Potatoes and other Questions

[rustylady]

Will be buying some chicken pellets on the way home as well and dig these into my soil. As I currently have no access to horse manure

Don't dig them in - scatter on the surface - work them in with a hoe or rake.

[MancGardener]

Thanks Rusty Lady!

[MancGardener]

Also started a new blog

[Farmer_Gyles]

Also started a new blog

good move .... mine is invaluable for remembering what i did and when!

[roitelet]

Don't dig the brassica patch too well just clear the weeds. Brassicas like very firm soil and the bed that I am growing the brassicas in doesn't get dug over in winter like the rest. Saves some work!!

Best of luck.

[MancGardener]

What do people think of my plan for the allotment. I am not going to use raised beds, the beds will just be done by string.

[Farmer_Gyles]

very pretty and colourful .... but i can't read the words on it!

[MancGardener]

Might be easier to do it this way;

http://www.growveg.com/garden-plan.aspx?p=275944

[Farmer_Gyles]

that's a bit better!

this is your first year, so don't worry tooooooooooooooo much about "getting it right" etc .... plans will change, especially as you learn from experience .... you'll find out soon about growing things over the winter .... if you have a big freezer, it's handy to grow some crops in the winter only to give you more space in the summer .... although it's entirely up to you ....

to me, it looks like 4 beds .... the 2nd one is a bit "mixed" .... i would say stick the onions / spring onions / spinach in the same bed as the beans / peas .... and lettuce too .... you might want the peppers and chillis in pots anywhere you have space .... leeks are more of a winter crop, so can be started in pots and planted out in the potato bed when you dig the spuds up .... garlic is planted in october and harvested in june so can be ignored for now ..... and that'll give you a lot more room for more carrots .... others will have other opinions / suggestions .... there aren't any hard and fast rules, except best to avoid growing the same thing in the same bed 2 years running .... simples ...

but whatever you do, enjoy it .... don't try and do too much in your first year, it's easy to lose control and easy to get disappointed / disillusioned ....