there in small numbers. They take on the pollination chores themselves by handling the tassels and silk over a number of days. Thereby, they are moving pollen from the tassels to the silk so that seeds develop properly.

"Blooming" lettuce? If your lettuce is blooming - you should pull the plants out for the compost bin. Their plant neighbors would really appreciate seeing them gone .

Steve, who likes the idea of using book cases for raised beds. I often read in bed, myself .

 

[Angels4]

You are getting such good advice . . .

"Blooming" lettuce? If your lettuce is blooming - you should pull the plants out for the compost bin. Their plant neighbors would really appreciate seeing them gone .

Steve, who likes the idea of using book cases for raised beds. I often read in bed, myself .

When I say "blooming" I don't mean like a flower or anything, they look like little baby heads of lettuce.

I guess I'll get rid of the corn in favor or giving the watermelon and cucumbers more room.