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Plot rotation
A good, healthy vegetable plot is essential if you're planning to grow your own.
Our guide will give you all the information you need to set up a sucessful plot
that will give you years of happy vegetable gardening.
Choosing your vegetables
Deciding what to grow is one of the best things about vegetable growing, but it's
important to choose carefully and not get too carried away. Choose vegetables you
really like, and look out for interesting varieties that you can harvest progressively.
This will ensure that you have a ready supply of delicious vegetables throughout
the growing season.
Vegetables can be ordered into four main groups, so choose the vegetables you like
from each of these groups.
Group two
Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, swede and turnips
Group one
Potatoes, beetroot, carrots, chicory, artichokes, parsnips and salsify
Group four
All other vegetables and salad crops
Group three
Once you've made your selection, divide up your plot into four beds. Grow vegetables
in four separate beds, grouped according to our guide. The reason for this 'grouping'
is that you should not a grow the same vegetable in the same place year after year.
Continuous cropping of the same plant can exhaust the soil of nutrients and pests
and diseases can build up.
The answer to this potential problem is consistent plot rotation: in your second
year of vegetable growing, your vegetables will 'move up' one bed. Your group two
vegetables will be planted where the group one vegetables previously were, group
three moves to the group two bed and so on. This allows the soil to recover, and
the rotation can even be beneficial to future vegetables: for example, the nitrogen
that peas and beans naturally deposit in the soil is perfect for encouraging growth
in cauliflowers and cabbages.
Top tips
When you're laying out your vegetable plot, bear in mind these starter tips:
- Leave sufficient space between the beds to allow easy access to the plants. A path
the width of a wheelbarrow is ideal.
- If your soil is poor or doesn't drain well, consider building raised beds. By creating
a retaining wall from bricks or old railway sleepers, you can add a thick layer
of organic material that will improve the soil. In addition, raised beds are easier
to tend and don't need digging over in the autumn.
- If you've only got a small space, choose early or dwarf vegetable cultivars as they
require less space and can be planted closer together.
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