New Allotment......HELP please!

[Kristen]

I second keeping good records.

You need to note date of sowing, how many you grew (length of row and number of plants) and when the First and Last were picked (actually the ideal picking time in case that is different - you might have missed the first date because you were away). If you wind up throwing some on the compost heap because you had too many record that, plus whether you needed more / less.

Cauliflowers only last for about a fortnight from first-to-last, so you need to sow a few twice a month. If you grew a whole row you'll discover that from your notes

I draw a little plan and write on it the varieties - its just a scribble, nothing fancy - but if the labels get lost I still know which-is-what

Next year you can accommodate for the "Too many" and "Not enough" entries in your records

[Kristen]

P.S. Grow things you like (a failure of a crop that you can't stand anyway is doubly-disheartening.

And things that are high value (good yield, high price in the shops, or both). Runner Beans are a productive crop that is expensive to buy. Main Crop Potatoes, on the other hand, you have to store through the winter and they will probably sprout and go soft by Christmas - and will be cheap-as-chips in the shops.

Sweetcorn tastes hugely superior to shop bought (provided you get it into the pan promptly after picking). Not very high yielding, but very satisfying.