Allotment Planning

[muddled]

I don't really plan.
Actually, that's not true.
I plan all winter long...read books, blogs and articles. Ask questions here and of my plot neighbours. Make lists and drawings and measure stuff.

Then sow far too much in Spring, lose all the bits of paper with my notes on bung everything in wherever the bindweed isn't too bad!

I don't rotate my beds except in that toms and spuds go in a different quarter of the plot each year. Everything else goes higgledy piggledy here and there. Never one species per bed...always half a dozen to confuse the beasties and so that my 'chop and drop' mulch has a good variety of stuff to feed next years crop.

[noviceveggrower]

Plan ha ha that's funny. The only thing I really set space for is potatoes. The rest kind of gets put in where there is space. I kind of wing it a bit. I have tried to be structured and be methodical but it just doesn't work for me.

[veggiechicken]

My Plans are like my Diary. January starts off well, I know what I want to grow and where. By March its all forgotten and I garden by instinct! maybe next year, I'll get to April before it all falls apart!

[Ryez]

I make a simple plan for my garden: How big are my beds? What spacing is recommended for each veg? Do the maths: how many I need to plant?

And of course crop rotation is important, so I try to not mix the various families together. Sun is important, so lettuce for example will be positioned in partial sun.



If I had an allotment, I would make diagrams that include the position of plants, i.e. make a simple design of the plot and where I am planting what and how much of it, in a similar manner.

[Cadalot]

I started life as a draughtsman so planning the allotment had to be drawn and these days its usually on a computer. I used a CAD package, there are CAD packages available on the internet that are Free so anyone can do this.

My first attempt was based with very little actual gardening knowledge and can be seen on my diary at Alans Allotment: Planning the Plot and it bears no resemblance to what I actually ended up constructing.

Having seen people dig over the whole allotment I knew I was not one of those types of plot holder and I did know that I wanted to have defined beds. Reading books and visiting forums like the Grapevine I decided in 2,4m x 1.2 m beds and paths wide enough that I could actually kneel down in comfortably for weeding and planting.

On working the plot and looking at the rise and fall of the sun, I decided to alter my plan for the first time Alans Allotment: Plan Layout Review This would not be the last modification.

Next I looked at how many of each type of vegetables I could get into a bed and compared the difference in quantity based on planting in rows along the bed Vs across the beds Alans Allotment: Bedding Layouts - How many can I fit in?

January 2013 I had my first plan with veg arranged on the plot Alans Allotment: Paving Slabs for Paths and a Patio Area

But Progress was slow Alans Allotment: Progress over 3 months from another angle The shed went in and I had a base and by March 2013 I had marked out the bays using blue water pipe and had a good idea of the structure of the plot Alans Allotment: End of working week update

At first my beds were delineated by lawn edging and by April the first four beds were in and I was planting potatoes Alans Allotment: Sunday 28th April - Afternoon

By May six beds and Brassicas were in Alans Allotment: 20th May 2013

Digging and forming beds continued, talking to my neighbour it appeared my plot was wider that I thought and the path and hump formed by the last owner skimming all the weeds off and dragging to the edge of the plot. And after a year I had a plan drawn that reflected what was able to be built Alans Allotment: 3rd October 2013 This plan shows the crop layout for the next year.

Each year in the winter months I edit and update the plan and these can be found on the diary

There have been modifications to the infrastructure, the arrangement of some of the beds the loss of bed 6 to a greenhouse beds 15a & 15b are now called 15 & 16 and I reference the bed numbers in my videos. and each year I rotate my crops, introduce new things to grow. Over winter something in a bed where something else was planned and have to re jigger the plan.

If you have time to skim read all the decisions, variations and planning is there on my dairy over the last four years including my second plot on another allotment.

I hope this helps you with your article

[Snadger]

My Plans are like my Diary. January starts off well, I know what I want to grow and where. By March its all forgotten and I garden by instinct! maybe next year, I'll get to April before it all falls apart!

Likewise...............

[Small pumpkin]

The only planing I really do is what crops to grow and the rotation. As most of the raised beds were already in place when we moved in.
I have made a couple of changes, there is now a polytunnle over one of the raised beds, I've narrowed another raised bed so I can cut the hedge without walking on my growing crops. I've put in a raised herb bed and found space for a raised bed next to my soft fruit.

The plan I have if the opportunity to buy our rented property ever arises (fingers crossed everyone).
Rip out all the soft fruit bushes and put another 3 raised beds in. Have a 3rd smaller tunnel. Then there is always the possibility to extend the whole veggie garden into the field. That would be quite a big job, but as it's all fantasy it's not really a problem.

[Bigmallly]

Over the winter months I plan to revamp the plot, I'd like to have a grassed spine with comb beds, this is the plan so watch this space as they say...............

[Bill Door]

Oh no Bigmally, that just will not do!

Where's the dog kennel? The beehive? and where is the fountain? You haven't made space for the bean arch either!

Good luck with the weather by the way.

Bill

[Cadalot]

I do have some charts I made up in Word and Adobe format but they don't appear to be up loadable, if you want them send me a PM with your email address and I will send them to you.

OK I printed from the Adobe to snagit so the quality isn't great, but I based the chart on a Sutton Seeds chart I got from somewhere and created some of my own icons as they original didn't have them.

The original is in table format in Word and the icons can be cut and paste into the cells and the chart can be modified each year. The thing is it's not worth listing all the toms because they all need the same thing at the same time.

I once did try creating a sowing diary over winter but I never stuck to it.

[Snadger]

I do have some charts I made up in Word and Adobe format but they don't appear to be up loadable, if you want them send me a PM with your email address and I will send them to you.

OK I printed from the Adobe to snagit so the quality isn't great, but I based the chart on a Sutton Seeds chart I got from somewhere and created some of my own icons as they original didn't have them.

The original is in table format in Word and the icons can be cut and paste into the cells and the chart can be modified each year. The thing is it's not worth listing all the toms because they all need the same thing at the same time.

I once did try creating a sowing diary over winter but I never stuck to it.

I can see where the CAD part of Cadalot comes from now!

[Cadalot]

I can see where the CAD part of Cadalot comes from now!

OH yes, the full explanation is on a thread here about user names http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...e-yours-3.html

[Ovce domácí]

We use a spreadsheet.

One square equals one step to keep it simple when measuring partitions out.