[Claypit]

Hi all,

I am in the fortunate position of owning 1 acre of land in the West Mids. I would love to utilise it for growing my own veg as its currently sat doing nothing. However, I am a total new comer to this and would really appriciate any hints/tip/tricks to getting started.

The field can get boggy during the winter months so I was wondering if raised type beds would overcome this issue??

I would also appriciate any thoughts on how to get the most enjoyment from the project in the first year i.e. should I just dig over 1 small bed for the first year to keep my interest and not make to much work for myself until it gets established etc etc.....

Thanks for your assistance and I look forward to gaining "some" of the welth of knowledgev out there! 

[Elcie]

Hi Claypit, welcome to the forum you will get lots of advice here!  And you are very lucky to have all of that space at home.  Raised beds are a relatively easy way to solve your drainage problems although they are obviously a more expensive start as you will need wood to make the surround and soil/manure/compost to fill.  Having said that, we made ours quite cheaply.  we used planks of wood from Wickes and made 6'x3' beds.  Think we got 2 beds out of each pack (£7ish).  I started with the soil quite low, just added some compost into the planting drills, but have gradually built them up over time with manure (aminopyralid free) from local sources.

In my opinion it is also better to get something planted as quickly as possible to keep your interest.  Therefore, getting one or two beds sorted and ready for planting would be my priority.  Perhaps in time for some spring planted onions or garlic or perhaps potatoes depending on what you fancy growing.  Then, whilst these are growing, you can gradually add more beds to grow in.

Good luck with this.  Taking some before and after pictures is also good as you can see the progress that you are making, and you can show us them too!

[zazen999]

What's it like in the spring/summer/autumn? You could possibly use some raised beds for your winter veg but leave the rest at ground level and just make beds or use rows....I attach a photo of the beds in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens that show how this can be done.

What I'd say is, prepare a space, then plant it up.

Look into Crop Rotation and how it works for when you are planning your layout

Look at how much you need to grow to feed family; then look at selling the rest on or giving to family/friends etc.

Do research on the things that you want to grow; looking at fruit as well [you can get a year's worth of jams and jellies from a really tiny area of land]

I know if I had an acre's space it wouldn't stand empty for one day; perhaps if it is too much for you at once, register on landshare and get someone in to do half, this might assist you in getting your half started [if you need motivation!]. I do day rate work if you need a hand!!!

And look into a polytunnel or greenhouse if you can; it extends the harvest and helps you get seedlings kicked off much earlier.

[Claypit]

Thanks Elcie & zazen999,

This is all really useful info. I'll make sure I take some photos and post them showing my progress.

[Claypit]

Another thing I should have mentioned is that I have a load of woodchip piled up in the field, could this be used in any way shape or form?

Could it be added to the raised beds along with manure/compost etc?

[zazen999]

1 acre field AND woodchip - next you are going to tell us you have a cow or horse and pure manure to add as and when you need it.

woodchips - use for paths [with something underneath it] it will help you to keep them moisture free during the rainy season/s

[Kristen]

I had my plot (which was just rough grass) ploughed by the local farmer (I had sprayed the grass with Roundup to kill it - probably not really an option this time of the year, but a plough would "bury" that anyway), then I hired a mini-tractor and powered (i.e. PTO) rotavator which converted it into very workable soil for the first season.

I made "lazy-beds" by just piling the soil from where I wanted the paths (about 18" wide) onto the area for beds (4' wide). Avoids the cost of wood to retain the raised beds, but of course some soil falls back down on to the path when you work it.

I put weed suppressing membrane on the paths, and some sawdust / wood chippings from tree clearance onto the paths.

Some pictures in my blog if you have time to kill ...

I have taken a hay crop (well, I cut it in late June and rake it up!!) and piled it to rot for a year or so to increase the amount of compost I can make. I have also had a huge pile of manure from the local farmer each year (stacked until well rotted)

Well rotted manure, spent mushroom compost or spent hops would help (but don't put it  on the zone you want to use for Carrots / Parsnips etc.)

I recommend you grow what you like to eat. No sense growing a bunch of stuff that a) may not grow that well plus b) you don't really like it anyway! - all too demoralising.

I have read of many people getting a plot going by making planting holes (with plenty of compost / manure), marking with a stick, covering the lot with weed suppressing fabric, and planting Squash in the holes. They can be about 6' apart. Makes for an easy first-year start, and the weeds are pretty much killed by the end of the first year.

With a large area you would have room for soft fruit too - e.g. Raspberries, Currants, Black berries, Gooseberries ... and some cordons of Apples etc perhaps?

Do you have rabbits? If so I recommend that you net the perimeter; it is soul destroying if they eat your hard work

I have split my area into two separate rotation zones.  4 beds in area one for normal 4-year rotation (Peas/Beans, Brussels/Cabbage, Roots, Onions/Leeks) and the other area for Potatoes, Strawberries, Overspill Brussels/Cabbage, Sweet corn and cut flowers - Sweet peas, Gladioli )

I have a spreadsheet of vegetable varieties and sowing times etc if you are interested:
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=34306.msg411041#msg411041
and there is a chart here:
http://www.allotment-garden.org/vegetable/general/sowing-harvest-vegetable-chart.php

[Aidy]

Remember its a marathon not a sprint, even a culitivated plot that has been left a season can take three years to sort, little and often, probably more so in your case with that amount of land. My first thoughts was to get the veg side up and running, but can or would you be able to keep chickens, another option to use part of the land?

