Planning and recording I do separately it would become a jumbled mess if I tried to put them together! The original plan was done with lots of pieces of paper, one for each vegetable and the right size for the amount I wanted to grow, I then made a jigsaw out of them to get them all to fit. Now it's a case of standing in the middle spinning round slowly trying to figure out how on earth I get potatoes to fit next year without overlapping where they were this year or last!
The final plan gets drawn in open office. There is another "plan" that gets filled in when things are planted, the two do not always agree! the final plan is on paper as it generally comes out with me when I am sowing.
For recording I use a spreadsheet in open office. cultivar, date sown, planted out, first and last harvest and all weights, and anything else that might be important, like pests, weather or things I tried like compost/fertiliser.
I have difficulty representing it as I have a small garden with tiny veg plot and lots of pots, and try to get 2 or 3 crops a year in, which is hard to represent. The main stuff changes slowly- it has taken a few years to work out what's worth growing, what the slugs don't eat etc, but I try to have spare salad and quick growing stuff to shove in the gaps. I've also just started a gardening bullet journal
Thanks @Ben Cotto, I did look on Ebay before when the original retailer let us down over the 'C' but OH was adamant that he wanted them to match, they wouldn't be so good, too expensive etc etc. Two years on, it's oh goody, would I order him one of those - at £2.99 each! But because I love him and we're getting on really well during lockdown, it's now been ordered!
What a great thread. I’ve really enjoyed reading the different plans. Thanks for starting this Gemma.
I’m very slap dash in my garden. When I first started, I did have plans to be organised - here’s my only notes from when I started. Never went back to my notes!
Until my clay soil improves, I’m limited to growing in fabric pots large/small, grow bags and my high planter. So I don’t really need to plan/rotate right now. Started to dig up the bottom of my lawn last year and trying to improve the clay soil with manure/grit. Will take a bit of time.
In the first year, tried sprouting broccoli which got decimated by bugs so gave up on that. Didn’t find the salsify that satisfying to grow so gave up on that. Tried sweet corn in my second year and found they took up too much room and didn’t get full cob of corns so another one that I don’t grow anymore. Tried sweet pepper last year and the slugs wolfed that down - I’ve not give up on this one and currently have two plants which I’ll try to grow indoors. Did buy an aubergine plant last year but the lovely flowers kept disappearing!
The ones I’ve stuck with from my first year of growing are pak choi, carrots, courgettes, mange tout, spring onions. Added mixed leaf salad leaves, little gem, strawberry, tomatoes to my staples. Also trying basil again with slug protection! Still waiting for the blueberry bush to give me a few berries. Can’t decide whether to try mooli again this year.
For me growing veg is fun, therapeutic and sometimes frustrating.
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