I don't know how many times I've sat down with paper, pencil and ruler drawing my plot to scale ( well, close to scale ). Had a mind blowing bout of common sense just now. Went into MS Word, opened up 'view' then 'taskbars' then 'drawing'. Clicked on the rectangle option and drew all my 'plot lots' near enough to scale simply putting rectangles inside rectangles. I numbered the seperate plots using Word and as I plant something I just write it in.
Best part is, once you have a basic layout on file, you can print out as many copies as you want. Great for planning and as a record of crop rotation.
Boom Boom
Ooh you clever dick ;D I'll have a go at that. Mine will be dead easy as I only have one bed at the mo. Mind you I expect that I will have forgotten by this time next year what was in it! ;)
I had thought of making a photo record of what I'd planted where cos I can't draw for nuts. But doing the plan in Word sounds a doddle.
Ta
Wardy
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/Kenkew/PlotPlan001.bmp)
Plan of my plot for this year.
8) That is cool Ken 8) Might try my hand at it too, many thanks ;)
i am using excel for the same kind of excercise ;)
as is moggle, i believe
and me with Excel though no where near as detailed as moggle's!
I still can't open Moggles :-[ :-\ :'( :(
I had my daughter measure the whole allotment on Saturday, then she knocked in wooden pegs at metre intervals around the perimeter for reference purposes.
I then used Excel to make a plan, setting up square cells and using autoshapes to draw rectangles for the individual beds (and circles to show location of water butts etc)
Needless to say, I have altered my plan several times already...
Yep, I have used excel, and tried to make it sort-of to scale and made cells square, and made one square=10cm on the plot.
Roy, I can always try to scan it and email it that way :D
Wivvles, the wooden pegs idea is a great one!
Quote from: Moggle on February 21, 2005, 09:39:08
Roy, I can always try to scan it and email it that way :D
Yes ok if you don't mind Megan 8) ;)
you all sound sooo clever!
i tried using excel but it looked scary so i just had to use pen and paper in the end!
Jemma xxx
Plan! I keep thinking what a great idea, and then I buy another packet of seeds or get given some more unusual beans to try, and say, to hell with a plan. Maybe next year. :-\
I've just printed off some graph paper and drawn up a plan (well stole it off the the Organic Gardening book) ::) and drawn it to scale and discovered I could at a pinch get three of these rotating patches, I'm still tempted to give it a go but feel I may finish up saying like Emma...to hell with it maybe next year ;D ;D
(http://img113.exs.cx/img113/5300/planb7ap.jpg) (http://www.imageshack.us)
Jemma, I spend all day in front of a PC and a lot of most evenings, and usually have to be surgically detatched from it :D I don't write anything down unless I HAVE to ;D
EJ I am a mad advance planner, and it was something to do when I was ultra-keen and couldn't be digging or sowing.
Roy, I like the look of your plan, looks like it has plenty of room for the important permanent things like Raspberries, and Strawberries, and Asparagus ;D (Permanent stuff goes in the middle?)
I have done a similar thing in Excel. My garden veg plotis made up of identical sized raised beds so I just outlined the appropriate number of cells to give me a plan of the beds.
I have used this to plan my crop rotationbased on past plantings in the beds.
moggle, i am the exact same :D
hence the excel spreadsheet and the incessant planning - though i am flexible enough if something doesnt go to plan - we will revert to plan B,C,D etc then ;)
svea
I "borrowed" my dad & got him to help me measure my plot so I could then draw up a plan.
I've used MS excel. I would post it but still haven't got to grips with posting attachments.
Basically my beds will be 12 foot long & 4 foot wide, with three foot paths between. There'll be 24 beds but only 8 in use at any time, one lot of eight will be resting & the final lot of 8 will be undergoing improvement (adding organic matter, green manure etc).
What I found when I started knocking in corner posts for my beds is that the whole plot quickly became a lot more managable in my head.
