New allotment - how to plan?

[Small pumpkin]

I would plan. Main reason is I enjoy the planing stage. There is nothing better than sitting on the sofa surrounded by all your seed packets, a big not book, lots of coloured pencils on a wet cold winters day planing next years plot . Just feels like your still achieving something without freezing to death . I know the plan is a winner when I can look at it in a months time and it still makes sense .

[Kristen]

I can see I'm going to have to enhance my own rudimentary spreadsheets a bit!

Oh dear, what have I started!

One more Geeky / Pedantic point. If I plant, say, 3 varieties of something - Onions or Garlic - all "next" to each other in a bed, I plant them in Alphabetical order, and then when the Magpies have nicked the labels (might be the kid though ... have to watch out when I shoot the culprit!!) I still have a fair chance of guessing which is which.

By shading in the months that I expect the crop to need the space, I can plan succession.

I have my "sowing calendar" in a more structured spreadsheet, so that I can sort by Sow Date and "Worth checking it if needs pricking out yet" date order

But that doesn't cater well for successional sowing; for some crops I have only a couple of major sowings (Sweetcorn for example) so I put them in the spreadsheet twice (i.e. as though both entries are Primary Crop Entries), for other things like Lettuce and Cauliflower (I sow 6 per fortnight, which is about the number we eat) I make sowings as close to the 1st and 15th of the month as I remember to do it ... and do all the packets in the "Successional Sowing" box, until I remember that that should be the last date for that one!

When I have a moment I'll document my Spreadsheet for Vegetable Seed Sowings ...

[Bex]

Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
That's the tower in your pic..
I don't know how that came to me.

But spend time planning - don't rush.

Lol yes that's Old Joe, my allotment is in Selly Oak, not far from university and QE hospital.


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[Bex]

I would plan. Main reason is I enjoy the planing stage. There is nothing better than sitting on the sofa surrounded by all your seed packets, a big not book, lots of coloured pencils on a wet cold winters day planing next years plot . Just feels like your still achieving something without freezing to death . I know the plan is a winner when I can look at it in a months time and it still makes sense .

Lol this sounds like my kind of planning especially if a glass of wine is involved. I've ordered a project book with graph and lined paper and I'll borrow the kids coloured pencils.

Kristen - I do need to pay more attention to successional sowing, do as you say, 6 a fortnight. I sowed all in one go this year so had loads altogether and then nothing for a few weeks when something else was ready. A lot of lettuce, for example, went to seed because I was all lettuced out.




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[Alison]

I have my "sowing calendar" in a more structured spreadsheet, so that I can sort by Sow Date and "Worth checking it if needs pricking out yet" date order

But that doesn't cater well for successional sowing; for some crops I have only a couple of major sowings (Sweetcorn for example) so I put them in the spreadsheet twice (i.e. as though both entries are Primary Crop Entries), for other things like Lettuce and Cauliflower (I sow 6 per fortnight, which is about the number we eat) I make sowings as close to the 1st and 15th of the month as I remember to do it ... and do all the packets in the "Successional Sowing" box, until I remember that that should be the last date for that one!

That's pretty much the same as I do, lose track otherwise.....

Lol yes that's Old Joe, my allotment is in Selly Oak, not far from university and QE hospital.

Reminds me of student days

[Kristen]

I have my "sowing calendar" in a more structured spreadsheet, so that I can sort by Sow Date and "Worth checking it if needs pricking out yet" date order

...

When I have a moment I'll document my Spreadsheet for Vegetable Seed Sowings ...

OK, I've put a step-by-step guide on my Blog, here's a picture of the spreadsheet itself

[KevinM67]

WOW Kristen - I'm impressed, very impressed.

[Guest]

Kristen does anything actually fail in your veg patch - you seem to lack that element of surprise?
I am very impressed btw (VERY!)
I already know I have no hope of ever running my veggy patch with that much planning, organising and discipline, but then I accept everything even small ugly self seeded failures