Planting Membrane For Raised Beds

 

Most packs of seeds deal with rows and then spacing along the rows, however as with the square foot gardening concept, I'm looking at the square area that is recommended for each vegetable and using that information, and then seeing what modular grid in a planting membrane will give me a similar square area.   

It is suggested to sow parsnip seeds thinly in shallow drills about 1cm deep, with rows 25-30cm (10-12 inches) apart, then thin seedlings to their final spacing: 100mm (4") for small roots, 150mm (6") for medium, and 200-250 (8" - 10") for large roots to prevent overcrowding and ensure good growth, keeping soil consistently moist.

So taking the smallest row size of 250mm 

     250mm x 100mm = 25,000 sq. mm = Small roots

     250mm x 150mm = 37,500 sq. mm = Medium roots

     250mm x 200mm = 50,000 sq. mm = Large roots

35 hole Planting Membrane with 150mm x 150mm = 22,500 sq.mm 

30 Hole Planting Membrane with 200mm x 150mm = 30,000 sq.mm 

24 Hole Planting Membrane with 200mm x 200mm = 40,000 sq.mm 

20 Hole Planting Membrane with 250mm x 200mm = 50,000 sq.mm 

Now Lets consider optimum spacing for Japanese Onions 

For Japanese onions in raised beds, aim for 100mm - 150mm (4"- 6") spacing between sets/ seedlings for good bulb size, with rows 250mm - 300mm (10"-12") apart for growth and weeding, though closer spacing (down to 5-10cm) yields smaller, bunching-style onions; plant sets with the tip just peeking above the soil in well-drained, compost-rich soil. 

So 250mm x 100mm = 25,000 sq. mm 

     250mm x 150mm = 37,500 sq. mm 

     300mm x 100mm = 30,000 sq. mm

     300mm x 150mm = 45,000 sq. mm 

Looking at the corner holes they will have a smaller area than the rest so I tweaked

the centres from 250mm to 240mm 

20 Hole Rev A Planting Membrane with 240mm x 200mm = 48,000 sq.mm

Planting Membrane & Paving Blocks

50 paving blocks off Freecycle picked up this afternoon and taken to the allotment. You can't have too many to hold down everything with the winds we have been having recently.

When I arrived at just after 2 it was between 38C - 36C in the potting shed before I left the door open and opened the windows.

I used the tuna tin on a cut down broom handle and the weed burner to make a 105 hole 2.4 x 1.2m planting membrane. heating up the tin allowed 3 to 4 holes to be done before the weed membrane needed to be extracted from inside the tin and then it needed warming up again for the next 3 - 4 holes. Way faster than doing it with a soldering iron.

After the first few holes had been formed

Completed 2.4m x 1.2m 105 number planting holes planting Membrane.

Topped up all the self watering propagators then it was time to come home at just gone 5pm and the temperatures were down to 20.7C - 21.6 C in the potting shed.

Marking Up Planting Membrane

Today the weather is not good so I spent some time marking up planting membrane  holes on bed size 2.4m x 1.2m cut sheets. The one in this picture is 105 holes that I used for beetroots, onions and swede etc.

Normally I cut the holes out with a soldering iron but this year I'm going to try using a tuna can on a broom stick 

Planting Membrane

Before the sun came down the garden this morning and the timber decking was in shade, I worked on a Planting Membrane 2.4m x1.2m with 18 planting holes at 400mm x 400m centres.

I laid it out on the timber decking so It can get warm and flatten out in the sun before folding up and putting in my rubber shopping tug for taking down to the allotment on my next visit.

Sweetcorn Planting Membrane

 

Today I was thinking about which sweetcorn to grow as I have 3 varieties in my seed box at the moment. 

The results with Marshalls Alliance F1 Hybrid Sweetcorn in 2019 were nothing more than spectacular (see photos of harvest here) and I have to say they were the best Sweetcorn that I have grown to date, Tyson F1 were good in 2021 but not as good as Alliance. 

