north south or east west

[dadsdeercamp]

Should I plant my rows North south or east west

 

[wyoDreamer]

I think you should plant the rows west-east.
Here is my reasoning - the sun is always going to be south of your garden - by planting your rows west-east, you will get the most exposure to the sun. In northern Wisconsin, we always planted our rows this way, and we were also carefull to plnat the taller crops in the back. Except summer lettuce was planted behind the sweetcorn for shade to help prevent bolting.
Planting north-south, you will have some rows shading others.

Just my opinion.

Any other views on this?

 

[BusyBlonde]

I agree, if your garden lot will allow it. I have one area on mine that is sloped, so I plant against the slope to prevent run-off and erosion. The rest is planted so the plants all get as much sun as possible.

 

[dadsdeercamp]

Thanks thats what I will do

 

[wyoDreamer]

Good point on planting to fit the geology of your site!

 

[Carols Clucks]

We are on slope too.

I made "terraces" with found stuff, dad had a couple of chunks of telephone poles, a couple of railroad ties and lots of cinder blocks. I would like to upgrade in the future but for now, I have 4 nice terraces with only a minor slope. Because water is so $$ here, we don't want the water running down the hill. Not so likely anymore with the soaker hoses, but still.

 

[dlc]

To Carols Clucks: Just be cautious about using phone poles and railroad ties (any treated lumbar) as they contain poisons that can leach into your food. I would replace them as soon as possible. Try using rock or downed trees/branches as an alternative.

 

[Carols Clucks]

DIC, I plan on replacing all of them, but they have also been cut down for 20-30 years.

I have been pricing rock, because that is really what I would like all the terraces to be made of, but it is $500 for a big truck load and $100 for a small pick-up truck worth. So for now, the old stuff is staying in place. We don't run our drip lines with in a foot of them and use the down slope 24" below them as walk way.