how to avoid compacting the soil?

[supasick]

I have a 15ft x 15ft plot and i'm dying to get it planted up. Just waiting for the last frosts to be finished! So i'm planning to plant in rows but the soil seems to compact down very easily. I have read somewhere that compacted soil is bad cos the plant roots cant get into it. So how do i avoid compacting the soil? I have to walk on it, dont i?

[Snadger]

Thats the beauty of the bed system. You only walk on the paths and never on the beds!

[binley100]

If you haven't room for beds that you can work fro either side and you really must walk on it then use a plank to spread the weight .........

[donnakebab]

Most people use something like a scaffold board or anything that spreads your weight to stand on.

Can be a faff but it works.

[binley100]

!5ft by 15ft doesn't give much room for beds .......

[planetologist]

Grow in beds. These can be raised or not as suits you. You don't walk on the beds, so if you start out with compacted soil you dig them once, and after that only to harvest things like potatoes and roots. Beds are typically four feet wide, so that you can work them from the paths, and as long as you like.

[Bigmallly]

If you can't be phaffed using boards, make some compacted paths between 4 foot wide beds as mentioned above.

[Two_Sheds]

!5ft by 15ft doesn't give much room for beds .......

9 beds, each 4' x 4'

with 1.5' paths in between them

Is my maths right?

I couldn't find a 9 bed plan, here's a nice pic of a 4-bed to give you the gist

[binley100]

I think I'd have four long beds and lose the path up the middle ........or even make it a sort of E shape with four legs instead of three .....

[supasick]

beds are the eventual plan but the money just doesnt stretch as far as i'd like! I'll have a nosy in b&q to find some decent (and cheap!) planks.

[CaroltheCarrot]

Do you know anyone in a scaffolding company, they usually give away old boards, they are like gold dust here

[Maccabee]

As said, try to get your hands on some scaffolding planks, if you want edged beds that is. You can make beds without edging. Think it's called Lazy Beds or something like that. Sure someone will provide a link.

[veggiechicken]

As has been said above somewhere ^^^^, you don't need to edge the beds. By not making fixed beds at the outset you can try it out and see if the layout works for you. If not, next year, change it to something that does!
15' wide would give your 3 x 4' wide strip beds with 2 x 1.5 ' (18") paths between each - assuming that you have access to the outer edges from another path.. For now, you could cover the paths with cardboard, or any mulch, to define it - or just keep walking it!

[jackie j]

Stop your other half walking on them lol Mine is forever walking on the plot even though I keep telling him not to.

[solway cropper]

With a space that small I wouldn't bother growing in rows. You'll get far more produce by block planting or square foot gardening. Make regular successional sowings rather than putting all in at once. If you remove salad crops from the equation by growing them in assorted containers you can use the plot for 'proper' veg.