This year I'm going to trial the Marshalls Moonshine F1 - 50 Seeds - £2.99 - packed year ending 03/21 and best before date 09/2022 and hope they produce as good if not better than the Alliance F1 Hybrid, only time will tell. 

With the Marshalls Moonshine having a huge 50 seeds per pack, I actually have enough seeds for two beds of 18 plant = 36 plants and thus only need a 72% Germination rate. 

However if I made two planting sheets like this 

Potato membrane used for sweetcorn last year 9 x 3 holes = 27 planting locations  

Knowing I will not get 100% germination I could have two beds of the Marshalls seeds and hope for 96% Germination, I can always put something else in the corner of a bed if I get worse germination rate.  Or go for a 24 hole sheet and a 21 hole planting sheet. 

 

New! Sweetcorn Picasso F1  - 35 Seeds - a New Variety to Mr Fothergill's - Costs £2.95 

Two number 3 x 6 = 18 hole sheets would give 36 planting holes, however one never gets 100% germination.

New! Sweet Corn Illusion F1 - 25 Seeds - a new variety from Dobies - Cost £2.99

A planting sheet like this 21 hole version would be ideal and would allow for 84% Germination, in the unlikely event of near 100% germination I could use the 24 hole planting sheet.  

If possible I like to have two beds of sweetcorn. I'm always up for trying out new varieties, But I think what I have found is that I need to make a 24 hole and a 21 hole planting sheet to cover all the bases.  

At the moment I have two beds planned as far away from each other because I thought I may have two different varieties growing, however if I go for Marshalls Moonshine I can place the beds next to each other which will be better for pollination.  

Marshalls        50 seeds £2.99

Mr Fothergill's 35 seeds £2.95

Dobies            25 seeds £2.99 

When one looks at the cost and number of seeds per pack Marshalls wins hand down for value for money per seed. It will be interesting to see how the Dobies & Mr Fothergills seeds measure up once they have been grown. 

Tomato Planting Membrane

Up early but no chance of going to the allotment as the stairlift man is coming this morning to find the fault with the lifting leg. So I decided to make the design for the Tomator Narrow Beds planting membrane a reality as the toms really need to be taken to the plot and put in the ground. I've added a couple more watering holes/ slots on the outside edges of the sheet/ bed. 

Sheet trimmed to size with the soldering iron and then marked up with a metallic sharpie on the black membrane. 

Trusty soldering iron, wire brush and scaffold board used to form the holes and slots in the planting membrane.  

Completed Narrow bed Tomato Planting Membrane sheet. 

Planting Sweetcorn & Bed Prep

Up super early today and nicely overcast so ideal to go over to the plot and give everything a good watering as it's been so sunny and hot for the last few days. I was on site from 7 until 10 and those 3 hours went way too fast.

I moved the couple of greenhouses in their packaging off a path,

Cleared two beds and laid the 105 hole planting membrane on them. I have beetroots in modules to plant and the rest of the bed to sow. On the other bed I sowed two rows of swede and parsnips will be going in the rest of the bed.

Sweetcorn planted out but due to poor germination only enough for one bed and four spares. I usually grow two beds worth so another  batch of catchup sweetcorn to be sown in the next couple of days.. 

Cutting Membrane to Width & Trimming Ends

Thursday I cut the weed membrane roll into a number of 2.5m lengths.  Today ended up being the hottest August day in 17 years reaching 36.4C.

I knew the sun and heat was coming so I decided to get out in the garden early to work in the shade before the sun came around the side of the house and it gets way too hot. The objective was to cut as many blank 2.4m x 1.2m bed covering membrane sheets as possible for the new beds before the sun worked it's way down the garden and onto the patio.

Scaffold board set up on the arms of the bench, extension lead pugged into the outside utility store and the soldering iron primed and ready, I marked out the 1.2m width on the sheet with a silver paint pen and proceeded to cut along the length of the membrane laying on the board. You have to unstick or pull the edges off the board in order to move the whole sheet up as the board is only around 1.8m long. 

