9/2/2023 0 Comments Veggie garden plannerThe one exception to this is where plants require special protection, for example, cabbages, broccoli and cauliflowers may be grown together if they are all going to be protected from caterpillars in a tunnel of netting or horticultural fleece. See our article on Common Sense Companion Planting for details. Mix up plants to confuse pests: Large areas of a single crop (or a single crop family) attract pests whereas mixed planting can confuse them.Although some gardeners swear by complex companion planting systems the main principles that have been proved to work are summarized as: Many different crop layouts can work for a particular garden space and there will be far more variation in the harvest due to factors beyond our control such as weather and pests than in whether leeks should be placed next to carrots. If you have children around then it’s useful to clearly mark the edges and building raised beds is a good way to do this (also good if you have heavy or waterlogged soil as they drain well.) Companion Planting This is about as wide as you can go before it becomes uncomfortable to lean into the middle of the bed (you’ll appreciate this when weeding) without treading on the soil (best avoided as it compacts the soil structure). In general it’s a good idea to define garden beds 4 feet (1.2m) wide and as long as you want them to be with a 2 foot (60cm) path between them. If the area you are going to use for your vegetable garden is new then the next decision is what style of garden and planting system you would like to use: raised beds, traditional rows, square foot gardening etc. Defining good paths (using materials such as woodchip and weed suppressant fabric) will pay back many times over in the time saved maintaining them. Plan to create a few vegetable beds each year, expanding as you become confident and find the timesaving shortcuts that work for you. Far better is to make a list of your favorite vegetables and narrow it down to the ones that taste best fresh or cost a lot to buy in the shops. Many experienced gardeners will tell you that this is just setting yourself up for disappointment as the amount to learn, maintain and weed can quickly become overwhelming. When planning a vegetable garden it’s all too easy to jump in with both feet and try to grow as much as possible in the first year. With that in mind, here's our best advice in the form of principles to follow when producing a good plan for a new vegetable garden. Others are prepared to spend time but find the plethora of possible combinations of plants and layouts confusing. Some are looking for a 'quick fix' – some way to magically come up with the perfect plan for their garden. Every year we get inquiries from people who are a little bewildered by the complexity of planning their first vegetable garden and don’t know where to start.
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