Which Direction

[jands]

I have my allotment and am slowly clearing it, I will soon be able to start construction of beds and possibly get something in if its not too late.

My question is which way should your beds run and what is a good size?

Thanks

[NOG]

The size should be no more than twice your arm's reach....so you can get to each part of it. Length is determined by the timber you are using.

[Hazel at the Hill]

I'd construct the beds such that the crops run north to south - that way each row gets an even amount of sunlight each side (as the sun goes east to west). Also this means that taller crops don't overshadow the little ones as much.

Deffo agree about the arms length thing - my beds are 4' wide so I can just reach to the middle from each side.

[weekendwellies]

Make the beds narrow enough so you can reach in to pull weeds and get your crops without overstretching yourself, and make them short enough so you can walk around them and not be tempted to step on them compacting the ground. If they are too long you will not want to go all the way around to get to the other side. North to South seems to be what the old timers do so I guess it works.