Hiya, me again with another newbie question ;)
In one area of my plot I cant decide whether to make 10 or 12 small beds of about 3 metres by 1m or to go for 4 very long beds of about 6metres by 1.5metres. I cant reach across more than about 1.5 metres comfortably so cant really make them any wider than this.
I plan to grow small amounts of alot of different things as this is my first year & everything is an experiment ;D
What do you think would be the better layout?
probably better with shorter beds as, if you have to keep walking the full length of the long ones to get to the other side/ next bed, it can become very tedious.
Thanks thats a really good point. I hadnt even considered the walking around the large beds aspect of things....see im such a newbie ::)
I agree its really irritating having to walk round. Also make sure you can kneel down between them, space between them should be about the length between your knee and foot
I would always go with the bigger size, so much easier to work. Have a look around allotments and you will see that the experienced plotters go for really big beds. The new plotters go for tiny beds and waste so much space on paths.
AndrewB thanks for the advice about path width I would never have thought to measure it using my own legs yet it makes such perfect sense....I am such a muppet I only left about 15 inches between each bed on my sketch :-[ Ha!Ha! would probably be more like 8 small beds rather than the 10 or 12 I originally imagined.
Mine are 20ft long and at most 6ft wide, with a 2ft wide path between each bed. However I've discovered that 6ft is just a little bit too wide for my reach so next year I may well amend this down to 5ft and slightly reduce the path width. :D
Hi there real food, yes I was wondering about all the path wastage if I do short beds. Now Ive realised how wide the paths actually need to be to allow for kneeling between beds I am tempted to go with the long beds & put up with the extra exercise walking around them gives me as I have heaps of weight to lose anyway :D
Thanks posie yes if I go for long beds they will be about the same length as yours but I would also have them no wider than 5ft. Do you use the square foot gardening approach within the large beds?
Quote from: Crystalmoon on April 01, 2008, 19:33:11
Do you use the square foot gardening approach within the large beds?
Nope! I use the "sling it in at approximately where I think it should be and preferably in a straight line" approach!!!! rofl - to say it's unscientific would be an understatement ;D ;D ;D
I did long beds on my plot with a stepping stone in the middle for when I am feeling lazy & ca't be bothered to walk round ;D