[Betty-Bean]

Hello

I have been reading topics on this forum on and off for a while but this is my first post.

The reason for my my post today is I have a question and I hope there is someone who can help.
I have just moved house and there is no veggy plot in my garden, just grass and lots of it. In my last house I used the plot that was already there but now I have to make a plot from scratch and the size of the plot is my question.

I am about to hire a rotavator and my other half and I are not agreeing on what is the perfect size for a veggy plot. He things we should have one big square of mud and I think we should have four smaller plots with pathways between them so we can get to them better. But...to back up my idea I wondered how big should each plot be? What is the easiest size for a plot (to be able to weed and get to all the plants easier)?

Also, because it has been grass for many years what should I do with the soil before I start planting?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

Betty Bean

[penance]

For me I would use a width of 3 - 4 feet, that way you can reach the middle from either side without need to stand on the bed.
Length is up to you, but the longer the bed the more tempting to walk across it rather than round it.

[GreenOwl]

The other poster had good advice as to bed size.  As regards fighting the big muddy square, my other half is much the same but as I do the gardening he doesn't get  a say!  Who does the gardening in your house?  If its you, you get the say over the layout.

If you can take the turves of grass off and stack them somewhere under plastic, they will rot down to form a lovely loam to add to the beds.  Start a compost heap if you haven't already, so that you can add that to the beds.  I've got a shredder so I shred prunings and mix them with grass cuttings in the compost heap. 

Any organic matter you can get would be good to add but equally, if you're on a budget, just work on the compost.

I would recommend potatoes in the first year, Jerusalem artichokes are supposed to be good ground clearers as well (although they can be a menace).  Squash plants too, because they're big and leafy so they suppress grass regrowth.  You can worry about crop rotation later on.

Good luck.

[Stripey_cat]

Another vote for long beds: trampling round between rows gets your boots filthy and the soil like concrete!  You can always put in stepping stones where you find you take short-cuts, or (if the bed is narrow enough and you're reasonably agile) jump over a low planting - that's what I and my mother's cat do!  Plus you can go for equidistant spacing, which I think looks nicer and helps avoid oval cabbages.

Make sure the paths are wide enough to kneel on and get a wheelbarrow down, though, unless you like crouching and carrying buckets of muck.

[CARROTTCRUNCHER]

I would go for 1.8 and 2.4 mtr beds you can buy treated timber from B&Q cheap and if you have the space to construct them you will find you have good size beds that are just right to manage i have done this on our two allotment plots my larger beds are 2mtrs x 3 mtrs but im 6ft 1" tall so its easy for me to reach from both sides , go with what you feel right with and easy for you good luck ....

[richyrich7]

8'x3' would be easy to reach over to the middle with out standing on the soil and 8' not too long to walk round .

Welcome to the forums btw 

[penance]

8'x3' would be easy to reach over to the middle with out standing on the soil

WOW!!
richy, are you 10 foot tall?

[richyrich7]

8'x3' would be easy to reach over to the middle with out standing on the soil

WOW!!
richy, are you 10 foot tall?

  take 6' off