Planning the Plot

I hate the Winter.... its official .... dark mornings and dark nights and by the time I get home, there is now no daylight to clean up my back garden or go to the allotment, which is really not going to help me clear it and get it turned over and ready for the frost to help me and ready for a good start next year.

But I can at least read and plan my way forward and document my ideas, so here is my starter for 10

I'm not sure I want to get into raised beds, because at the moment the top half of the plot is covered in weeds growing over plastic and carpet (thank you previous owner) I'm hoping not to find anything nasty under that lot, and the bottom half is covered in waist high weeds and whatever I find under them when I get to it. I really don't know what kind of shape the soil is in under all that, and I'm not sure I want to incure the cost, time and effort of creating raised beds this year.

But I do like the idea of having access, pathways for wheel barrows and for me kneeling down on my garden zimmer frame (kneeling pad) and beds that I can get access from all round, and I can set targets of clearing and turning over these smaller bed areas than keep looking at the whole plot and getting to the point where I don't feel like I'm making quick enough or any progress.

I will need to do some form of crop rotation. (Blind me, I sound like I know what I'm doing) and carving up the plot like this may help me with that. 

So having kind of carved up the plot into beds in my mind, I asked the wife and kids what they would like me to grow over Sunday lunch and ended up with a nice list which looks like I should have got a full plot and not a half plot.

I said this blog wasn't about CAD but after a couple of pencil sketches I could not resist but to draw it up

Paths are 450mm wide, beds are 2.4m x 1.2m or 8'x4' there are three areas of four beds with some un-rectangular beds on the outside of the plot which will work for crop rotation, I'm already thinking about placing potatoes in the bottom very weedy area of the site.