[mattyslsot]

have finally cleared my half plot and will be digging it over this weekend.

I was wondering what are the best sizes to go for are?

Thanks,
Matt

[arugula]

I would advise ideally something you can reach to the centre of from both sides, so that you don't have to step on or compress the soil too much.

[GrannieAnnie]

That's right, the recommended size is I believe 4ft wide by about 10ft long.  You can of course have them as long as you like, but you don't want to be either jumping over your beds or taking a long hike to get round the other side! And you certainly don't want to be walking ON them!

[mattyslsot]

thanks much appreciated.

[noshed]

If you have them about 4' wide (1.2m) you can reach them from both sides. Then have them as long as you can be bothered walking around them. I have quite narrow paths - about 18" or so and have just left them as grass. That can be a bit scruffy so I've been putting down black plastic anti-weed membrane instead. A lot of people on our site just use straw from the manure heap and then redig everything every year.
I've edged some beds with wood eg where my rhubarb is, most of the others I've just left.

[DD.]

There is, of course, no law that says you have to have beds!

[GrannieAnnie]

But there's nothing like a nice soft bed DD!!!   

[DD.]

 Must admit I have two beds.

Both about 10m x 30m.

[mattyslsot]

I was looking at edging the beds but not having raised beds.  Any ideas where to get cheap/free scaffolding boards from?

[bigben]

There is, of course, no law that says you have to have beds!

Last year I looked after a friends allotment that was badly neglected. I had free reign and managed to clear and make beds out of most of it with paths in between. My name then got to the top of the list and I got my own. As I did not have any wood for edges and little to use for a path surface, I did not really do beds. The plot is on a slope so has broad "terraces" of about 4m wide by 5.5m long. I have really noticed how much more land I have to grow on when I am not using a 3rd of my allotment to make paths. A couple of scaffold boards to walk on and I can grow so much more.

[binner]

i started with beds then run out of space and got fed up of cutting the grass so i dug the lot up

[GreenOwl]

I was looking at edging the beds but not having raised beds.  Any ideas where to get cheap/free scaffolding boards from?

You don't have to edge the beds at all.  Raised beds usually have edges to keep the soil in but if they're not going to be raised you don't need the edging.

[arugula]

But edging does give you something to strim against. You don't need to use scaffold boards, lighter wood will do fine. I can't think just now what the wood is that we use, but I'll find out.

[Paul Plots]

There is, of course, no law that says you have to have beds!

So pleased to hear it!!

All that making decisions about "what goes where" and restricting to "how much of what" so early on.

I so like an open plot so I can make my mind up what goes where and stick in 'extras'. Every year my plot looks different... rows in different directions, crops rotated, "experiments" in small sections and.... well, it's the one place I can make up my mind when and how I want. 

If only I could just dig up those perimeter grass paths and spill over onto next-door's plot when I need just a little bit more space. 

[mumofstig]

I dug a bit more from the path when putting a new edge board in and got a wry smile and a shake of the head from the site 'foreman' 

Think I better not do it again