Next years planting plan

[HoneyChild]

My plans are going to be along the lines of fruit trees. We have a bit of lawn at the bottom of the garden which will be divded in two and we'll have 3 apples and 3 plums. I would like a forest garden but my OH wants the lawn to remain and bulbs to be planted.

We also have two raised beds that have fallen apart so I need to decant the soil into new barrel planters I've bought and then buy wood to rebuild the beds and fill them up lasanga-style.

Other than that I don't have any exact plans, other than not grow so many chilli peppers, grow more tomatoes and shade cucumbers if we get a heatwave. I'd also like to grow more of all the things I've done well with (e.g. broadbeans, potatoes, onions) so that I can actually store them. I'm now running out of everything which is frustrating.

Oh, and OH wants me to grow kale *for* the butterflies

[burnie]

Well part of the plan actioned, just rather rashly spent a fair bit of dosh on Trench Celery seed, Pot leek seed and a variety of Tomato I have never heard of

[rary]

Plan!!!!???? hahahahahahahaha

Am I correct in thinking that you do not go in for making plans

[Jay-ell]

Oh, VC has plans. Not necessarily ones that are able to be followed. And only on a Tuesday

[veggiechicken]

Funny you should mention that, Jay-ell, as I start another round tomorrow - 1st October - and its Leaves week. Tuesday is for Chooks.

[Gillykat]

Yes, busy planning out where to put stuff in 2019

Past two years have started well then work and other stuff got in the way which led to the plot becoming very weed-infested and, I'm ashamed to say, knocked my confidence somewhat.....even, at times, felt like quitting But no, I NEED my wee plot so am already drawing up plans of what to grow, where to put it and am aiming to do stuff little and often over the coming weeks to reclaim my plot from Mother Nature! I've got some asparagus ordered for the spring so working out where that bed will be is a start

Also been given three cloves of Elephant Garlic from one of my shop customers so I'll get that sorted too

[Chestnut]

I will get round to making a plan at some point. Probably on a cold dark evening over winter....

I rotate the tall brassica and spud patches on a 3 yearly rotation. The rest is a bit more random, just try not to put short brassicas where they were last year.

Then, I will spread my seed packets all over the living room floor, see what I have, allocate it a space on the masterplan (a large sheet of paper with bits of paper blue tacked all over- commonly mistaken for toddler artwork!), then put seeds in order of month of sowing, and add each to the spreadsheet which generates a week by week jobs list.

Seems rather complicated, but it means I can fill more dull winters evenings with gardening stuff that way!

Once I have done all that, I shall be mass-producing paper pots ;-)

[Scarlet]

Well part of the plan actioned, just rather rashly spent a fair bit of dosh on Trench Celery seed, Pot leek seed and a variety of Tomato I have never heard of

Please tell.....what tomato?

[burnie]

Got from Robinsons.
EXHIBITION.
Britain's Breakfast tomatoes are lemon shaped red fruit that do not split when they are ripe. This variety is an indeterminate type that produces very large spreading trusses with sometimes over 60 fruit on them! These fruits are mini and have quite a meaty taste to them. They have the added benefit of being grown either in the greenhouse or outdoors.

[1Bee]

Oh yes. I love my plans. I need to do them now, so I know which beds need to be covered/manured/limed.

2018 for comparison


2019 work in progress.

[1Bee]

I killed the thread. *blushing*

[Gillykat]

Not yet you haven't

Today it's pouring with rain outside so I'm going to sort through my seeds and see what I've got and then get my huge sheet of lining paper with the measured plot outline on it and start working out where beds will go (got cut out to scale paper beds to work out placements)....and where my chickens will be as I still plan to get three/four ladies in the spring

Customers to our shop are starting to complain about the dark nights and winter's approach but to me this is the exciting time of planning for next year's crops And if the past few months are owt to go by it'll flash by and we'll be into March before we know it

[1Bee]

I like this time, too.

(And when I was a kid, and we had a family estate car and went on holiday with a 7 man frame tent, a 12 foot inshore inflatable boat with a 4hp engine, my Dad used to draw scale diagrams of the (home made) roof rack and car boot and the space under the kids' feet and use cut out bits of card and paper to represent the large items.... You may laugh, but we always managed to take everything we needed. The man was a packing god.)

[bikermike]

I haven't started planning next year, but I am making decisions that affect next year (where I'm mulching, what green manure I'm trying)

I've got 4 new beds to use, with another two I can probably bring in, and the possibility of slit beds for potatoes beyond that.

I'm going to leave a few beds fallow under green manure for the year, but I'm hoping to do 2 brassica beds (as opposed to my usual one) - so I don't have them right up to the netting, 2 beds of peas/beans (with a view to growing more in succession). So lots to play for.

The complication is that we are going away on holiday over easter, so it'll be either a late start on the seeds or finding someone to water them...

[Jay-ell]

... get my huge sheet of lining paper with the measured plot outline on it and start working out where beds will go (got cut out to scale paper beds to work out placements)....

On a scale of 1:1 - really precise planning