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My first attempt at a garden plan, and help needed with succession planting
tuffnelljohn
Posts: 284
in Fruit & veg
Hi all,
Ive been coming up with a plan based on SFG.
Ive got 3 6x4 foot beds and Id like to have a continual crop throughout the year. Im in Devon so zone 8b.
On 2 of the beds Ill have trellis. The left-most bed is the shadiest and probably only gets 4+ hours of sun a day (so hopefully the plants Ive chosen to go in there are quite tolerant to shade?). The other 2 beds get more sun as theyre not in the shadow of my house.
The right-most bed Ive chosen things that need to be covered by mesh to protect from butterflies.
Hopefully Ive selected the right plant heights so that the plants at the front wont cast shade on the ones behind.
I think Im happy with this (although any advice/recommendations gratefully received!).
What Im stuck on is the Succession planting bit! Ive listed all the plant seeds I have. I know which ones need to be sown directly (basically carrots. Anything else?) but what I dont know is how long things take to germinate/grow/harvest, and what should replace what and where (rotating the plants maybe?)
Can someone point me in the right direction or tell me if Im making a complete hash of this?
Many thanks
0
Posts
I'm afraid I can't tell you how long individual crops take to mature, we just bung ours in and eat them when they're ready! I'm sure others will know.
6x4 is quite small so I would concentrate on growing veg you really like, is easy to grow and just use one bed/ one veg. Or at the very least half n half.
SFG depends on most things going to plan...if you get disease, crop failures or pest damage the whole system gets way too complicated.
Continual cropping in small beds like these will also use up soil nutrients pretty quick.
Easy stuff like lettuce, broad beans, carrots, kohl rabi, beetroot, radish, peas, runner or French beans would IMHO be a good start. Be mindful of soil requirements tho..kohl rabi and peas for instance like the addition of lime. Most of what I've suggested could be resown and give a crop if the first is a disaster ...or you just want some more.
Plus most the above will keep well.
In winter I'd replenish the soil with manure (and lime if required). You could try Cavelo Nero or Turnip as a winter veg if your keen but you'll need to sow now.
Veg growing is a great hobby but don't make it stressful..and don't worry if you have disasters. Home grown is tasty but stuff from the local veg merchant can be just as nice...and occasionally cheaper once you factor in compost, feed, netting, cloches, your time etc.
Have fun.
The big problem is that plants did not confine themselves to their allocated spaces and big growers like tomatoes, brassicas and squash will have eyes on garden domination. Nor do plants mature at the time they’re supposed to, or they do mature but you do not want to eat no other vegetable but X for two weeks. Some, like carrots, can be left in the soil for longer but that messes up your plans for successional sowing.
I would advise trying the scheme for a year but try to keep it as simple as possible. 12 vegetables is probably too many; I’d focus on ones you really like and ones that cannot readily be bought in supermarkets.
I would be willing to place a bet that, this time next year, you’ll be contemplating a simpler plan.
You're a lot more organised than I've been though. I'm certainly interested to see how you get on.
Im going to scale back operations and see how it goes for a year.
Grow what you like to eat ....anything else is an utter waste of time.