need help with yearly planner for my polytunnel and veg plot

[helene]

i am just starting out and really do with some help and guidense pls

[Mrs Dobby]

Easiest way is to get some graph paper and make a plan of your plot, including all beds and features, label the beds up with dimensions, then work out which bed is having which crop in it, and how many of each you can fit in (use the spacing from the seed packets or the excellent Dr HHeyasson books). Dont forget to include any permanent beds you wish to grow, such as soft fruits (rasps, strawbs, etc) and any fruit trees you wish to plant (plums, apples, pears etc)

Dont then plant all of them at once, stagger your planting into early mid and late (where possible, you dont want 30 cabbages all planted at the same time all being ready at once)

As far as crop rotation goes, try to plan for 4 or 5 or 6 types of veg, the categories of which should be spuds, aliums (onions, garlic, leeks), legumes (peas and beans), brassicas (cabbages, broccolli, sprouts etc), cucurbits (courgettes, pumpkins, squashes), roots (carrots, pasrnips, etc) then plan your planting so that for each year of your 4 or 5 or 6 year rotation each crop is in a different bed. Dont worry too much if you cant stick to the rotation, but try and ensure each crop is in a different bed each year!

As far as salad, catch crop it (plant it where you have a gap, so use beds that wont have anything in until after last frost at first, then where there is room between plants that will grow much bogger later for mid year salads, then use spaces once early crops (early spuds, garlic) for later salad sowing!) Dont forget some crops can follow others, we usually follow early spuds with the leeks, and garlic with carrots.

We interplant our sweetcorn with the pumpkins and squashes, means we get 2 crops from the 1 set of beds, and it usually works well for us, especially as the corn is tall and the pumpkin and squash a lot lower growing (so provides ground cover and weed suppression)

Theres loads of info on here, take a look at the archives by using the search feature, look at folks blogs (they often have planting plans on them) and dont worry about asking questions, the only foolish question is the one you neglect to ask for fear of being considered a numpty, and besides, better be thought a fool for a day than remains ignorant for life!

HTH
Suzanne

[Two_Sheds]

It depends how much of a planner you are: I'd like to be, but I'm not.

I just have a plot divided into quarters, one each for legumes, brassicas, alliums and other

I grow things according to the dates on the packets, and put it in wherever there is room

After your first year you will have much more idea of what works for you

[zazen999]

I just sow stuff when it needs it and when a space becomes free, it goes in there.

I do start off with good intentions but apart from the spuds, all my beds are pretty much jumbled up and random.

I try to stick to all brassicas together and netted, but end up with a bunch of cabbages one place, and a bunch of kale somewhere else....ad infinitum

[Jono]

I'd definitely go with Two Sheds advice. Have fun in the first year. I just followed the instructions on the seed packet and got stuck in. I learned loads really quickly, and had a great time to boot.