Which works best? Does it make much difference? The books seem to extol the virtues of beds, but most of the plots I've seen grow veg in single long rows.
Sally
Or even rows in bed??
Sorry!
Sally, you could probably get a lot more crops in the rows, but we mainly have different sized beds because they are easier to manage. see below view from last year, of my plot. busy_lizzie
Oh, so tidy!!
Sally - if you're going to use a cultivator, obviously rows are better.
If aged like me, then beds are more encouraging to manage, But you need very different sized beds for - say - sprouting or carrots?
Hi Sally
I have started with beds, currently have 12 8x4 beds, which are easy to manage.....but...it has only just occured to me that I need a bit more flexibility with bigger crops like sprouts and sweetcorn.
So yes to beds but different sizes and then you have to think about rotation (my head hurts now) ???
My plan is to have some long rows at the top of the plot for potatoes, which will then free up two more beds for brassicas (we like our greens) and then bigger beds at the front for sweetcorn, squash and other things ;D
Hope that helps
You could also have mobile pathways which we have, so you can vary the size of your beds depending on what you are growing there. We have done this with strips of pallet wood to make walkways. busy_lizzie
Thank you ;D
I like the sound of easier to manage :) The different sized beds look really good, busy_lizzie.
I wasn't planning to use a cultivator, although Tim (my OH, not the one posting here) thinks I should, so he has an excuse to buy one. Said he'll help me dig the plot - I'll believe that when it happens though. Hadn't managed to work out that would be an advantage of growing in rows, either :-[
Do you stick to one crop per bed? I grew some veg in raised beds in the garden last year, but everything had to be squashed in together as there wasn't much space. :( It wasn't terribly productive really.
We get through a lot of greens too, SMP. How much room do they need? Last year's plants didn't get very big by the time the birds, the caterpillars and the whitefly had had a share. I'm going to get some mesh this time.
Sally
Hi timnsal, I grow several crops on one bed, provided they won't quarrel (so I wouldn't plant toms and spuds in the same bed). You can fill in any spaces this way, and I do think it looks prettier/foxes the predators.
You can also underplant e.g. sweetcorn with squash, which is the same thing but all mixed up and not side by side.
We're planting peas in succession this year, about 2 ft block every three weeks marching along one bed (maybe two).
If you grow equal square meterage of spuds, brassicas, peas and roots, you would have a very neat rotation plan. If you're like me and only grow one bed of spuds, out of 30 beds, the rotation can be a little more, erm, flexible ;D