Square foot gardening.

[Bigmallly]

This one looks better.

Vegetable Planner

[Suky]

Made a grid out of canes to fit 8 x 4ft bed, slightly wonky but then so is the bed Planted 2 squares with white onions from last autumns seed, one square of garlic and 3 edge squares with a strawberry plant in each. It is beginning to look good and hopefully I will get more sown and planted soon.

[organic]

Good news, Suky.
Yet again I've failed to make progress on my plot this weekend - work is really starting to get me down now. I'll be at the plot for about 3 hours from around 6am on Monday morning though. I've got to drop someone at the airport around 5:45 so I'm going to stop by the allotment on my way home. It'll be a nice start to the day anyway.

[Bigmallly]

I'll be at the plot for about 3 hours from around 6am on Monday morning though.

Aye, get as much done as you can before the snow arrives........again......

[maytreefrannie]

Very interesting sites, thanks, I've saved the site addresses to learn more from them later.

[organic]

BM - yet another planned trip down the pan!
I've had about an hour's sleep... the job I've been working on that has to be with the client today has gone long. So plan B - get it finished, go to the plot and dig until I pass out and then when I wake up - drive home and go to bed.

We'll see about the snow - but I intend to bust a got before it even thinks about arriving!

The Met Office have cast the runes, gazed into crystals and read the tea leaves and are forecasting rain for most of the week (that won't keep me away) and staying respectably above freezing day and night until wednesday and thursday when it'll dip to 1°C and 0°C respectively. If they've got it right we may well be about to dodge a bullet around here. I certainly hope it stays snow free anyway.

...and now my head goes back in the sand with regards to weather forecasts and back to work on all other fronts.

[Bigmallly]

Sounds as though you have your hands full...don't burn yourself out too early, you've plenty of time yet.......well at least 4 days.......

[organic]

Full? They are flowing over! Haha.
I'll be ok though... while I really want to get digging so I can put some stuff in the ground - my main worry is that being on my first season, I don't want to give anyone the impression that I can't handle that amount of land and have it cut in half on me... which is a possibility. It's just annoying that I had an injury followed by snow for weeks and now a flood of work (caused mainly by the ineptitude of the local planning department) when I need to be grafting. Once the beds are dug the efficiency of the square foot method kicks in and I can stay on top of things with ease. It's frustrating.

[Bigmallly]

Is there nobody you can ask to help out in the meantime just till you get sorted.

[organic]

Not at the minute... no.

Though I was just thinking whether it'd be worth arranging a mini grapes-meetup-barbecue type affair and get the plot dug over toot-sweet in a day. Sort of a Dig for Victory thing, but for grilled meat and beer (and a veggie option if needed ).

I dunno if the allotment soc might be a bit funny about a gang of strangers coming in though. I dunno how these things work. I'll have to ask.

[chris]

I had some spare timber from making my beds, so I thought I'd give it a go too.

Had 2 x 10' lengths, and 1 x 90" length, so created 10' x 45" - so each "square" is actually 12" x 15".

Have used some string temp, so see what sort of size the grids were - so will get some rotproof twine later and redo them.

Pic attached! Not sure of exactly placement yet, may run it alongside the GH when it comes.

[pipscariad]

For some reason I hadn't got around to reading this post before, but now I have and of course I'm all fired up and wanting to give it a go! I've already pretty much planned what will go where on my plot, but I have an area of grass free at the bottom of my spud beds, and only yesterday I was saying to OH, "I could put a couple of raised beds there...". Say no more! (I don't have any raised beds yet, all the 'traditional' type for various reasons). I can see a serious reading up session coming on over Easter.

Once again, top marks to the Vine .

[Bigmallly]

Not at the minute... no.

Though I was just thinking whether it'd be worth arranging a mini grapes-meetup-barbecue type affair and get the plot dug over toot-sweet in a day. Sort of a Dig for Victory thing, but for grilled meat and beer (and a veggie option if needed ).

I dunno if the allotment soc might be a bit funny about a gang of strangers coming in though. I dunno how these things work. I'll have to ask.

What a brilliant idea........like you say, run it past the committee first. What have you to lose.

[elsie-scot]

Not at the minute... no.

Though I was just thinking whether it'd be worth arranging a mini grapes-meetup-barbecue type affair and get the plot dug over toot-sweet in a day. Sort of a Dig for Victory thing, but for grilled meat and beer (and a veggie option if needed ).

I dunno if the allotment soc might be a bit funny about a gang of strangers coming in though. I dunno how these things work. I'll have to ask.

I have heard of this working quite well - get a group of people who have gardening needing done, take it in turns to spend a afternoon in each persons garden/allotment. A bit to organise, but if you do it via the vine might not be too bad. And if you organise it you could put your name first on the list!

[oldie]

To wet to go out this morning so I had another look at the Sq. foot book. Although I'm not rigorously following the method I find the ideas about spacing useful as I do have raised beds(and edged). However I do wonder about two crops - he says potatoes and sweet corn can be planted 4 to a 12" square. That seems to me to be optimistic - what do others think?