New allotment, planning for 2009

[SurreySteve]

I've just aquired an allotment after a very short wait, only 2 years! Im trying to plan for next year and not sure of how to best use the space, (117 suare metres). Obviously I would like to grow the usual crops, i.e. potaoes, onoions, brassica's and any family veg etc. How would someone start at working out what quanties of each crop to grow and how to lay out the plot.

Steve.

[SurreySteve]

[grotbag]

hi steve,i dont do plans as such,but i would think the best way to do it would be to decide which veg you eat most of ,and take it from there,as to quantities would depend how many mouths you feeding??

[SurreySteve]

Thanks grotbag. Just wondered if its best to plant or sow in blocks, just really how to start laying things out.

[manicscousers]

we drew out a paper plan and worked it out from there, worked out a rotation, what we liked to eat and how much and made each bed for a particular crop, manure, lime etc  :)

[grotbag]

i always plant in rows apart from sweetcorn which i plant in a block

[kt.]

I did a sketch map of my plot, laying out everything I wanted to have in it:  where to put paths,  shed,  water butt,  compost heap,  manure pile, greenhouse.  It worked well.  Pleased I did it as it helped me loads.  I tweak it year on year as I alter varieties and experiment with other stuff.  Whatever you decide - Ensure you stick with crop rotation though so as not to get diseased soil. 

By deciding what you want to grow and what your family would eat, helps determine how much space you need to make available for quantities of veg.

[cacran]

If you like peas, don't underestimate how many to plant. This is my second year and last year, I did not get a pan full so I planted loads more and still have only just had a pan full, I seem to lose loads. Next year I need to do loads more. Or is it just that I am rubbish at growing peas????

[posie]

With potatoes, I did one bag of 1st earlies, 2nd earlies and maincrop and I have to say I'll be doubling the amount this year to get the yield I need.  Oh and watch out for horsetail around the spuds because as I found out to my cost, the slugs lurk around it then eat the lot!

[jonny211]

Or is it just that I am rubbish at growing peas????

...probably not, as I have three seperate beds (or wide rows?) of peas and still only got about 1kg from them, many got too big and starchy but were tiny when sweet, some were good and about half were spoiled by the bl**dy pea moth thing.

Sad to say this but I think I'll buy them from Tesburys next year and just do broad beans instaed.

[oakmore2]

I've used growveg.com to help with the planning of my plot. Bit lazy, but I've found it really helpful to plan the layout of the beds, compost etc in my plot, then to put in the veg I want. It tells you when to plant things and how many seeds or plants you need to buy. Also helps with how much space you need for each crop type. Being a complete novice, it has also helped me think about crop rotation as when you plan the planting for subsequent years it highlights in red the areas you should avoid for each crop.

[adeymoo]

I got my allotment in January full of enthusiasm for growing everything - result packet of seeds not used. This weekend I wrote down what we actually buy from the market and then what quantities we use. For example we usually buy the odd parsnip, marrow, virtually no cabbages but lots of beans, tomatoes, cougettes, carrots, peppers, sweetcorn, potatoes and peas. This causes problems with rotation as the roots, and legume beds will be large and the brassica / other beds smaller. This calls for not just for 2009 planning but the next 4 years (potatoes, roots, legumes, brassicas) to ensure the rotation sequence is maintained somehow. If you intend to store veg, and a lot can over winter then this needs to be factored into quantities too.

[grawrc]

I found Joy Larkcom's "grow your own vegetables" very helpful.

[adeymoo]

so true grawrc, and the RHS books on growing fruit and vegetables