Plan of Allotment. What do you think?

[MutantHobbit]

Hiya all!

Have decided to make public my plans for my allotment to see what everyone thinks of it.  If  anyone sees any mistakes or potential problems, then feel free to comment.  Any constructive criticism welcome but please be kind!!! ;D

My planned Vegetable list is as follows:

Fruit

Blackcurrant "Ben Sarek"
Blueberry "Bluecrop"
Gooseberries "Invicta"
Gooseberries "Pax"
Redcurrant "Rovada"
Raspberry "All Gold"

Vegetables

Beetroot "Boltardy"    Beetroot "Wodan"
Broccoli "Bordeux"    Brussel Sprouts "Falstaff" 
Brussel Sprouts "Diablo"  Cabbage "1st Early Market" 
Cabbage "Castello" Cabbage "January King"
Red Cabbage "Integro"  Savoy Cabbage "Famosa"
Calabrese "Fiesta"  Carrot "Early Nantes 2" 
Cauliflower "Cassius"  Cauliflower "Romanesco Lazio" 
Cauliflower "Skywalker" Chinese Cabbage "Wong Bok"
Courgette  "Gold Rush" Fennel "Romanesco" 
Garlic "Albigensian Wight"  Garlic "Cristo"
Garlic "Early Wight"  Garlic "Purple Wight"
Onion "White Lisbon" Parsnip "Tender and True" 
Peas "Fortune" Peas "Kelvedon Wonder" 
Radish "French Breakfast" Radish "Cherry Belle" 
Shallots "Grise"  Elephant Garlic
Swede "Joan" Sweetcorn "Extra Tender & Sweet"
Potato Adora Potato "Arran Pilot" 
Potato " Arran Victory"* Potato "Charlotte" 
Potato "Edzell Blue"* Potato "Golden Wonder"* 
Potato "Harlequin"  Potato "Pink Fir Apple"
Potato "Sante"* 

Potatoes that I'm planning to buy from Ryton's Potato Day are marked with a *

So what do you think? ;D

Dave
<<Walks away whistling nonchalantly then scampers off and hides behind wall, whimpering>> ;) :)   

Edited to include compass

[MutantHobbit]

[Columbus]

Hi Hobbit,

Nicely drawn up plan. What you grow comes down to personal preference and what you like to eat. It looks as if you really like greens in your house as proportionally about half your soil area is for brassiccas which may lead to over-production, but I see you are growing a good mix of varieties.

I wondered where the sun was coming from as your herbs may be in shade from the shed, again it depends exactly what you plan to grow and how much light you have.

Also you might like to plan a large-ish utility space for composting, water butts and junk storage, and don`t forget somewhere to sit.

Good luck with this, maybe now I`ll be inspired to find my old plan and make a new one for this year.

Col

[MutantHobbit]

Cheers Columbus  :D

Have included compass directions on the plan.  Hadn't considered sun for the herbs.  I think, but not sure, that the herb area would be in full sun until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon in Summer.  I'm considering growing the herbs in pots anyway, as several herbs are invasive.  Will have to consider that one.  Thanks for raising that. :)

It'll be interesting enough to see if anyone else puts their plan up... :)

Dave

P.S.  I've built a patio out of pallets, on the South side of the shed, where I've put the fruit bushes.  Figured it'd be enough room to work.  I'll see how it goes...  ;)

[Derekthefox]

He who dares, wins ...

It looks good to me. I wish I could be that organised ...

[Mrs Ava]

FAB!  Okay, so tell this techno-div, what program did you use to draw up that plan??  I would like to do similar, but not to scale, being a dizzy blonde - but colour coding the areas would give me a much clearer idea, something I could pin to the shed so when I am at the pot and sowing seeds willy and nilly, I could keep and eye on what goes where!  ;D

[Hyacinth]

That looks so great! (and not a weed in sight ;D)

The White Lisbon...every year I tried with them & every year a failure. Came to the conclusion that I just couldn't grow spring onions. Then last year I tried some others - both french varieties - Blanc de Paris & Commune Rouge...SUCCESS AT LAST !

Like the idea of a patio of pallets, too, and putting herbs in pots - they'll really benefit from the extra sun they can get by being moved around.

All the best - Lishka

[Svea]

you have a very large area set aside for brassicas. this may give you trouble in next year's rotation.
if you are set on growing this amount regardless, maybe you can plant all the long term overwintering brassicas in an area you can rotate away from, and put all the 'short term' ones together (kohlrabi, radishes, rocket etc), also where are you going to grow your 'neutral' veg, such as corn, squashes, lettuces etc?