Drainage maybe partly down to compacted soil, but yes the raised bed system will help but I am finding it hard to imagine a raised bed system on 1 acre of land, that will be some construction and dare I say, one massive spreadsheet if used!

Good luck with this venture, I must admit to dreaming of something like this but this is massive and is in my mind it's only going to be achieved with mechanical help.

Edit: Just a thought, could you not adapt a soakaway system as used by many farmers to help with the drainage?

[Kristen]

... would you be able to keep chickens

Pigs maybe? They would "dig" (and fertilise?) it, wouldn't they? Maybe local farmer can borrow your land for a bit?

Edit: Just a thought, could you not adapt a soakaway system as used by many farmers to help with the drainage?

Hiring a JCB to dig trenches and lay drains? What a great fun project! Bagsy I drive

Perforated drainage pipe (plastic, corrugated pipe, comes on a roll) just the job, surround it with gravel and backfill. Provide it with somewhere to run away to ... or a soakaway.

http://www.pavingexpert.com/drain03.htm has some good info on Drains (in addition to Paving )

[gardener247]

ya raised beds are a good idea but make about 2 or 3 for this year and plant potatoes where you intend to make new beds next year so the ground will be soft, they will also kill the grass and weeds if you mow ti down before planting. don't get discouraged with the scale of the project you'll love it when it gets going properly

[Aidy]

I have been thinking about this over dinner. Please correct me if I am wrong... 1acre= approx 4046 sq meters, my plot is 250 sq meters, thats some 16 times the size of mine, I can grow and sustain us in veg for aboout 10 months of the year, family of four. I know how much time I spend on there preparing and maintaining.
So my questions to Claypit
1: How much of this land do you want use for you veg?
2: How many people are you growing for?
3: As I mentioned and Kristen mentioned, can you keep chickens/ livestock on the land?
4: What was the land used for before, is it just pasture land?
Perhaps with this and maybe some other members questions we could give some better advice, I don't know of many members with this amount of land.
Edit: Question 5: Is there a budget?

[Kristen]

I have about 400 sq.m. which includes 50 sq.m of greenhouse and about 1/2 the rest for cut flowers and soft fruit, so about 200 sq.m. for veg (including greenhouse) and I keep us in veg for 10 months like Aidy too ...

[sunshineband]

Claypit, now I have stopped drooling with envy, and having read the detailed responses of other members, I would like to add that if you are not going to need all the land for veg/livestock, you could consider planting up some for fruit, both top fruit (trees etc) ansd soft fruit.

With this amount to use you could do all sorts 

PS Soakaways are easy to instal -- we did this under our football pitch at school and it has been very effective. Layed them in a herringbone pattern.

[Claypit]

Thanks everyone for all the useful advise. I didnt think i'd get this many responses....

The field is currently full of long grass which has gone flat and is a nightmare to get through. I was thinking of hiring a rotovator to turn over what I need and then make my raised beds from there.

It is all fenced in, with 8-10 foot high bushes down the left side and new fencing down the right and enterance (5 bar gate).

Like I said I dont want to try and do too much to begin with and loose interest (I know what I'm like!) 2-3 raised beds sound like a good start for me, planting onions, carrots, potatoes etc. Stuff the family will eat....

I think I will use the woodchip as paths, thanks for the tip zazen999 and funny comments! and no I dont have the horse or cow. However, plenty of farms nearby that can offer me free manure.

Aidy, in response to your questions:

1: How much of this land do you want use for you veg? As much as I see fit.
2: How many people are you growing for? Close family, say 10 people.
3: As I mentioned and Kristen mentioned, can you keep chickens/ livestock on the land? There is no reason why not, but I tend to work away a bit so dont want to neglect them. It's not on my doorstep, its about 2 mile up the road.
4: What was the land used for before, is it just pasture land? Just a fenced field thats been in the family for years. Not been used for anything.

Edit: Question 5: Is there a budget? As cheap as possible.

Thanks everyone, and feel free to keep posting tips....

[Christine]

Clear an area for raspberry canes - raised bed type to keep them in. That's then one patch sorted out for the long term and just care/maintenance and eating to do.

Over next winter clear and add well rotted manure to another area then plant a couple of bare root fruit trees (choose what you will eat) so that you then have another area which is just long term care/maintenance and eating to do.

If you can gather from friends and neighbours some strawberry runners set yourself off with a strawberry bed - the family will do the picking. If you have to buy half a dozen so be it - you aren't supposed to crop them first year but they will bed down and start putting out runners. So that would be another long term area just for care/maintenance and eating.

If your family uses herbs in cookery well you could plant up a herb garden using perienniel herbs so that you have a further area which is just care/maintenance and eating.

Just thinking long term strategy so that you have produce to use but not a complete area to have to work every weekend or even weekday.