RE-JIGGING MY KITCHEN GARDEN

[Wellie]

I'm about to 'extend' my productive kitchen garden at home, and would welcome some feedback in the direction of whether it's plalusible to have raised beds of as little space as 1m x 1m to grow crops in ?

My thinking behind this has largely been led by 'crop rotation' AND ease of sowing/harvest, given that I may only want 1m x 1m of carrots, or ANYTHING for that matter to feed the two of us. And planning 'follow-on crops' in order to maximise the space available within the seasons, without disturbing the adjacent crop currently in the same bed....
Although for permanent beds such as Asparagus, Strawbs etc. or any other crop I want a lot of, obviously I'll be keeping my 2m x 1m sized beds....

It's difficult putting it all into words and ALL of the reasons behind WHY, so can I just ask questions as your replies prompt the next one ? Would you mind ?

I'm not sure why I'm daunted. The 'design' element comes into it as well as it needs to look as good as it all eventually tastes, and the 'design' I've got covered. I guess I need some 'head on shoulders' techical why's and wherefore's, should and should not's.

MY QUESTION TODAY:
what would be the advantages/disadvantages of
2m x 1m beds VERSUS 1m x 1m beds?

I look forward to your replies,
and thank you in advance,
Wellie

[peter]

When you get into a 2m x 1m bed you can actually lie full length in it,whereas in a 1m x 1m bed you'll have to curl up a bit.

[Tigger]

I've got 11 small square beds, in addition to the big ones, but they're a little bigger than 1m by 1m. I'll have to measure them for you in the daylight tomorrow but I think they're about 2.5m by 2.5m.

I use them for salads, roots and overwintering.

I've also grown the occasional flower crops in some of them. I always put a few bulbs in some over winter/spring.

[Wellie]

Peter Honey - GET OUT MORE !
I should have seen that one coming... and you made me larf yet again

Me GREEDY... Every available corner of a SuperKing kind of girl me...!

So, shall I take that as a YES that you'll help ?!

Tigger, I've already got 2.3m x 1.10 (ish) beds, and as I said, some of them I'm definitely keeping 'as is' because of certain crops that I like to grow a lot of in 'one hit'....(Bored Beans, Purple Sprouting, Asparagus, Strawberries, Leeks, Garlic, Shallots, Red Onions, Mangetout... OK, everything really!) But I'm trying to be more sensible and get much more variety than quantity.

I use carrots as an example, because I've just grown HALF a 'big bed' of JB's Early Nantes really late (if you get my drift!) and it's avoided the dreaded rootfly. And I find it's easier to protect a smaller area well, than a bigger one poorly.
I could well KEEP the bigger beds, but they aren't working as well for me as I suspect SOME big and SOME small would, and that's what I'm asking really...
Would I find huge disadvantage to using smaller ones?

[Alison]

Hi, Wellie! I use my smaller potager beds for things I don't want so much of, like fennel and kohl rabi, or smaller successional sowings where a whole row would bolt all together; for beetroot, and also trials of things, like when I get only 10 bean or pea seeds from HDRA. Or you could have 9 smaller kales; or red cabbages; or chard plants. You could put one climbing thing in the middle, like a squash, or a small wigwam of sweet peas, and surround it with lower stuff like parsley, basil, or cut-and-come-again lettuce or other saladings. It would be a feature!!! Or you could put a bird-table in the middle and then the tits would eat any nearby caterpillars while they were queueing for the bird-food!!
Yours, Alison.

[Wellie]

Hey Alison !
That's the kind of thing, and I've got some 'obelisques' to use for the climbing stuff like sweet peas, squashes, french beans etc. but I shall have to be careful so as not to 'detract or distract' from the MAIN crop growing in the bed.
A bit like JoY Larkham says about 'intercropping'.
It's all very well, as long as it doesn't disable the principal crop in any way, because that would just defeat the object of both crops...

With a raised bed of a small size, has anyone found that the seedlings around the edges suffer with drought or anything as opposed to the rest of the crop in the centre, so a lesser yield with a smaller bed perhaps ?

[Chantal]

Wellie, do you have any cloches that you've bought? If so, I'd do the beds so that the cloches fit.

[Wellie]

Hi Chantal,

Yes, I WAS a little 'peed off' at the start of the year, because the beds were a little bit longer and not wide enough to fit the bought cloches 'tightly enough' for what I wanted, and so that's on my agenda for definite ! Thank you, excellent suggestion.

[Tigger]

OK - so I don't read the posts carefully enough and jump to conclusions (you've already got some 2 metre - ish beds) and I can't count ( I've got 14 little beds, rather than 11, plus another 10 odd sized beds) and they are a variety of sizes ( 3 metre squared, 2 metre squared, some not square, 2 metres by 6 metres, 1.5 metre by.....).

Other than that - I've got everything going for me.

Go on - ask me one on sport.......

[Wellie]

Tiggs,
Especially for you (and I know you'll cheat unmercifully!!):
What rally car does Eddie Stobbart sponsor?
You'll cheat, I KNOW you will !

[Iain]

Joy Larkcom's book "Grow Your Own Vegetables (which most of us have got, it seems)has on page 184 her suggested "Feed the Family Plan" based on beds 1m. by 1m. If it doesn't work I'm in trouble because I've installed it exactly as in the book in raised bed form in my polytunnel i.e. four beds each 9m. long and 1m. wide with cropping planned in 1m. strips.

[Sue]

Hi Wellie

I've got a few small raised beds at home - the smallest is 1m x 1.25m. I just find it easier to grasp so I get a sensible succession of stuff when I'm rushing in spring to get it all done. It stops me falling into the 'oh I'll just use up the packet here' syndrome, which I tend to do on the lottie I've got about 200 leeks at the moment from one of these escapades this spring Leek recipies anyone

I tend to broadcast sow seeds in the small beds rather than do rows. You do get a few seedlings looking sad round the edge due to drought, but overall the yield is good, so I don't think you lose too much in making the beds small. If you do climbing veg on a support or 1 big thing like a courgette, you are best just sticking to just that. Trying to get things going in a row round the edge is a nightmare.

We get problems with neighbours cats, so I purchased some green flexible metal rods from 2Wests & Elliot to make hoops. I cover these with netting, fleece or plastic to make my own cloches to whatever size I want.

Sue

[Wellie]

Sue, you are an 'angel' - thank you. That's exactly what I wanted to hear !
And Iain, I'd also hooked into that, and the Gourmet Plan on the next page. I really hope it works out well for you.
I'm now going to spend the weekend with my Joy Larkham book, a pencil and a rubber, and endless bits of paper !
Thanks everyone!

[Wellie]

Sue, I ended up with 200 Leeks in my longest bed !!
I'll look out some Leek Recipes for you and post them up on the READERS RECIPES section !!
Believe me, you can never have too many leeks...

[Tigger]

EEErrrrr......

As for beds..