How Big Are your Beds ?

[Maf]

Just out of interest.

I know about the idea of having beds just wide enough so you can easily reach without compacting the soil, but how long should they be (in your humble oppinions)?

Who plants in rows and who plants in blocks ?

[Snadger]

My beds are no bigger than 4 foot X 12 foot and I use a mixture of row/block planting!
Any longer and it's a bit of a chore to walk round them!

Even at 4 foot wide it can be a bit of a stretch to reach the centre of the bed so I've just came up with an ingeneous idea.........a bridge. I have a piece of scaffold batten about 5 foot long which I place over the bed edges,not touching the soil. I kneel on this to plant and also use it for a guide to planting in a straight line!

[chuffa]

My beds are no bigger than 4 foot X 12 foot and I use a mixture of row/block planting!
Any longer and it's a bit of a chore to walk round them!

Even at 4 foot wide it can be a bit of a stretch to reach the centre of the bed so I've just came up with an ingeneous idea.........a bridge. I have a piece of scaffold batten about 5 foot long which I place over the bed edges,not touching the soil. I kneel on this to plant and also use it for a guide to planting in a straight line!

Another great idea Snadger, i will use this

[carlseawolf]

My small beds are 12' by 4' and my long ones will be 25' by 4' and i will have four of each when finished for easy crop rotation.

[The Doctor]

I built mine with the same ideas as Snadger in mind.

They're not quite as big, being 1m wide (because my wife is shorter than me and can't reach as far) and 2.4m long, and that was because 2.4m bits of wood are easy to get from Wickes for the few bits I had to buy, rather than permanently 'borrow'!

I spaced them out on the plot to give me plenty of wheelbarrow access and 'passing' room between them, but to be honest I wish I'd put them a bit closer together now so's I could get a few more in. Not planning to move them all though!

[Winged one]

My beds are about 4.5' wide and I plant in rows along that. I have a couple of old planks from a fence which are not as strong as scaffolding (would love that) but we are using those this year to stand on and keep rows straight which is a lot better than last year's meandering around the place.

Spuds are planted in rows but a large bed of them so a block. Brassicas and onions are a block. The herbs form a block. And I intend doing sweetcorn which will be a block.

But lettuces, peas, beans, my attempts at carrots, that sorta thing are all in rows.

Next year I should have enough time (cos the weeds will be dealt with and I won't be studying mad at preparation time!!) to make it pretty and get things planned better.

[Flummery]

I block plant on beds that are 4ft wide and about 16 ft long - because that's the width of my plot. If it were much wider I'd split them in 2. At home however, I have a potager style veg plot - the beds are bigger and I do have to stand on them but use a plank. I tend to sow here in rows across the bed, not along the length.

[janeyo]

Mine are at home (raised) but am only a wee short a*** so have only got them 3 feet by 8 feet.

janeyo

[moggssue]

This is my first year with a lottie so its a bit hit and miss and experimental, but my beds are 4' wide by 13' long - because my plot is 13' wide! These I'm using for carrots, parsnips, lettuce, onion and the like. Then I'll have some blocks for my sweetcorn (I believe that's how they like to be grown) and probably broad beans in the hope that it will help with their pollination.

But Maf, listen to those who've been at it longer than me for the more sensible advice

[muckdiva]

4ft x 8ft, either side of the path down my allotment. It's a handy size for netting and fleece etc.

[zazen999]

Mine are 1.2m by 9m [4ft by 30ft]; which is my plot split into 9 beds basically. I also have a plank that I will use to get to the middle if need be; but yesterday I managed it ok. The beds in the smaller garden are 1.7. square and it is a pain to get to the middle, that's when i use the plank most. the beds in the courtyard are 1m by 1.2 so dead easy to plant up.

I plant mine in blocks, and alternate. So 6 in a row across the bed, then 5 in the next row, then 6 etc. Sweetcorn is in square block. Peas and beans are in a circle with a frame in the middle. Some stuff is just scattered where I have space [lettuce, beetroot, odd patches of carrots].

[Nicos]

How big is my bed?????

Now that's what I call a personal question!!!

Ohh...on the lottie????.....4ft x 7 ft max ( any longer and I'm too lazy to walk round)

[Mikey]

Mines 6ft x 6ft 6", and very comfy after a hard days digging, oh to still be lying in it.

Don't really have them on the lottie though, the plot is quartered so roughly 30 x 15 ft, I guess. I don't mind treading it down, I just don't like to give over to much space to paths.

[SarzWix]

Mine are approx. 10ft x 4ft, or 1.2m x 3m. This size works well for most pre-cut netting/mesh/fleece etc, and I can (just!) reach the middle

[fiveravens]

12' x 3' 3" - That enables me to fit in two rows of spuds when it's their turn in the rotation.