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How well have other people got on with this? I have to confess I needed to be more organised than I was.
I planted broad beans along the rows where my brassicas were to go, and interplanted them with the kale and sprouts. Then with the appalling weather I didn't get the broadies cut down because I'd covered the bed with environmesh and couldn't get it off on my own because of the high winds. The brassicas grew leggy, and the green sprouts have run to seed, the purple ones are laying down, but look as if I might get sprouts later. On the positive side, I found that martock beans damaged by bean weevil would germinate and produce healthy plants, and as they were covered by the mesh, the beans ultimately produced were not cross pollinated so I can save the seed for replanting.
Carrots between garlic and onions did work quite well, I've had a couple of root fly damaged ones, but on the whole good. However having to get my garlic up when the ground was sodden did mean disturbing some of the carrots as half of the lottie was stuck to the roots.
Onions between strawberries DID NOT work. The strawberry plants grew so lushly they completed carpeted the bed and the onions stood no chance of getting any light. I did get a good crop of berries, although the weather did mean more rotten ones than usual.
As I had beds set up I didn't really use the spinach as paths, but I did plant between rows of other veg and cut it to mulch (as well as eating a good amount too).
I am currently setting up my beds using the lasagne method as the weeds this year have been horrendous and I've struggled to keep them down. It didn't help that my compost spawned a load of bramble seedlings from blackberry pips. (Doh, never thought of that when I put the shredded prunings and mouldy fruit into the bin)
I'll consider experimenting more with Gertrud's methods modified to suit my circumstances next season.
I planted broad beans along the rows where my brassicas were to go, and interplanted them with the kale and sprouts. Then with the appalling weather I didn't get the broadies cut down because I'd covered the bed with environmesh and couldn't get it off on my own because of the high winds. The brassicas grew leggy, and the green sprouts have run to seed, the purple ones are laying down, but look as if I might get sprouts later. On the positive side, I found that martock beans damaged by bean weevil would germinate and produce healthy plants, and as they were covered by the mesh, the beans ultimately produced were not cross pollinated so I can save the seed for replanting.
Carrots between garlic and onions did work quite well, I've had a couple of root fly damaged ones, but on the whole good. However having to get my garlic up when the ground was sodden did mean disturbing some of the carrots as half of the lottie was stuck to the roots.
Onions between strawberries DID NOT work. The strawberry plants grew so lushly they completed carpeted the bed and the onions stood no chance of getting any light. I did get a good crop of berries, although the weather did mean more rotten ones than usual.
As I had beds set up I didn't really use the spinach as paths, but I did plant between rows of other veg and cut it to mulch (as well as eating a good amount too).
I am currently setting up my beds using the lasagne method as the weeds this year have been horrendous and I've struggled to keep them down. It didn't help that my compost spawned a load of bramble seedlings from blackberry pips. (Doh, never thought of that when I put the shredded prunings and mouldy fruit into the bin)
I'll consider experimenting more with Gertrud's methods modified to suit my circumstances next season.
I have had the worst year ever in the garden, be it in Gertie's bed or elsewhere. Most seeds failed to germinate if direct sown and those that were transplanted have disappeared, either through the slimies or rabbits. Even the garlic and onion sets failed to bulb up and I'm still waiting for my first courgette or a decent runner bean.
to go at. Fruit bed is coming back to me as a standard bed and my fruits are going down the side bed - smaller area.
? Is anyone else doing this again this year, as I have decided to give it a go?
I am reading the book and thinking about mustard sowing. When did you sow yours last year? March? I am going to mark at 50cm intervals on the raised bed boards. Or did you work at 40cm? I have got 5.6m length to go at.
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