Veg plots - making it doable

Last year, I recommended using January to work out what you'll want to eat, when & why.

This year, why not just work it out as you go?

Tackling your veg plot is  cheaper than a gym & can achieve the same result - get fitter & healthier, with vitamin D & birdsong for free.

So, where to start, given limited time and will to live?

Small is beautiful:

Break it down into smaller, manageable chunks - literally. This will help you clear, maintain, sow & reap your crops within small pockets of time.

Allotments tend to be 2 + long thin strips. Consider chopping each of these into 3 or 4 one metre square beds with a path in between.

This will reduce the overall area you need to maintain & enable you to get at everything in each bed without standing on anything.

Approach it a bed at a time. Use a spade or fork to dig deep & loosen the weeds, then pick them out by hand so it's clear. To get rid of them, use a brown bin, burn or take them to the tip - don't put them on your compost heap unless you want lots more!

No dig option:

Sadly this doesn't let you off completely. Ideally, clear the weeds before laying cardboard & layering compost on top. There after, you'll just add more compost - the cardboard should supress the weeds. You'll be adding to & planting into the compost year on year.

Alternatives:

To me, this assumes both raised beds and a personal stash of compost, which many of us lack. If so, weed & put whatever soil improver, compost or mulch you can get on top. If you have nothing, don't fret, plants continue to grow in the harshest of conditions!

If you don't even have beds, fear not. Get 9 buckets, fill them with soil / compost and consider each a bed - just poke some holes in the bottom for drainage first.

Keeping it real:

You still have a number of beds to fill & maintain. Don't panic. Go for a balance of high & low maintenance crops, bushes, possibly even trees.

Plant the tall stuff in the middle of each bed & get smaller as you get closer to the edge e.g. artichokes or staked beans in the centre.

Consider planting one crop per bed only - e.g. raspberries, which spread & dominate. This makes them easier to contain, control & harvest.

Alternatively, consider a couple of fruit bushes, or just some strawberries (& mint?) which both multiply. Bear in mind that crops such as pumpkins & courgettes need a lot of space, but they will deliver results, wanted or not.

Finally, consider dedicating a bed to a specific purpose eg a salad bed might contain herbs, a couple of tomato plants and a row of salad leaves / rocket. 

Appreciating small wins:

It may be that you only get as far as bringing 3 beds back from the wilderness. That's 3 more than you had.

Keep it simple & cover what you can't face, be it with compost or carpet (to supress weeds). Life varies & sometimes the big stuff just can't wait.

Spreading the love:

Evidence shows kids are more likely to eat something they've cooked. Gardening is a variation on the same theme. Giving them ownership of their own bed is far more likely to engage them, & limit the chaos inflicted on yours! It will also occupy them, enabling you to get stuck in on the rest!

Lead by example, and let them raid the strawberries - the way to heart & habit is often via the stomach!

Turning theory into practise: 1 day's work:

We chopped Lucy's 2 strips into 8 smaller plots.

Our starting point (using what was there, minus weeds):

3 for fruit (2 for raspberries, 1 for strawberries, 1 for fruit bushes and 1 for rhubarb)

3 for veg (1 with existing artichokes, 1 salad and herb bed, 1 with existing kale). The aim is to add beans in due course.

Paths made from disused planks based on cardboard.

Unintended consequences - finding 5 well established holly hocks now gracing a brick wall!

What now?

Hoard cardboard, mark out the beds with stones or wood and just start on one. Give it an hour & see what you can do. Go from there.