[daveandtara]

herbs in pots are a good idea, i plan to do the same so that they can be moved near plants needing pollination and lure bumblebees  ;D
as EJ said, what programme did you use?
i am computer stupid but i really want a nice plan like yours!
your plot looks wonderful!
Tara xx

[growmore]

Great plan MH .I grew basil in semi shade last year it did well.
I take it Your not into alliums ..I can't see no maincrop onions or leeks..
These are one of the bankers on my lotty ...But thats the joy of growing yer own You grows what You likes best ...Jim

[umshamrock]

Where does one grow corn, tomatos, squashes, pumpkins on that kind of crop plan? Just wondering as none of those seems to me to be a legume, root, potato, or brassica....

[Derekthefox]

Yes, I can't live without my alliums ...

[Svea]

Where does one grow corn, tomatos, squashes, pumpkins on that kind of crop plan? Just wondering as none of those seems to me to be a legume, root, potato, or brassica....

they are kinda 'neutral' veg so you can plant them in between other bits, or in their own areas. they should also be rotated (for nutrition reasons) but don't fall into a specific group so you can rotate them any old way (i think). i dont think they harbour long term diseases so if you cant rotate them you can just add compost to refresh the soil and plant them in the same spot.

i grew squashes in the early potato bed after they were lifted; i sowed rows of lettuce between brassicas, and alliums where i had space. same will happen again this year - i just use any old space i have for them. they wont be in the exact same spots as last year but then i am not keepingexact track of my neutral veg.

[Melbourne12]

I love the plan - very neat!

My one comment would be on the amount of room that you've allowed for the fruit bushes.  I realise that they're in containers, and south facing behind the shed, but I would have thought that the blackcurrant and gooseberries would need a bit more room than that?

[derbex]

Looks good -must try it myself.

Guess I'm with the others -personally I'd turn over a couple of those brassica beds for alliums, white onions are cheap but reds aren't, then there's leeks and I'd grow masses more shalotts -especially the oval ones -think mine are longnor? They're much less trouble than brassicas.

No salads -maybe you grow them at home, I do.

BTW -how's your spacing on the fruit bushes -they'll want a few feet between them? If they're in containers lots of watering.

Jeremy

[spacehopper]

Wow, looks fantastic! It might be worthwhile betting another blueberry bush of a different variety so that they can cross pollinate and increase your yield.

[plot51A]

Great plan - but wot no beans?

[MutantHobbit]

something I could pin to the shed so when I am at the pot and sowing seeds willy and nilly,

So now we know where you keep your stash of weed!  ;)  So how do you get on, when sowing under the influence of pot?  :o ;D

[MutantHobbit]

Thanks to everyone for their comments, keep them rolling in! You're a great bunch! ;D  I'm sure as I read them, the plan will  evolve to make best use of the plots.  The new plan vers. 1.2 is below...

Mad as it sounds, I completely forgot my onions!  :-[  <Smack on the wrist>  So I have decided to cut my Brassica beds by a quarter to accomodate them.  I've worked out I can accomodate some of my Brassicas in the potato beds after I've lifted my 1st early spuds.  I'm planning on intercropping and undercropping a lot of my salad vegetables on the different beds, when I get the seeds/plants later on, eg, radishes and parsnips, etc. 

Svea's got it spot on with the "neutral" vegetables, though as she said, I've got to be careful to make sure I don't grow the same thing in the same place too often. :P  Thanks Svea! ;D

At the risk of going off-thread, if you grow fruit bushes in containers, do the distances still apply?  I thought that was to do with nutrient uptake/ competition with each other, and so they could be closer together on the patio area to the south of the shed.  If it does matter, it's a good job I've got extra space by the shed!

Also does anyone know if you can get away with growing brassicas on the same bit of ground two years running.  I just wondered if it was an immutable law that "thou shalt not sow your seed on the same bit twice!" ;)

I was planning on filling the freezer with cabbage, caulis, sprouts and broccs, though it was probably gonna be overkill on the first plan.  Still there's a method in my madness, or should that be madness in my method? :-\ ;D
 
Dave

[Svea]

Where does one grow corn, tomatos, squashes, pumpkins on that kind of crop plan? Just wondering as none of those seems to me to be a legume, root, potato, or brassica....

they are kinda 'neutral' veg so you can plant them in between other bits, or in their own area

sorry forgot you mentioned tomatos in there - tomatos are of course a nightshade and belong to the potato/peppers/aubergine family rotationwise

[Svea]

you know, i was just thinking: your plot is four times the size of mine (the word 'bijou' has been mentioned in connection with my plot)
i have six beds for rotation, one bed for heat lovers (against a wall) and one long one around the edge which contain fruit bushes and herbs.
we have not been self sufficient (2 people) but i certainly have not bought much veg this year at all.

just how many people are you growing for, how much freezer space and cold storage do you have? just curious :)