Next years planting plan

[burnie]

As most of the raised beds are clear and the "rabbit proofed" plot is also cleared apart from the over wintering onion sets I planted the other week, now thinking of planting for next season. I have most of my seeds, so it's just finding out the last 2 years plans and sorting out my crop rotation, anyone else started planning yet?

[Greenleaves]

I don't really plan, if I do I never stick to it. I rotate some crops, mainly onions and garlic but not very good at rotating others.

[Small pumpkin]

Yes.........

[Small pumpkin]

Plan will have changed twice by next week.

[burnie]

To start with I'll manure 2 of the raised beds, the 3rd will have just compost for the roots, the big bed is going to be no dig now after the tattie crop, so that will get what's in the compost Dalek thingy. Then I shall sit down and browse the 'tinternet for inspiration.

[veggiechicken]

Plan!!!!???? hahahahahahahaha

[burnie]

I draw pictures of the beds and then list what will go in each bed, not exactly what goes where, so for example one will have carrots, beetroot in it, which varieties will be sorted later. This year I also had Parsnips in there, but they will go in the ground next year as the raised bed depth is not quite enough for the monsters that grew this year. Another bed will have onions and leeks in and the third is free this year, last year I had brassicas in, but they will go in the ground, so I might try something new that I have threatened to grow for decades and have never tried...…………………………………..(drum roll)…………….Trench Celery(yes I know, but it's an itch that has got to be scratched lol)

[Penellype]

I always have a basic plan that evolves through the year as things sometimes don't quite work.

At home some things never change, for example my carrot cage will again be full of buckets of carrots, the fruit cage will contain blueberries, strawberries and carrots and the raised beds by the garage wall will be buckets of potatoes. The remaining beds will be peas, tomatoes and miscellaneous brassicas which I tend to grow in buckets. Pretty much everything else will be grown at the allotment except herbs, a few dwarf french beans which keep off the soil better in buckets and a couple of cucumbers in the duogrow planter. I may grow some spinach at home, although last year there was so much of it at the allotment that I hardly touched the home grown stuff at all.

The allotment is much more of an experiment, but some things have worked well and will be repeated - onions and beetroot grew much better here than at home so there is no point in growing them at home next year. Other things haven't done so well - there will be no carrots at the allotment and apart from in the hotbeds (I intend to make 2) the only seed that will be sown direct is parsnips. The current plan is everything in the raised beds (except potatoes) to be small enough to be netted so that birds can't pull the compost about. Peas can go down the middle of the tunnel (if I can get the brassicas finished in time) and beans at the road end, which is not a raised bed. Plans can't easily be finalized until I see what happens with the leylandii hedge and how much light and extra space (if any) there is at that end.

[Jay-ell]

For the first time I actually have a thought out sensible written plan that's easy to follow. It has 3 interlinked 7 year rotations - I've dropped the 2 additional five year rotations for now.

It'll start with manure going on the squash beds and the gallows being moved.

I have even narrowed down the seeds to specific varieties (please note that narrow down can include buy more seeds) and got a rough timetable for sowing them.

Now all I have to do is remember where I've put it.

[Bren In Pots]

My plan doesn't really alter I've got 3 beds, roots, legumes and brassicas crops get sown/planted in the next bed along each year with things like lettuce and courgettes slotted in any gaps. Then there's a permanent bean row, an area with my fruit bushes and GH its not a lot but it keeps me happy.

[chris_m]

Since I'm still learning a) growing stuff at all, and b) what does and doesn't work here I definitely have a plan.

Although it may well change I have a spreadsheet in which I've entered what gets sown, how many, when and where - indoors in rootrainers, along with where (bed/square) they will be planted out, or direct-sown in the specific bed/square. It has additional columns for completing as things occur - sown date first shoot date, planted out date, first harvest date, last harvest date.

A second sheet contains a plan of the plot, each cell representing a square and a third is set up for recording the harvest quantities and used quantities.

I've already started on next year's - the garlic went in this week and the onions were sown a couple of weeks ago and are growing on in the greenhouse prior to planting out in a couple of weeks. Next week, I sow the cauliflower for overwintering in the greenhouse and in a few weeks time I'll be sowing peas and broad beans.

[Snadger]

My plan is not to have a plan. A bit like VC, I will just blag it.

My proposed plan not to have a plan may evolve into a plan in the future though.

[chris_m]

My proposed plan not to have a plan may evolve into a plan in the future though.

Will that then be non-Plan B?

[Snadger]

Will that then be non-Plan B?

………..or non-plan C,D,E or even F!

[burnie]

This will be my winter gardening until it's time to sow Onions seed in the propagator followed by chillies in the New Year. Going through my seed bucket and listing what new seeds to get and anything else I just HAVE to have lol.