The 2013 Garden Plan

We brainstormed, took in measurements and I think a plan has formed: The SCRANCH 2013 Plot has (more or less) gelled. My plot is roughly 45 'x 115' with 8 square (20' x 22.5') quadrants (blocked off by stakes and string) plus two 'open ends' for the melons and squash whose viney appendages need room to grow. With the seed plan somewhat cemented, I just need to gather a few more materials, read up on "Good Bugs, Bad Bugs" and wait around for May.

I'm also hatching a plan for raspberries and blueberries, although nothing has been cultivated yet and since they tend to take over, I'd likely conduct that experiment far away from the main plot. Otherwise, the garden will grow:

• Watermelons
• Popcorn
• Herbs
• Tomatoes
• Eggplant
• Peppers
• Spinach - in constant rotation
• Carrots
• Parsnips
• Lettuce
• Peas 
• Onion
• Radish
• Squash

Also, Westword's cover story, "Green Acres" has me thinking all kinds of crazy thoughts, especially after reading this:

"After watching Canada legalize hemp in 1998, the North Dakota legislature passed a state law in 1999 to do the same; it didn't seem fair that farmers across the border could grow it and profit from it when North Dakota couldn't."

Since then, seven other states (including Colorado) have taken similar steps. However, no farmer has dared challenge the federal law that still outlaws this incredibly versatile crop (rope, clothing, food, building materials, bedding, paper, etc.). A farmer would even be hard pressed to get their hands on the seeds, which are banned here in the US. Yet another taxable industry blocked by the overzealous DEA...

When the feds finally figure out the difference between an industrial crop and a drug crop, farmers will grow it like crazy, as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson once did.