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Grow It 3-5 / Week 12 / Tuesday
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Week 12 · Garden Design Capstone

Tuesday

Map it out
// Plan it, test it, grow it
⏱ about 15 min

Tuesday: Map It Out

Rocket draws his garden with tall corn in front of short carrot plants.

Raven checks the compass. "What do you notice? The corn is on the south side."

Nova hovers over the map. "Where will the corn's shadow fall at noon?" she asks.

"Right on my carrots!" Rocket groans. He grabs an eraser and laughs.

Planning on paper

Gardeners often draw a map of the garden to scale.

To scale means each square on graph paper stands for a real size.

Mark any spots shaded by a house, a fence or a tree.

Plant tall crops like corn on the north side.

That way they do not shade the shorter plants.

Growing cucumbers up a fence saves space.

MAP CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Where should tall corn go so it does not shade short plants?
How can cucumbers save space?
Why mark shady spots on a map?

Make your map

  1. On graph paper, let one square stand for one hand-width of real space.
  2. Draw the outline of your space, like a windowsill or a corner of a porch.
  3. Write N on the north side. Ask a grown-up which way is north.
  4. Shade any spot that gets less than 6 hours of sun.
  5. Draw a circle for each plant. Put tall plants on the north side.
  6. Label each plant.
On graph paper, draw your garden map to scale. Mark north and the shady spots.
StatementTrue or false?
A map to scale shows real sizes with squares.?
Tall plants on the south side never shade anything.?
Shady spots should be marked on the map.?
Climbing cucumbers take up more ground space.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEGood maps show sun, shade and space before anything is planted.
Rocket's corn shaded his carrots. Was his mistake useful? Type yes or no.
WHY THIS EXERCISEMistakes on paper are easy to fix and teach us a lot.

Measure your bean plant. Draw it on your map at its real size.

Marvelous mapping! Tomorrow we plan pots and water, and set up a fair test.

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