January 2013
9January 3, 2013 by Mrs W-M
Happy new vegetable plots!
If you’re just starting out, don’t worry – me too! I’m finding all the advice and guidance out there pretty overwhelming, so I’m going to try and condense all the info I get from my Dad (gardening consultant) and books and mags to sum up a simple monthly tasks list.
So let’s start this growing vegetables malarky together, I don’t have an allotment, just a small plot in the back garden and this is what I’m doing this month -1.planning plot layout, 2.ordering seeds, 3.mulching ground.
Task 1: Plan the layout
As all good veg growing books advise, I have started off with drawing up a veg plot plan (which I ran past the gardening consultant, who approved!) and divided the plot up into 4 beds which makes it easier to rotate each year, this is called a 4 year rotation system.
Draw out a rough plan of your space and have a read through this page on allotment.org.uk as it explains the system in more detail, but for now lets keep it simple – this is what I’ve decided, slightly bending the rules.
Bed 1: Legumes (I’ve gone for broad beans, onions, peas, squash and french beans)
Bed 2: Sweet potatoes (I’ve added leeks in here as well). And to save space, potatoes in grown in special potato bags.
Bed 3: Brassicas (I’ve chosen cabbage, radish, lettuce and purple sprouting)
Bed 4: Onions and Roots (I’m doing beetroot, carrots and parsnips)
Task 2: Order seeds
This will be my first year of growing all the veg from seed, last year I was just starting out so I bought nearly everything as plants which was hit and miss. By using seeds you have the advantage of choosing the variety, the seedlings won’t have travelled to and from a garden centre, and if they fail then you have loads more seeds left in the packet! I ordered from D.T.Brown and Thompson and Morgan.
Task 3: Mulch ground and suppress weeds
If you’re like me and had no idea what mulch was, then also like me you are unlikely to have it hanging around to use on your garden. Apparently, the idea is to pile this.. stuff high to cover weeds, warm and feed the ground until growing time arrives – it also saves on digging and weeding.
I used an idea from the Grow Your Own magazine which suggests covering the unused ground with newspaper or cardboard then covering it in all that mulchy stuff (which is composty and leaf moldy kinda mixture). Instead of mulch I used a load of old leaves I found at the bottom of the garden, I also got 2 big bags of used coffee granules from the local cafe and chucked that on as well for luck. Clearly, this isn’t the ideal method – but you gotta start somewhere!
2 bags of used coffee should do nicely!
I’ve covered this one in cardboard and bamboo canes to stop the cat using it as a toilet!
Other things to do this month:
Buy or build a couple of compost bins and get Dad’s shed!
I hope you find this blog useful, please do let me know if you have better ideas or if you’re just starting out, would be great to have some company!
See you next month gardening friends! xx
Back Garden Vegetables 
Nice work, Lady Woodski. When my garden’s in any shape to be dugged I will be joining in 🙂
Get those wellies on woman and dig a tiny patch, or you can join in using a few pots! xx
Hey you have made an active start! This will be our 4th year on the allotment – last year was a tough one and many of us lost lots – it was still fun – will keep you posted – we have seeds ready as we have a mini store of ongoing supplies now that we are nearly half a decade in! We haven’t dodged the weather to get up to the plot yet. we are old school, ‘The Good Life’ – we have areas but we leave the raised beds to our neighbour! It’s harder work in the summer though with all the weeds!
Have a good start and never wear white!
x
Great! Yes keep me posted about what you’re up to as would be good to get alternative views or ways of doing things! xx
Sweet potatoes sound really good, onions too, making me feel hungry!
I have a very shady garden that vegetables don’t seem to like much. But my sister has an allotment that she loves, and shares the produce from!
All the best for your veggie venture!
Hey, thanks for the nice comment, I know I thought sweet potatoes might be a good idea as they are yummy and quite expensive in the supermarket, although I have been told they are a bit tricky to grow. But! nothing ventured….
You could have a go doing potatoes in potato bags? They are meant to be super easy, shade or no shade!
Popped in after reading your post on GOY – Good Luck with your project and I hope your harvests are plentiful.
Personally, I don’t ‘grow my own’, but have tremendous admiration for those who have the commitment and patience to do it 🙂
I took up blogging recently as a way to record the goings on in my garden. It’s great to have a personal record as well as sharing.
Hi Angie, Thanks for the visit and the luck. Very impressed with all the support on Grows On You blog site, everyone is so lovely and friendly! Let me know your blog address and we can reference each other. x
sorry i forgot to say I came to have a look at your blog after reading about it on GoY! I did try potatoes in bags/large tubs last year but they didnt do at all well, didnt encourage me to try again I’m afraid ~ but then last year wasn’t a very good year for growing veg!