Garden Map Making Time!

By M.L. Wells. Master Gardener Volunteer Cornell Cooperative Extension Allegany County.

It’s that time of year again: Map Making Time. Many decades ago I had a friend who willy-nilly planted her vegetable garden every year. With a puzzled look on her face she said to me “you map out your garden–WHY?” Why indeed. There are several reasons: 1) some crops need all the space all of the time–potatoes, corn, tomatoes 2) some plants can share, like lettuce and carrots or beets and onions 3) some will be gone by mid-July and cool-loving crops can follow up; some are good companions (more on that some other time), and 4) finally, it’s keeping track of your rotation schedule. Here’s why we move things around from time to time. Each crop, corn for example, uses different amounts of nutrients in the soil (NPK) and attracts different kinds of “bugs” and diseases. Sowing the corn in the same place every year is asking for trouble.

So, get a good book on the subject or go to Cornell Cooperative Extension online (allegany.cce.cornell.edu) for detailed information.

While you are making your map for 2024 also note what did well or not–how did that new tomato variety work out?–any “new” bugs show up?

Finally, did you have a rain gauge set up? This year (April through June) was DRY. Did you water? Even though I did my potato crop is 1/3 of its average!

It’s good to keep your yearly maps so you remember what went where. So get out the graph paper and pencil and Have Fun! 

Last updated December 20, 2023