a tale of two gardens

Every year we write down what we planted where so we remember before we plant the next year's crops.  This is important for crop rotation.  Some vegetables like tomatoes and eggplants don't do well planted in the same place consecutive years and become prone to disease.  Other plants sap the soil of particular nutrients leaving the area they were planted lacking in those minerals.  Considering that each year before we plant we completely dig up, dig over and dig manure in to the field I am slightly dubious as to just how important this whole palaver is, but, well, like that darn black plastic mulching business I'm a lone voice of dissent among some serious- and seriously successful- traditional farmers so I toe the line.

So, here's the garden from 2006:

and here's garden 2009:

Kind of hard to see but I used shapes to represent each vegetable and each shape is one plant.

X is tomato

triangle is eggplant

O is cauliflower

口 is zucchini

star is red, green, yellow or chilli pepper

upside down triangle is stick broccoli

heart is lettuce

moon is cucumber

spiral is goya

black circle is sweet potato

c is corn

e is edamame 

The seed raising beds at the bottom of the page I didn't bother with symbols.

The tricky part of this system is that as we harvest things and plant new things I keep having to add to the map.  By Autumn almost all of it will be gone and planted with nozawana, chingensai, spinach, next years garlic, leek and onion etc etc.

It sure was easier in 2006 when I had a 2 1/2 year old and a 5 month old and I hardly planted anything.  Probably the only thing that was easier back then, though!