[Growster...]

Ist January - drawn up plans for everything for this year - had some broad beans going in paper pots - they got too long - first sunny day since October last year (or 2011) - decide to plant them out under cloches, or chuck 'em - get down there to find a very good reason why they won't go where we agreed...

Proposed Broad Bean bed's still full of Kohl Rabi, gently sitting and waiting...

So that's the whole blasted plan reorganised at a stroke, and the beans went where the Charlotte are supposed to be going, (under cloches) and now I have to reorganise all the rotation yet again, as the leeks are still in full swing, and also the parsnips, and we've more carrots than we thought, so we may have to freeze some, and so it goes on...

And it's still only 4.20 pm on 1st January...:0)

[Chrysalis]

That's what comes of being too organised, Growster!

Whereas, us lazy s***s have yet to put thought to pencil, let alone paper.... I'm still harvesting scorzonera as they were far too small in October.

Happy New Year btw.
C

[New shoot]

It wouldn't be gardening if everything went to plan now 

I have a rough idea of what's going where, but things very much depend on when the ground clears.  If you have crops sitting there waiting to be picked and eaten, life is not so bad    A quick re-planning session and there you are, with plenty of time to enjoy those Kohl Rabi and Carrot coleslaws

[Growster...]

That's what comes of being too organised, Growster!

Whereas, us lazy s***s have yet to put thought to pencil, let alone paper.... I'm still harvesting scorzonera as they were far too small in October.

Happy New Year btw.
C

It was great fun drawing up the Excel plans, Chrys, we spent many happy hours, and also realised how much we really needed as opposed to wanted to grow...

In fact, you can never have enough beans and peas, so I'm secretly very happy about it!

And anyway, the whole idea of having separate beds as opposed to thirds of the plot in rotation, means I can cock up as many plantings as I like and still get it - er - right...

Happy New Year to you too - thank you!

[Growster...]

It wouldn't be gardening if everything went to plan now 

I have a rough idea of what's going where, but things very much depend on when the ground clears.  If you have crops sitting there waiting to be picked and eaten, life is not so bad    A quick re-planning session and there you are, with plenty of time to enjoy those Kohl Rabi and Carrot coleslaws

I enjoy all the replanning as much as the original, News, it makes life much more interesting, and also, it's almost impossible to plan successions, or when to begin using newly-vacant beds, so that also gets equated into the grand scheme of things...

And then someone comes up and offers you a few cabbage plants, which weren't on the list, and now look a good bet in that bed next to the leeks...;0)

[Chrysalis]

And anyway, the whole idea of having separate beds as opposed to thirds of the plot in rotation, means I can cock up as many plantings as I like and still get it - er - right...

What you do in private is no concern of mine! :blink: :blink:

Sorry mods - norty step, I know!

Back to the planning then.  How do you manage excel without resorting to language unbecoming?  I haven't ever got it right....


I'll try and be a good butterfly by the time it gets to harvest, but first I need to decide what to plant for my little caterpillars.....











edit to fix quote

[madcat]

If you have crops sitting there waiting to be picked and eaten, life is not so bad    A quick re-planning session and there you are, with plenty of time to enjoy those Kohl Rabi and Carrot coleslaws

Humph!!   Blasted rabbits! my swedes were doing just that, no bother to anyone and then...  3 chewed to stumps and the rest had to come up ...  lovely job for boxing day, peeling and freezing swede.  If i catch that furry little bunny (and family), casserole will be on the menu, boys!! :blink:

[Growster...]

And anyway, the whole idea of having separate beds as opposed to thirds of the plot in rotation, means I can cock up as many plantings as I like and still get it - er - right...

What you do in private is no concern of mine! :blink: :blink:

Sorry mods - norty step, I know!

Back to the planning then.  How do you manage excel without resorting to language unbecoming?  I haven't ever got it right....


I'll try and be a good butterfly by the time it gets to harvest, but first I need to decide what to plant for my little caterpillars.....
[/quote]

Ha ha ha, Chrys - I really should read my posts more often...;0)

We have 52 beds, and they all get different things to grow, and by now - January, there are still about 18 with veg waiting to be dug up, and there are about seven with fruit bushes with the hump, because it's winter...

