[Lardman]

Is causing me nightmares.

Not enough room, shadows, harvest times, pests and support frames. Its no surprise I seem to be struck with analysis paralysis.

Somehow I need to fit the following into the space thats left.

Courgette (x2)
Tomato (x2)
Beetroot
Chard
Turnips
Leeks
Sweetcorn
Squash

The beds are 8x4 and north is to the top of the page if anyone wants to "put a quart in a pint pot".

[Gizzy]

Is causing me nightmares.

Not enough room, shadows, harvest times, pests and support frames. Its no surprise I seem to be struck with analysis paralysis.

Somehow I need to fit the following into the space thats left.

Courgette (x2)
Tomato (x2)
Beetroot
Chard
Turnips
Leeks
Sweetcorn
Squash

The beds are 8x4 and north is to the top of the page if anyone wants to "put a quart in a pint pot".

"Analysis Paralysis", ah i know it well

I've tried the three sisters method for squash and sweetcorn, (well, two sisters) - the beans just get tangled if yoy include them as far as i can see. I had poor success with it one year, i think the squash were too shaded. The following year, I allowed the squash to ramble out from amongst the sweetcorn, and that worked much better. Lots of feeding though. If you could use a corner bed to try this, you could let it romp over hte path there, and still have access around the other beds?

If you put the two tomato plants next to the garlic, and then plant some of your lower growers like beetroot or turnip on the other end of the bed, then they won't compete for sunlight on your tomatoes, or crowd them too much. Turnip grows fast so you can succession sow? Baby beet the same.

That leaves a whole bed for chard and leeks and courgette?

[Yorkie]

For some reason my PC won't open your attachment so can't comment on the specific layout but I'd agree with Gizzy's comments about a) layering height to avoid shadowing and b) putting squash round the outside of a bed.  They are quite easy to train to go in the direction you want, thereby freeing up room in the middle.

[Lardman]

Its a standard pdf Yorkie , shouldn't cause a problem but heres a jpeg.

Part of the reason for the raised bed is my inability to keep my glumphing feet from squashing things   Id like to keep the paths free.

I was thinking of putting the toms between the quince and the currants, the gap is about 3ft and cordon plants should behave themselves.

I was toying with the idea of putting the squash by the garlic, but the time it runs riot shouldn't it be about time to lift the garlic ? and that would reduce the shading on the raspberries.

Sweetcorn is going to cause me problems where I put it though...

[Kristen]

What about crop rotation? Apart from the Blueberries, which will be a permanent fixture, you have 3 beds with 2 bays each - which would be ideal for a 3-season rotation.

Alternatively you could have a 5 season rotation of the remaining 5 bays.  Sweetcorn could be one of your bays. (Broad beans and Runner Beans would normally share the same rotation, but I doubt they would be a problem separated by a year - and they will each add Nitrogen, so could favour a following crop - the normal candidate is Brassicas (Cauli, Sprouts, Cabbage etc), but Sweetcorn would appreciate the Nitrogen too.

Your Tomato between Quince and Currant will have a problem with crop rotation - I think that Tomatoes and Spuds more than any other crop need not to reuse the same location for 3 years - you could change the soil, or use a grow bag (stood in the location) perhaps?

Or I may be over-thinking the whole thing!!

[Yorkie]

That jpeg's better, ta Lardman   (the pdf did eventually open up, think my PC is playing silly wotsits!)

How close together are your garlic plants?  Any scope for interplanting leeks or sweetcorn there?  They both plant in blocks so should fit well with garlic.

Any scope for beets & chard at the bottom of the beans or blackberries?

I'd think about whether you can get the squash and courgettes into the same bed.  The courgettes will be about 1m square each - so if you planted one about 2' from the bottom of a bed, then the other about 4' to the north of that, then a squash in a corner - and trail it inside the bed's edges?

Toms where you suggest looks good.

If you don't put leeks or sweetcorn with the garlic, you could perhaps combine the two in a separate bed, leaving the chard / beets / turnips for the other half of the garlic bed.

[Lardman]

What about crop rotation?

Hopefully by this time next year me and my trusty border spade should have built another tier so Im not overly concerned about rotation at the moment.

The Toms are a bit of an experiment, blight is a real problem here so I want to try grafting some ferline onto some root stock.  I've given up with the brassicas, and spuds - I just don't have the space.  

How close together are your garlic plants?  Any scope for interplanting leeks or sweetcorn there?  They both plant in blocks so should fit well with garlic.

Garlic is at 6" spacing no chance of getting anything else in there.

Any scope for beets & chard at the bottom of the beans or blackberries?

Theres a 5' wall to the south and the footings are very close to the surface, the blackberries are planted at an angle, theres no way I could actually plant a crop there.

I could move the broadys to the middle bed, use a 4x4 block and then use the 3x8 for the corn, leaving the other 4x4 block.  Whats the minimum amount of corn worth sowing ?

[Kristen]

Hopefully by this time next year me and my trusty border spade should have built another tier so Im not overly concerned about rotation at the moment.

Ah, OK!

Whats the minimum amount of corn worth sowing ?

3 x 3 I would think, 3 x 4 probably better.  I plant a block every couple of weeks (for about a month) to get a succession of harvest.