CC
Quote from: Svea on February 21, 2005, 17:35:10
moggle, i am the exact same :D
hence the excel spreadsheet and the incessant planning - though i am flexible enough if something doesnt go to plan - we will revert to plan B,C,D etc then ;)
svea
Tell me about it! Spent ages filling out the plan for this year - in the certain knowledge it will NOT work out like that! ::)
In fact the original plan has already been revised a few times and in the light of the current 'late winter' may need revising again!
please can someone help, I have windows xp home version and I went into microsoft works and then word but I couldn't see taskbar, obviously I am doing it wrong bu I am not really computer literate. I would love to plan my plot on the pc but don't know where to start. Is there anyone out there prepared to give very simple ( ie idiot's style) instuctions, please....
You could use microsoft word and then make a table (with the tables facility) where each box of the table would represent a bed. Or you could use an Excel spreadsheet grid to help you. You don't even have to have a plan at all, let alone on the computer. Mine's on the back of a f*g packet ;D
Ooh this forum is very picky - it won't let me type the word f*g. I shall have to write cigarette ;)
After trying to produce a decent looking plan on the computer, I got bored with fiddling about with boxes and lables and reverted to using the original "memory stick"... a wooden one with a graphite centre! You can even erase data using the rubber on the end!
Quote from: SpeedyMango on February 23, 2005, 10:42:27
After trying to produce a decent looking plan on the computer, I got bored with fiddling about with boxes and lables and reverted to using the original "memory stick"... a wooden one with a graphite centre! You can even erase data using the rubber on the end!
Luddite... ;) ;) ;)
Diver:...I had my plan done in MS Word in minutes. (and I've altered quite a lot of it painlessly already). No taskbar?...Click on 'view' then 'toolbars' then 'drawing'. Click on the shape you want and click a start point on your blank paper. Drag to the size you want. You can insert other shapes into any other one.
Will be very interesting to see if anyones lotty conforms to the plans they made . I have made all paper plans before ,But the plants never stick to the plans. Or maybe its me that changes my mind when I come to planting them out . Roll on spring and lets get cracking ....Cheers. Jim
My best laid plans will be changed quite a bit I reckon. Hence the need to have the 'blank' plan capable of being reproduced as it originally was. I'm about to change a small part of it to incorporate my new sunken wheely bin, at least I don't have to redo the whole plan, I'll just add the extra rectangle for the bin and print off the 'new' plot.
My plan is in my head so it's easy to make changes ;D
Quote from: wardy on February 25, 2005, 11:54:38
My plan is in my head so it's easy to make changes ;D
But easy to forget stuff too :D
It's not just a plan tho' is it? It's a record to help get crop rotation right. Also making notes where you composted and where things do best in the garden. It can save trouble and expense.
I've done a plan on Excel and have attached it if anyone is intersted. It's changed a lot especially now that I've got a 2nd plot but I find that it's really helpful for me to remember where everything is planned to go, otherwise I'd end up with things ready to plant out and no space left. It's in excel so some of you may not be able to view it, there are four worksheets within the file, click on the tabs at the bottom of the screen when it opens.
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/jessco/jesseveve/Planting.xls
Looks good Jess. Even this oldie can understand it!
your diary page is fantastic!
it is indeed! i will print off the planting schedule and see what is applicable for me.
where is your allotment (in terms of timing the planting out...) ??
and very interesting to see what you have sown and how fast it's coming along.
wow, pumpkin seeds: 3 days to germinate and a further four days to be potted on. that must be satisfying :) you can watch it grow!
svea
I'm in West Sussex (southeast england). A lot of the planting plan is new for me so I can't guarantee it is all correct and accurate as some things i have never grown before and are new to me, but in those cases I have copied what the seed packets say for planting and sowing dates. The pumpkins are growing really well and I have now moved them into a cooler area to slow them down a bit. Please don't copy me on the pumpkins and squash times in the "Diary 2005" section, they're for an experiment I'm doing and I have held back most of the seed for planting later on, those dates are given in the "Planting Diary" section.
My goodness :) Some people are sooo organised. Pity I'm not one of em ;D
I like the idea of using the spread sheet cell or table in Word. I might have a bash when I actually have more than just the one bed :)
I tried both, Wardy. Excell is great but I found MS word easier for this particular thing.