Which Excel prog do you use? The 'new' one which Microslob produce is far too extensive for simple spreadsheets, so why not try Google Docs, (get a gmail address for this), and it is much simpler to use!

I use an old version of Excel wherever possible, as it is intuitive, and not out to send anything to the moon as well. Admittedly, we have to do this latest one with the latest Excel, but that's because it came with a new PC. I do all my business financials on a 2000 version!

If you need a hand, you can always PM me, and somehow, I'll get a copy of our sheet sent to you if you're not shy! (Well you're not with a comment like the start of this are you;0)

[Madame Cholet]

nice to plan with flexibility, a bit like life euh. :blink:
I'm still using pencil and paper I have a blank layout of my 30 something beds which I photo copy and fill in with pencil and rubber at hand.

[Auntiemogs]

52 beds!    That's a lot of growing space Growster! 

I use the Growveg site but I think next year I'm going to incorporate some square foot gardening principles.  If I see a space I'm going to fill it with something rather than nothing and because stuff gets all mixed up, not so much to worry about in terms of rotation. 

[sunshineband]

Growster I find that keeping the veg beds in rotations of four (and one of five to allow for squash & sweecorn) makes it easier for me not to get completely mix muddled when someone gives me those odd few cabbages you mention, or a crop lasts longer in the ground than I thought it would (autumn onions for me last year)

[Growster...]

Growster I find that keeping the veg beds in rotations of four (and one of five to allow for squash & sweecorn) makes it easier for me not to get completely mix muddled when someone gives me those odd few cabbages you mention, or a crop lasts longer in the ground than I thought it would (autumn onions for me last year)

I like that theory, KC, it does seem that we're getting into a series of five beds for peas, five for beans, five for brassicas, four for spuds etc, and your idea simplifies the sytem pretty damn well! Thank you!

I rather like seeing the different beds with stuff in all dotted around, and of course, your sytem still allows for that, because the chard is way over to the left, while the leeks are still in the middle etc, so there's still plenty to look at!

edit to fix quote

[Growster...]

nice to plan with flexibility, a bit like life euh. :blink:
I'm still using pencil and paper I have a blank layout of my 30 something beds which I photo copy and fill in with pencil and rubber at hand.

That's still the right way, Ma'am - like you, we just print out a blank, pour a glass or three, and fill in the gaps!

This year, we've actually knocked out two beds, and enlargened some as well, because the paths are far too wide (they went in when we started, to keep excess digging down on the total plot size, we wouldn't have finished digging if we hadn't done that).

The interesting part is the original numbers of the plots must stay the same, even if they don't exist any more, otherwise, the carrots go where the manure is strongest etc., and that will never do!

[Growster...]

52 beds!    That's a lot of growing space Growster! 

I use the Growveg site but I think next year I'm going to incorporate some square foot gardening principles.  If I see a space I'm going to fill it with something rather than nothing and because stuff gets all mixed up, not so much to worry about in terms of rotation. 

Now that's an interesting way to grow, Moggs!

The greenhouse pic (somewhere else on the site about foundations), shows how we had to contend with limited space before we took on the Patch and Plot, and that was worked out to the nearest 6"!

Now the beds let us do things much in a much more relaxed manner, and hopefully will cope even better this year.

[Trillium]

Silly Growster; you're old enough to know the only absolutes in life are death, taxes and insurance premiums  :blink: And for some, dreaded MIL's.

Gardening plans, like war, are fluid situations that must be open for adaptation as needed. Even though I totally clear my plots every fall, come spring I find I must alter my plans a bit when I find that I forgot I'd planted my fall garlic where I intended a long row of something, or some veg root came back to life and is now producing a lovely crop that I want to eat before it goes to seed, and maybe even save the seeds. Or something I lovingly raised from seed was eaten overnight by mice 

I'm quite positive that the old saying 'back to the drawing board' was created by a gardener