A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Garden Plan

OK, I have no idea what I am doing!! I am sorry, but I don't know who else to ask . I am trying to plan my garden on paper so I know what to buy at the store.. I have heard that some things don't grow well together .. So would someone please help me figure out what to put where please? Or, jsut let me know if what I heard is true (I may jsut be making this harder than it is, LOL). I am sorry I am being such a bother.. I just don't want to mess it all up. Hubby bought me a book, but it doesn't cover planning. My garden-space is very long and kind of narrow which faces south and a fence at the north, and I live in Central CA (not sure if any of that matters..) These are the things I would love to plant.
Spagetti Squash
Cuccumbers
Strawberries
Cauliflower
Red Chard
Red Cabbage
Spinach
Blue Berries (I think these are in a bush right? So they woldn't grow in that space)
Watermellons
Onion
Bell peppers
Thanks for the help I really appreciate it. So does it matter?

What kind of a fence do you have? Is it chain link, solid wood? These make a difference.
Squashes and watermelons need space around them (and they will still travel into other areas without 'guidance'. As well as cucumbers which are best grown on a trellis or a chain link fence works, too. I shared them with my neighbor. These are all 'vining' plants.
Plan on using your onions as a border in front of everything else. Bell peppers also grow on a short bush usually between knee and waist high.
Here in so. Cal. cauliflower, cabbage and chard are basically cool weather crops that can be grown over winter and don't do well in the heat of summer. But the chard may grow for you in summer if you are in a cooler climate than mine.
What I don't know about blueberries fills whole books. The only thing I do know is that they need acidic soil and they fry here. Most need winter chilling to produce.

Thank you so much for helping me!!! It is a wood fence. Ummm... Is "guidance" pruning? For the vining stuff; I have seen what looks like little "clothes lines",; would that work? Oh, and what about strawberries? Thanks again so much!

By guidance I meant taking those long, crawling arms and turning them back into the direction you would rather have them grow so they won't choke out your other plantings. And yes, some pruning can be involved if they are stubborn about it.
And I did forget to mention strawberries. Those you could plant now for spring/summer harvest. They are one of the easiest of the plants you mentioned. Very low growing and pretty easy to maintain. They are such pretty little plants that I think of them more as an ornamental in amongst my flowers and things more than a 'crop'.
Cukes are heavy vines and pretty heavy fruit. Little clothes lines could work if they can bear the weight of the cucumber vines. A ladder would work too. Or they could grow up your wooden fence with some twine or something to guide them up that way. You can also allow them to sprawl on the ground like the squash or melon but they take up a lot of space that way. And space seemed to be your main problem from your description.
When you are all finished with you first year's crop of fruit and veggies you will see what worked for you and what didn't work so well. It is all about gaining experience. It is haw most of learned and keep on learning. In the upper right hand corner of this page there is a "Search the Garden Helper". If you type in your plant you will be able to see what there is already about it written over time. Some very good stuff is there.

Here in the south blueberry bushes are like shrubs. They can get really big and require full sun. We plant ours in the fall or early spring. The birds will eat your blueberries if they get there first.

Birds will also go for your strawberries. But I tried to grow enough to share some.

If you're worried about birds getting your berries they sell netting that you can put over them. It helps.

You guys are just too awesome! Thank you so much! I have been studying and I think I am getting a little more confidance... Thanks again SOOOOOO much!

You need to think of anything that is successful in your gardens this first year as a bonus food. Don't rely on a bunch of food and no grocery bill, yet. The first year I did peas it dawned on me I spent more on just the seed packet than a can or a small package of frozen would have cost me. Then add in manure and labor hours and the 'crop' of a couple of cupfuls that I actually got (and that over time not all at once), Those ended up some awfully expensive peas. But until you eat peas off the vine, you've never eaten peas.
It really does take practice. But you won't start any younger to learn.