[green_fingered_ash]

my allotment (half plot) is 5.7m x 22m which is just enough for 4 columns with 3 paths(2ft wide each) between them and two outer paths shared with neighbours

i thought of this as the most economical layout, i dont really care for how it looks just how it produces. would there be anything wrong associated with this?

a 2ft path is wide enough to carry out everything that i need to as possibly moving the wheel barrow up and down once in a while

inbetween the different vegetables im going to plant flowers/plants that attract beneficial insects, negating the need to keep non companion plants seperate (maybe some companion plants i'll leave together if there is a benefit from a problem i will experience but that will be determine next year.

so is a 4 column (4 vertical rows) with 3 paths between whilst sharing 2 outer paths ok?

[Yorkie]

Sounds OK in principle. 

One thing that does occur is how you plan to move from one bed to another - are you happy to walk on the beds in order to cross over?  Usually beds are recommended to be no more than 10' long in order to encourage you not to walk on them.  (That being said, I walk on mine !)

One other thing of minor relevance is the orientation of the columns.  N-S is better than E-W in order to enable the plants to get maximum sun and to reduce the impact of one crop shading another.

[Zippy]

My plot is 20 x 16 of growing beds with one central path of two feet and a 1 foot wide path between each of the four bed rows. This means I can access all beds without walking on them or having to walk twenty feet round and also means the lateral paths can be much narrower as they will not need wheelbarrow access as I can leave it in the central aisle.

[Aunt Sally]

I would see it as 6 ft of wasted growing space personally

I have 1 x 20cm wide paved path down the middle (longest lenght) to walk on and from that path and the side, shared with neighbour, paths I can reach all of my plot with a long handled hoe.  If I need to get onto the ground for planting watering etc. I use walking boards.

[compostqueen]

I berate the narrower paths when I can't navigate them with my full wheelbarrow. I made plenty of paths, all sizes across and down but then I have a massive plot so I can spare a few feet. It's not wasted though as a wider path is a boon when moving bigger items about which invariably happens, thinking garden butts and daleks, frames, etc 

[DD.]

Paths???

[compostqueen]

yes, we're not all straight row merchants 

[Aunt Sally]

I berate the narrower paths when I can't navigate them with my full wheelbarrow.

... moving bigger items about which invariably happens, thinking garden butts and daleks, frames, etc   

We have shared paths all around the edge of the plot so whe wheel barrow goes all around them.

I have nothing that needs moving around, butts are fixed to the shed.  Compost bins stay where they are.  The only frame there is for beans so built in situ.  So I really have no need for paths.

[DD.]

I composed this, then got the red warning that someone else had posted already. (Aunt Sally).

I'll post it anyway, it says the same............

Not all of us moved "fixed" items around either! 

[alibean]

If paths work for you then that is cool.  Sometimes it's easier to split things up so that psychologically you can deal with one bed (or column) at a time.  I'm sure you'll eventually dig up the paths when you run out of space though!!!!!

[Zippy]

Those of you who do not have paths - how do you differentiate between beds where high amounts of nitrogan are needed and those where it is definitely not needed - basically, how do you rotate your crops and nutrients?

I am starting to look more favourably on Aunt Sally's approach with walk boards but making sure the walk boards are only ever placed in the same place each time so I still get my no-walk beds. Hey - isn't that a path? Well yes, but my paths (especially my bed-side paths) would be much narrower.

[compostqueen]

The hard bit where you walk can become next year's sprout bed 

[mumofstig]

Those of you who do not have paths - how do you differentiate between beds where high amounts of nitrogan are needed and those where it is definitely not needed - basically, how do you rotate your crops and nutrients?

In exactly the same way...........you just haven't got grass paths to devide the plot up.

It's still just a question of remembering (or having a plan) of what was where this year......so you know what will go there next year (in theory )

[Zippy]

Hmmm. this thread has caused me to reconsider my paths for next year and to shave off six inches from my side paths to make them 6 inches and the beds 4.5 feet across. Will increase my growing space by 40 square feet! that's quite a bit and doing this will leave just enough space between beds to throw a walk board.

My OH and I decided to leave the central path though because it makes us feel like we are inside our own plot. Does that make sense? Thought not, but i know what she means. There is a fine balance between maximum yield and feeling comfortable in the place.

[JayG]

Think you might have a point Zippy; I don't see anything revolutionary about beds with good path access around each one unless you are dealing with impossible soil conditions in which case raised beds might provide a solution because of the extra depth you can achieve. Remembering what you did last year to help with next year's plans takes no more than a very simple Excel spreadsheet in my case (but a sheet of plain paper would also do!)

But........if your joints are starting to give out it starts to make more sense! At the moment I am happy to "walk the plank" to gain access for sowing, thinning or detailed weeding because space is at a premium in my relatively small garden but in a few years time.............