[new_2_veg]

im a bit stuck,

after seeing and signing for my lottie today it has just come to me i have no idea where to start and how to lay out my plot!

theres a concrete base where my shed will be (next to the tap )

but where do i start planting and where would be the best place for my compost bin?

any ideas or pointers welcomed

thanks


nathan

[crowndale]

Depends on a lot of different variables, direction  plot is facing, how much sun you get and where, how big, what shape the plot is, personal preference for crops and what has been where previously (if known).

For mine, (15' x 90') The top end already had a 10x8 greenhouse and in front of that a 6x 4 shed with an apple tree next to it so the top 25 feet are no good to cultivate.  Manure can be delivered so the manure bin had to be placed at the bottom end next to the road for access for the trailer and tractor and with a removeable side.  the compost bin I put in today behind the manure bin.  The plot does get full sun but a neighbouring shed casts shadow over the greenhouse, I may yet get this pulled down and move the shed up to the same site to allow more growing room as I am not allowed a second plot with the current enormous waiting list.  

When I got the plot i did a rough sketch and took some rounded up measrements of the plot of what was already there, so all the bushes, canes, brambles and left over crops from the previous season went down.
Then I went home and thought about what I wanted to grow and worked out a crop rotation system based on what I had already found and on the permanent crops/structures that I couldn't move.  

Then I drew up a scale diagram and drew on the manure bin and other permanent structures, a rough 6 bed plan for the rotation and a permanent bed for the asparagus.  This year I have more or less followed the plan except that the patch where I would have planted sweetcorn won't now get dug for crops this year because of time and I have found out that my potato bed was too large, brassicas too small and sweetcorn too small, so next year I'll adjust it slightly to allow for this.
I will not build permanent beds, many do on our site because of flooding but mine doesn't flood in a normal year (or even a bad one like last year).
I like being more flexible in bed sizes than fixed raised beds allow.

This year is really about planning and tweaking for next year, any crops will be a bonus!  One thing I have realised already is that even though I want to cram in as much as possible realistically I really DO need to leave small paths between rows coz weeding is a nightmare the way it is now!!

[noshed]

I moved my compost heap twice so don't ask me. Have a walk round the site and see how everyone else has done theirs. It will give you some ideas. But you can always change things if they don't work out.