Choosing to grow high-cost, quick-spoiling foods like raspberries, tomatoes, or gourmet salad greens is a smart way to save some money on your weekly food bill. In his “Beat the Grocery Bill” garden, Mark Cullen has laid out an attractive plot that will supply a steady harvest of high-value organic fruits and vegetables from spring through autumn.
Mark’s plan is based on his own garden, which feeds his family of six and produces a surplus that he donates to a food bank. His garden will supply a nonstop parade of organic food from late spring through late autumn, which will help reduce your weekly grocery bill.
The plan requires a sunny, preferably flat space that is just 22 by 27 feet. “If possible, plant vegetables in a south-facing location,” advises Mark. “If that isn’t possible, choose a southeastern or southwestern exposure, because most vegetables and herbs require no fewer than 6 hours of sunlight each day.”
Well-planned beds. Three long beds for vegetable and cut-flower production run in a north-south direction to capture maximum sunlight. The two vegetable beds each measure 2 by 18 feet and are separated by 2-foot pathways. Several crops (peas, cucumbers, and tomatoes) are grown vertically on supports to maximize production in a small space. Mark favors metal spirals to support his tomato plants, such as his favorite heirloom variety ‘Mountain Princess’. “Lattice frames for the cucumbers allow the plants to grow up the frame, and the fruits can hang through holes,” says Mark. “It’s easy picking and keeps the cucumbers off the ground, which reduces rotting.”
Food is beautiful. Am I the only one who thinks that a garden filled with edible bounty is a thing of pure beauty? It is not that I love to cook: I don’t. I love what a food garden represents. Sustenance for a hungry world, the miracle of nutrition from the most powerful combination on earth: seed, soil and water. These are the things that make my back ache in the nicest possible way each planting season. And then again during harvest. — Mark Cullen
The Swiss chard, mesclun salad greens mix, and carrots can be sown in early spring and replanted once the initial crop begins to decline. Swiss chard is one of Mark’s favorite edibles for its high production, ornamental appearance, and outstanding taste. To get a jump on his spring crop, he sows seed in one of his cold frames in late winter, moving the young plants to the garden in May.
Flower border. The nearby 1- by 18-foot flower bed will yield plenty of pretty blooms for the vase, and it will also entice pollinating and beneficial insects to the garden. Mark suggests planting a mixture of annual flowers such as zinnias, cosmos, cleome, dwarf sunflowers, sweet alyssum, and calendulas in a single row along the length of the narrow bed.
Apples inspired by Monet. Organic apples are expensive to buy at the supermarket. To offset this cost, Mark has included an espaliered apple fence along the north side of the garden to supply an annual harvest of crisp, homegrown fruit. Mark first glimpsed an espalier apple fence at Monet’s Garden in Giverny, France. “Monet was a pioneer in this growing technique and in the 1920s planted his living apple fence,” writes Mark in his blog.
In Mark’s plan, the apple espalier, which is comprised of two trees, also creates a screen that can be located strategically to block neighbors, nearby traffic, or an unsightly view. To ensure good pollination and fruit set, Mark has added another apple tree on the west side of the garden. This specimen should be a different variety than the apple fence, but to be a good pollinating partner it needs to bloom at the same time. Two pear trees, which should also be two different varieties for cross-pollination purposes, have been placed near the apple tree.
Raspberries trained to a trellis. The 18-foot-long raspberry patch, which runs along the eastern side of the garden, will save you from having to buy this high-value crop at the market. To keep the rampant plants under control and prevent them from flopping on the ground, Mark recommends using a wire support system. In his standard T-bar trellis, there are three 5-foot-tall wooden stakes with 3-foot wooden crossbars spaced 9 feet apart. Wire is then fastened to the ends of the crossbars and runs the entire length of the raspberry patch to support the rambling plants. Choose a mix of summer- and fall-bearing cultivars for the longest season of harvest.
1. ‘Norland’ or ‘Empire’ apple
2. ‘Clapp’ pear
3. ‘Luscious’ pear
4. Annual flowers: zinnias, cosmos, cleome, dwarf sunflowers, sweet alyssum, and calendulas
5. ‘Fanfare’ cucumbers
6. ‘Early Frosty’ peas
7. ‘Scarlet Nantes’ carrots
8. Lettuce and/or mesclun mix
9. ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss chard
10. ‘Mountain Princess’ tomatoes
11. Raspberries
12. ‘Honeycrisp’ apple (espaliered)