[Diggin]

Hello, I'm sorry if this is in the wrong place, have only just joined and still finding my way around.

I've read through some articles but cant find an answer to my question, which is this: do the vegetable beds have to be the same size in order to rotate them?

I've just got my allotment so still in the planning stage, and having read through the 5 year crop rotation article I think I'll go with this method, or at least try to!

But I was thinking, if the beds are all different sizes, each year I would have differing quantities of vegetables, and we're trying to be as self sufficient as possible (eventually anyway). So, say bed 1 was the largest, and I grew my potatoes in that one, but bed 5 was smaller, by the time I'm growing potatoes in bed five I wont be able to grow as many.

Hope I've made sense!
Thank you - this site is amazing
Karen

[pdblake]

If you're still planning what's stopping you making them all the same size?

[simonwatson]

The whole point about rotation is to make it easier to manage not growing the same crops in the same place for the longest time possible. You don't need to follow a rotation plan to the letter, it's the spirit of it that's important. To that end, there's no reason why your beds have to be the same size. In fact, there's no reason why you can't operate separate rotations in different sets of beds in order to get the best out of it for your needs.

Experiment, see what works and have fun.

[Diggin]

Thank you both for your replies - its all very complicated at the moment and I do need to remember it is supposed to be *fun!*

[Daamoot]

Aye it sounds like something you could easily overcomplicate and not benefit from as much as you hoped.  Between varying yields, spacing for growing, etc, you may end up needing (for example) more space to grow brassicas than you do for root veg, depending on your harvest results and preferences. 

[pdblake]

I have beds of varying sizes but don't worry too much about any overlap. Just make sure that you don't grow the same thing in the same place year after year.

[sunshineband]

Our beds are all (almost) the same size for the very reason you outlined, Diggin, and I like the simple life, me 

Even got them organised into sets of four for our four year rotation, plus one set of five so I can add in sweetcorn and squashes to that rotation without losing my way.

Werks fer me   

Would you mind adding your locality into your profile, as then we can see roughly where you live? It will help if you respond to any members' queries about growing etc. Thank you very much 

[gremlin]

As already said. Just dont grow the same thing in the same place the following year, or two.   

But remember to draw a proper measured up plan of this years planting, because you will not remember next Spring 

[Diggin]

Thank you so much everyone - yes I like the simple life too! Off to try and work out how to add my location now!

Spent the morning at the allotment, got major sunburn but managed to dig over the first bed, all weeds dismissed!

[sunshineband]

Weeds show that the ground is capable of supporting plant life --- you just need to make it plant life of your choice now