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Avatar for heatherdawn1009
Mar 4, 2015 10:09 AM CST
Thread OP

Hi there. I am brand new to this. I am building a raised box to plant my vegetables in, and plan to build a trellis. Now, I have exact things that I am interested in planting (foods my family will eat), and I am trying to figure out if it is safe to plant them together, and also if there is anything I should be aware of or plant with them to help in their success. If I cannot plant all items together, please help me determine if I should have another box to plant the incompatible items. Thank you in advance! I'll take all of the help I can get. I also may be too adventurous for my beginners garden. Please help!

Interests:
Broccoli
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Cucumbers
Squash
Romaine Lettuce
Radishes
Watermelon

Update:
1) I am in North Carolina, Zone 7A
2) The box that I have been looking at the plans for is a 4 foot by 6 foot, but as I size up what vegetables I can plant, I may change that size to fit what I am growing.

Thanks!
Last edited by heatherdawn1009 Mar 4, 2015 2:21 PM Icon for preview
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Mar 4, 2015 10:21 AM CST
Name: Jennifer
48036 MI (Zone 6b)
Cottage Gardener Houseplants Spiders! Heucheras Frogs and Toads Dahlias
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Welcome Welcome! heatherdawn1009!! You will love it here

I see you have four vines on the list Cantaloupe, Cucumbers, Squash, and Watermelon. I am assuming you are planning these for the trellis. I have grown cucumbers on a trellis and it works great! The melons will work too, but you will need to make a sling for the fruit. That can be fun!

I don't grow many veggies. But I do know Broccoli is a cool weather crop. So either spring for fall is best for that.

My mom used to do square foot gardening quite a bit. I will call her over to see what recommendations she has.

@abhege what say you?
Avatar for Plantsmylove
Mar 4, 2015 10:27 AM CST
Name: Alex Junge
MN st paul, (Zone 4a)
make sure you get dwarf varities of squash a good one is cream of crop. sold by bakers creek heirloom seeds.
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Mar 4, 2015 10:29 AM CST
Name: Jennifer
48036 MI (Zone 6b)
Cottage Gardener Houseplants Spiders! Heucheras Frogs and Toads Dahlias
Hummingbirder Sedums Winter Sowing Peonies Region: Michigan Celebrating Gardening: 2015
Oh, how big are you planning your raised bed?
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Mar 4, 2015 11:51 AM CST
Name: Elaine
Sarasota, Fl
The one constant in life is change
Amaryllis Tropicals Multi-Region Gardener Orchids Master Gardener: Florida Irises
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Welcome! to ATP and we love to help out beginning gardeners here!

First it would also help us to know what part of the country you are in. Your climate zone will dictate what you can plant and when. eg. I am in Florida so our season for planting cool season veggies is over already. Your broccoli, carrots, lettuce and radishes all need cool weather at least as they are starting out, to grow well. They will mostly even stand some very chilly nights, but if they get sudden hot days, some of them like the lettuce will 'bolt' and go to seed.

Second, as Jennifer said we need to know how big a 'box' you are building to grow your veggie garden in. Some veggies need a fair amount of space to grow properly, and are not suited for growing in a limited space. But as noted above, sometimes there are dwarf varieties that can grow in smaller spaces, so you might need to keep an eye out for those.

Be sure your box location has full sun for most of the day, and of course, a water supply nearby. Vegetables pretty much need to be watered every day. Also don't locate it too near any big trees. The root systems of large trees extend out at least as far as the branches reach, and if you situate a beautiful fertile raised bed on top of a tree's root system, then water it every day, the tree's roots will say "yummy" and totally take over the bed, sometimes in one season. Your veggie plants will grow beautifully for a while then you'll find them just dying off no matter what you do, and it's because the tree is robbing the soil of all the water and nutrients.
Elaine

"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." –Winston Churchill
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Mar 5, 2015 6:34 AM CST
Name: Arlene
Grantville, GA (Zone 8a)
Greenhouse Region: Georgia Garden Sages Organic Gardener Beekeeper Vegetable Grower
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Sorry, I was MIA! Pretty much Elaine covered it very well! At a quick glance I don't see anything that can't be planted together.

You can still do broccoli if you are purchasing plants, but probably a bit too late if you wanted to start seeds. You could try seeds in the fall though, again, starting them in Late July or Aug. so they will have time to mature before frost.

Radishes are fun for a new gardener since they are ready to eat in about 30 days. You can plant every two weeks but if it starts to get too hot, the radishes will get hot and bolt (go to seed).
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