Raised Bed Plan - Spinach, Soybeans/Edamame Beans, Zucchini, Autumn Spinach • Vegocracy

Raised Bed Plan – Spinach, Soybeans/Edamame Beans, Zucchini, Autumn Spinach
This Raised Bed is planned to give 3 Batches of Vegetables during one season. The picture above shows the layout of the second batch which is simply Soybeans (also called Edamame Beans) and Zucchini. Before and after these main crops I grow Spinach since we eat loads of Spinach each year. This is one of the easiest Garden Beds in my Garden, with high yield compared to the effort needed. Squash, Spinach and Soybeans are usually rich producers in my Garden so i have high hopes for this Bed.

First Batch:

Spinach

Second Batch:

Soybeans / Edamame Beans
Zucchini

Third Batch:

Autumn Spinach

Why these crops?
This bed is located in the “Enrichers with a twist” section in my garden. These sections are based on Beans and Peas to enrich the soil for next 3 years, all in line with the Crop Rotation Plan. That’s why Soybeans are the foundation of the plan for this Garden Bed. Beans and Zucchini traditionally thrive together, so I will add a few Zucchini Plants to this bed. Since I add Zucchini i need to keep up with adding manure for nutrients.

I will grow Spinach in this bed before and after growing Three Sisters. I will probably choose Spinach simply because it’s resistant to frosty nights of early spring and late autumn, and since we eat a lot of it.

Location
1c = This bed is in the “Enrichers with a twist” quarter in my Crop Rotation Plan.

It is one out of Several Garden Beds. See the total list of beds and Layout in my Garden Plan for Raised Beds 2017.

Time Plan for this Bed
I start this Bed Early -by Winter Sowing Spinach outdoors in January. The dates will depend a lot on where you live, and what average temperatures and sunny hours you have at different months. I’m in Northern Europe and this is my Plan for this Bed:

January – end:

Wintersow Spinach Outdoors, cover with Snow
Place a Cold Frame or a Glass frame on top of the bed to Keep the seeds protected (more about Winter Sowing – in this topic.)

April:

Start harvest Spinach as soon as you can and pick Spinach continuously

May – beginning:

Sow Zucchini indoors
Sow Soybeans indoors

June – beginning:

If you still have Spinach left, harvest it all
Clear the Bed
Feed the bed with a little bit of Chicken Manure if needed
Transplant Zucchini plants to the Bed
Transplant Soybeans to the Bed

August – beginning:

Start havesting Soybeans as soon as you can
Start harvesting Zucchini as soon as you can
Sow autumn Spinach indoors

September – mid:

Harvest the last Zucchini and Soybeans before Frost comes
The Garden Bed is now empty, and ready for Third Batch.
Feed the Raised Bed with Manure (I use Cow Manure Compost)
Move Autumn Spinach Outdoors. Plant in rows.

October/November:

Cover Bed with Cold Frame or Plastic if it’s a cold autumn
Harvest Spinach continuously.
When done harvesting – Cover the Bed with Organic Material and let it rest for the Winter.

Background
My Kitchen Garden is built with a modular approach. I have a number of Raised Beds (Deep Beds) – currently 29 beds. Most of them are 120×80 centimeters. They are Deep Beds and I always cover them with Organic Material to improve soil and nutrients, and also have a No Dig Garden. More background information can be found in these posts:

Kitchen Garden Layout Plan – Layout overview
Building a Raised Bed Kitchen Garden – How to Deep Dig the frames and feed them with organic material
How to build Raised Bed Frames – Step-by-Step guide on how to do the Frames for the Raised Beds.

Methods I use to plan each Garden Bed
I plan each bed carefully and enjoy making and developing my plans. I try to consider different angles:
– Succession Planting: I want to have at least 3 batches from each bed to maximize my harvest
– Crop Rotation: I rotate my basic crops each year to eliminate diseases. I have a 4 year Crop Rotation Plan (more about my Crop Rotation Plan here).
– Companion Planting: I want each batch to consist of Plants that thrive together to get good harvest and keep the plants healthy.
– Continuous Harvest: I want to be able to harvest from early spring to late autumn without having to preserve too much food. We prefer to eat all the vegetables as fresh as possible.

Don’t hesitate to discuss the planning of this bed with me. There is always loads of input that can help improving this further.

Update, 15th of January

I started Spinach Seeds in this Raised Bed today. It’s mid January and we have a few centimeters of snow and everything is frozen. For more detailed instructions, please see this post from another Raised Bed where I did exactly the same procedure as in this Raised Bed: Winter Sowing Spinach in a Raised Bed.

Update, 26th of March

Big difference today vs. when this Raised Bed was started in January. Spinach is sprouting under it’s plastic cover.

Update, 21th of June

Long time, no update on this Raised Bed. I had a good bunch of spinach from this Raised Bed and a few weeks ago I transplanted the Zucchini Plants outdoors. I’m apparently doing something wrong with the soybeans this season – I can’t get them to sprout. I’ve tried 2 times with no success. Will try once more. This is how the zucchinis are looking by now (flowers are coming):