Too late to change a bed plan for 2012?

[Kaiya]

Ho hum.

I've had my plot for a year. It's less than a 1/4 plot - 9mx6m. I've recently realised that my ability to detect the sun in the sky is apparently flawed, and the plan I've gone for this year (beds already mostly prepared but only beans, onions and permanent plants in) is 180 degrees out - i.e. it's north facing, and worse, the tallest plants are supposed to go into the most Southern beds.

So going from this: http://www.growveg.com/garden-plan.aspx?p=189338
To this: http://www.growveg.com/garden-plan.aspx?p=228143
Top is south, bottom is north. I tried turning it around so north was up for the plan but my head refuses to view my plot that way up.

Is it too late to move everything around?

Plants currently in
Gooseberries (were moved in Autumn 2011)
Raspberries (might be dead anyway)
Asparagus (is actually currently next to compost bins so needs moving anyway, badly planted initially, not a happy plant)
Strawberries (planted out in Autumn 2011)
Overwintering onions
Shallots
Garlic
Broad beans

It's clay soil, so until it warms up/dries out a bit I can't work it anyway. The only unworked area (top left quadrant) will have the potatoes, curcurbits and some of the legumes in, and I can get more fresh manure easily and tip the compost bin over the area.

[Matt94]

id say it would be pritty safe to move the fruits and asparagus - but you'd have to do it now, id say that your best bet would be to leave the overwintered onions or cut your losses and pull them (what size are they you may still be able to use them).
oh and when did you put the shallots, garlic and broad beans in?

thanks
matt

[zazen999]

You can change what you want when - but just remember that you will be rotating those crops so it's not just this year that you are planning for.

What I'd say is to decide where your perennials are going and how you are going to best move around the plot - and the rest of the space plan beds that are of equal size where everything gets the same-ish amount of sun.

[Kleftiwallah]

If it turns out as neatly as that. . .I'll eat my crash helmet. Don't forget, you need a crop in mind to go in after your broad beans.

Please don't offer me dubious cabbage seedlings as a smack in the gob. . . .

Cheers, Tony.

[Kaiya]

id say it would be pritty safe to move the fruits and asparagus - but you'd have to do it now, id say that your best bet would be to leave the overwintered onions or cut your losses and pull them (what size are they you may still be able to use them).
oh and when did you put the shallots, garlic and broad beans in?

The japanese onions, shallots, garlic and beans all went in in October. I haven't visited them since the thaw so may well have lost some to the snow. I'll be popping to see them this weekend. Good to hear about the fruit and the unhappy asparagus - I'll shift them asap.

You can change what you want when - but just remember that you will be rotating those crops so it's not just this year that you are planning for.

What I'd say is to decide where your perennials are going and how you are going to best move around the plot - and the rest of the space plan beds that are of equal size where everything gets the same-ish amount of sun.

Thanks - I always look at it backwards (beds first) - I should look at paths first. I also made a mistake with the current beds in that they are no-dig, but are 2.2m wide - I can just reach accross but it isn't comfortable. I tried to remedy that with narrower beds in the new plan. I forgot to mention - I have no edging - these are all 'raised' beds without edges. Current plan is 5 year rotation (we need a lot of space for the roots and onions section), this new one is 6, just because that's how many 1.1 beds fit in 9m, all facing south. Potatoes first, curcurbits I figure next because they too like compost, legumes, brassicas, onions, roots.

If it turns out as neatly as that. . .I'll eat my crash helmet. Don't forget, you need a crop in mind to go in after your broad beans.

[COLOR="#FF0000"]Please don't offer me dubious cabbage seedlings as a smack in the gob. . . .

For the new plan I just grabbed the iconic vegetable of choice to represent the bed contents - so the bean bed will actually have a variety of legumes. As for neat - I don't do neat . I do chaotic mess of companions plants and veg. However an over-arching plan of where to walk and where not to walk is needed, otherwise I get in a right tizwaz. I'm not sure what you mean about cabbages and smacking people in the gob...

Thank you all - sounds like it's worth getting it right (or rather, less wrong) this year if I have the chance.

[zazen999]

To be honest, I disagree - let it evolve

[Matt94]

tbh if i were you id move the fruit bushes, but leave the broad beans, onions and garlic and shallots, they dont grow too tall, so they should'nt shade the plants below them too much

[Kaiya]

Oh yes I'll be leaving them - they are unlikely to get in the way of much where they are. I probably wasn't clear about what I'd envisioned was included - basically moving the fruits, leaving the veg where they were but working around them, turning some paths into beds and some areas of bed into paths. There isn't a single item of hard standing on the plot - no edging, no paths.

Can't believe I got the direction wrong. My sense of navigation is abominable.

[Matt94]

oops ive only just seen the links to your plans, they look great. well i think we've answered your question?

[Kaiya]

You have - thank you

[Two_Sheds]

Go on, give us another one then. I'd rather not go and tackle the ironing

[di]

Some of you are just so organised

[Newton]

Kaiya, I see you are using garden plan pro.

Would you recommend it for my iPad or pc?

I am considering buying it. Can you put previous years plan in to help with crop rotation or can you only start TODaY.

Has anyone else got it? Does it work in thec uk?

[Kaiya]

I have it on the PC but not iPad. I love it but then, I love software I'm in the UK and it works fine - even knows that courgettes aren't called zucchinis and aubergines aren't eggplants. If you're seeing American info, drop down menu in the bottom right switches it to UK. It doesn't have a lot of varieties (at least, it doesn't seem to have the ones I have ) so if specific details about varieties are important you have to add most yourself.

It has warnings for crop rotation - if you link two plans together it will flash red if you try to put a plant type in the same place the following year. I just tested mine to see if you can back date it and you can - I just put some beans in a bed in a new 2011 plan and once linked up in settings it showed up in my existing 2012 plan.

It has a 30 day free trial too which just stops (doesn't automatically charge you) at the end. Worth a play in my opinion.

[Newton]

I am playing......got the free trial. I bought the ipad version and it syncs well.

V impressed.