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Hi all,
I am Thor and we are doing an (ambitious for the first year) 100x50' garden, with all produce and herbs to be transported directly to the region's largest Food Pantry. (Doles out a much-needed 2 tons of food per week-gives you some idea of just how bad hunger is in the Massachusetts and likely most other areas!) I am desperately trying to get a layout plan of the garden completed and, all my life growing up, we planted the vine crops (namely the squash, cucumber, pole beans, and usually large varieties of tomatoes) into hills. Well, my question boils down to a couple of things: a) While making rectangular or squares in the garden layout software is easier and less time consuming than circles, does it waste space? and b) What is the farmers' reasoning for hill planting for these crops vs. using beds-there's got to be a reason-I just don't know what it is and if, given our size, which would make the most sense? This is very much a group effort and I know I'm going to hear noise about the use of hills vs. beds, so if we have some Master or very experienced farmers/gardeners who can answer the questions, it would be GREATLY APPRECIATED if some of you would please level with me and answer the two questions with any supporting sources you would have (well...of course your experience counts greatly, this is just a highly inexperienced group and I don't want to come to the meeting ill-prepared. Also, they want to get ambitious and get the beds made, so they could then rake or hoe them into beds and then form hills after everything sprouts, right? If so, how big do the plants need to be and the hills should be how high in relation to the plants? Thanks so very much!
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