A Plan, a Plan, My Kingdom for a Plan!

[veggiechicken]

A Question for the Panel sent in by Confused Chicken of Sunshiny South Wales

Alan, Bob, Charles,
Joy, Anne or Monty
Is it Gertrud or Huw,
Which would you do?

[burnie]

Geoff Hamilton does for me

[veggiechicken]

Forgot Geoff and countless others!

The point of my question - if there is one - is the difficulty of choosing which expert's "plan" to follow. I have countless books and each one has a different take on how to garden. The more you read, the more confusing it becomes.

What I'm trying to say is that there are many different ways to grow veg and there probably isn't a "best" way. If you're starting out, maybe pick one method and stick with it for a year. The more experienced you become, the better you'll be at tweaking these plans to suit you.

I may try going back to basics next year and following a planting plan on a dedicated bed. Won't give up on my usual random style of course but I'll try to be a bit more organised as well.

[Small pumpkin]

The only gardening expert I even remotely follow is you VC .

I pretty much do it my way (with out breaking into song ). So I’m afraid my advice in this matter is useless ( nice to see some things don’t change )

[Greenleaves]

Any of the afore mentioned with the exception of Monty....cant stand the man.

I garden very much in the way my grandpops taught me

[Snoop Puss]

A plan, VC? Just one? Are you feeling all right?

I've got a few gardening books but not many. I have learned lots from them, but mostly I read them now for info on particular veg, not so much for an approach. Gardening is so local that a book written hundreds of miles away isn't necessarily going to have the right way for me to do things. I'd say I've been far more influenced by everyone on this forum than by books I've read. That said, Gertrud appealed to me, but I can't see it working for me without a lot more time.

I do have a plan I suppose, though I find it impossible to stick to because work and other life gets in the way, but it is this: get beds ready in time, grow what we're likely to eat and add an experiment or two each year, sow seeds in time, plant out in time, water and feed on time, rotate families of plants around beds in a timely manner and mulch. I'm guessing just about all the 'big' gardeners you mention would go with that.

[Thelma Sanders]

Most of those would agree on the basics -I don't listen to Monty's advice 'cos he often gets it wrong, I think.
The others usually give the same advice, just with their own attitude/personality. eg Hugh's new book for a single bed is very similar to an old book I have by Peter Seabrook (remember him?? ) Planting plans etc are very similar through the seasons in both books - just a different face and photos in Hugh's and more diagrams in Peter's
Alan Titchmarsh and Carol Klein's veg books are very like each other but with lots of glossy closeups... same advice though Joy Larkcom's is similar advice, usually with less photos but she introduced a different way with salads - which worked.

So IMO once you've read one of the basic books, you don't really need another - although I tend to keep buying them or get them as presents

[burnie]

I think despite some telling us otherwise, gardening is not an exact science, there's good fortune and a fair amount of "winging it" involved up here...…………………..
p.s. best advice I got was to learn from your mistakes

[lottie dolly]

whilst it is always good to read garden books ext,it is also good to look at what we are all doing on the vine,these last few years are anything but what used to be,both season and weather wise,same as what works for 1 might not another,dependant on where you live,so each has a place along the way,at the end of the day,we all learn from each other,and inspire ideas to work on,so add the VINE to your list VC

[Miss Mousetrousers]

If you're not sure what plan you need to go for and just need some basic advice I have several books by Hessayon that I often find very useful. I also have a couple of Geoff Hamilton books and you can't go far wrong with those!

[rary]

Read all the books you want from all the different authors (me, I look at the nice pictures) then have a discussion with---yourself and make up your plan and stick with it,,, until you want to change it

[SarrissUK]

I do love Monty, but I find myself following only Charles Dowdings advice, and to be honest, his advice seem to be very scientific and he's done all the investigating and trialling that i can't be bothered to do, and most of all... not a single thing he's said hasn't worked. It's all worked. I'm definitely warming to his personal style too, whereas I'll never ever get used to Klein.

[veggiechicken]

I admire CD's work and all the advice he freely shares and I have several of his books. There's so much information in them, but its dotted about through the books which I find confusing. I can't even relate to his Diary.
On top of that, I hate the expression "No Dig". Its like saying "No Eat" for a diet. It tries to be short and punchy, but its ugly.
Also, I don't have all the compost/manure/mulch that he does, so it will never work for me.

[1Bee]

https://www.allotment-garden.org/ I have both his allotment books, which are a really helpful dip-in guide, not coffee table books. I don't do everything he does, and swap growmore for BFB for example, but he has decades of experience and it shows. He's open to new ideas but not faddy.

That, and the calendar you get from this site https://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/adjust-dates-uk.php are my reference guides, and the Vine is my go to place for expertise and specific issues. And cheerleading.

[MillieBee]

Plan!? Erm.....! Go to Allotment, do whatever job is easiest, look at other jobs, and plan to do them tomorrow??