Having the scaffold up on the house has given me a different view of the veg garden.
Here it is in all it's glory!
I've been steadily altering the beds down the right hand side to be narrower, 30" wide rather than 4ft wide. I'll alter the left hand side in the spring after I've had my winter crops out.
I'm also digging up my nursery bed at the end which contains around 100 young fruit trees or so to be put back into production as veg beds. I'm hoping to either plant or sell the fruit trees (mainly apple trees).
Hopefully down this main strip that should leave me with thirty 30" by 10ft beds, fifteenth either side, plus two larger beds at the top, by the greenhouse, to be herb, flower and experimental beds. This should be great for crop rotation and to mean we can grow more, as we've become a bigger family over the last few years we're suddenly eating a lot more, so the more I grow the less it costs!
All good in theory, I just hope I can keep on top of them. I have big plans to use plastic mulch, green manures, cover crops and inter-cropping to make sure I don't have too much space bare for weeds to take hold (again).
I also have plans for other areas to be used as growing areas, but I know I need to learn to not bite off more than I can chew all the time!
What do you think? Will I keep it under control?
When your ready to sell some of your fruit trees please let me know Kev, I would love to have some of them up here, now this could be the chance to get those pigs the girls want to clear the area for you :-)
ReplyDeleteI'll let you know! I've got quite a few to sell so when I've done my checks I'll send a list over to you.
DeleteAs for the pigs I don;t think i'll let them loose in my veg garden but they're on the cards for next year.
Time of the year that we tend to reassess and build up garden layout plans for next year...we're doing the same and it's exciting! Just hope that we get it all done as planned but if not, well...nature will still work it's beauty. Your food garden looks rustic and very homemade. I'm also envious of the green houses...not just one but two!! Nice place to carry on working in even as weather gets cooler. Happy gardening Kev:) and sending you a bit more bright sunshine before winter sets in.
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly rustic and homemade!
DeleteYeah, I've been thinking about how to improve the layout and make it work better for me, so I've decided now's the time to make a change ready for the next season.
The narrower beds are a far better idea in my opinion, that's the way I have designed our kitchen garden after reading "The Market Gardener", which is an excellent book btw
ReplyDeleteThe narrower beds are ideas from "the market gardener" and Curtis Stone "the urban Farmer". I think it's best to look at how people are doing it commercially and the scale it down. That said the 4ft beds have been annoying me for a while now, and although I'll have more paths it'll make me more effective when I'm out there if I can keep it all under control better.
DeleteWhat a great spot! I am so envious of your greenhouses. I want one to help with our very short season.
ReplyDeleteI have no doubt you can keep up with it all. You have to train those little helpers!!
:D
It's a good spot, but it has some downsides, it's on a north facing slope and a bit of a frost pocket. It's a short season here as well but I'm hoping to make up some hoops to give plants a bit of extra heat and time when needed.
DeleteWhat a timely post. We are just preparing a new area for raised beds, some of which are rather wide. Why did you go for the narrower ones? I was thinking for us, narrower is losing growing space to more paths. Also very interested on the less weed/more mesh discussion.
ReplyDeleteI think we HAVE bitten off more than we can chew regarding the veg, but I love it and can't wait to see!
I always bite off more than I can chew! Each year I expand my growing area and then can't cope. Doing my beds like this means that I'm getting more growing area by controlling what's already in production. The narrower beds means that as everythign is divided up it's easier to manage and using membrane and plastic means that weeds won't be growing when a plot isn't in production. I plant on putting some plots over to green manures as well as leavign some fallow. In truth the bottom of the garden is full of docks and nettles and it'll take a bit of time to bring these plots into production and I'll have to cover them for a bit and grow some crops through plastic, it'll be good for squash and stuff.
Deletegreat looking garden kev and i am sure you will add on!
ReplyDeleteI do have another veg garden as well but I've plastic it over this year. I'm planning on moving my fruit up there as it's all got out of hand at where it is now.
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ReplyDeleteJust keep in the back of your mind, if the SHTF,you are ahead of the game!
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