Having now cut the sheet along the 1.2m line you are left with a 0.8m off cut. These will be used for paths and for the couple of 0.6m wide beds I've put in at the plot 1 Plot 1A boundary. 

The first cut is marked with the silver paint pen along a line of the weave you can see that the weave is already starting to fray along the edge and become undone. 

The soldering iron cuts and welds the edges so they don't fray and full apart.

There is something deeply satisfying about pulling the membrane off the timber it has stuck too. Once in a while there may be a small section that needs to be cut again with the soldering iron but only if you have not made sure the two sides either side of the cut are really de-bonded.

                                                                     Pre-Bacon 

Yes I should have taken a photo before I cut it up for lunch for inclusion in a couple of BLT Sandwich but the Gigantimo tomato was nice, red and it just had to be harvested and put in sandwiches for the wife and I. It was very tasty and I will be growing them again next year.  

Cutting Weed Membrane to Length

Most of my beds on the allotment are 2.4m x 1.2m or 8ft x 4ft in old money, this is just a nice size bed and means you can reach and get to everything without having to stand on the bed. It also means that you can make a bed frame out of three 2.4m or 8ft lengths of timber, be it scaffold boards, timber decking or gravel boards. 

I normally make sure that the 1.2m width is 1.2m and on the new plot 1 beds the 2.4m dimension is maintained internally because I made the long sides longer to allow for the corner detail. 

As I have more beds I need more blank membrane sheets for overwintering and keeping the weeds at bay, and I'm also going to need some additional planting membrane sheets as I will be growing more produce.  I have also decided to make squash planting membrane sheets that will have two holes either end and in the corners and a watering hole between them. 

At the moment in the photo above I'm using 105 hole sheets that I use for onions and beetroots and have covered the middle with a blank sheet to keep the weed from growing through all those other holes. 

Using what's left of my 2m wide 50m long roll I bought off eBay I start by lining up the cut end with the patio decking tiles at the far end of the patio and unroll the membrane 

The decking panels are 500mm x 500mm square so I'm using them instead of a tape measure to get a rough cut length to play with. The 2m wide membrane is folded in half and is thus 1m wide of two tiles. Using the tiles as a guide I mark the length with a silver paint marker which shows up really well on the black membrane. 

Next job is to cut the membrane. I then roll up the cut length using a broom handle to roll it around. Place a couple of elastic bands on it and then slide the broom handle out for the next length.  

This process is repeated five more times before I pack away the main roll, and the 2.5m lengths that have been cut and rolled up are ready for marking up, trimming to 2.4m length with the soldering iron and then a 1.2m bed width is cut off leaving a 800mm off cut.

Cutting with a soldering iron melts and welds the edges of the membrane so that they don't fray and come un-woven and a mess to deal with on the allotment. I have planting sheets and covering sheets that are seven years old and still going strong.  

Some of these off cuts will remain at 800mm wide for the main path on the allotment, some will be further trimmed up for the secondary 600mm wide paths. I also have to 600mm wide beds that I will need some planting membrane sheets for with different hole configurations so all the membrane will be put to good use on the plot.

Cutting Weed Membrane

More Planting Membrane

I've spent the last few nights cutting up the 2m wide roll of weed membrane into three number 2.4x1.2m Planting Membrane and 2.4x0.8m under the Path Membrane sheets. 

My good lady wife is happy for me to take over the back of the living room rather than battle the wind outside.

I have marked up two Potato Planting Membrane Sheet with 27 holes drawn around a lid from a tub of stain remover powder detergent which measures 112mm diameter in  3 rows 300mm apart along the width with holes at 240mm centres along the length on a 2.4m x 1.2m sheet to fit my standard bed size. 

I use a 75mm diameter hand auger to plant the seed potatoes which gives me some  tolerance if the hand auger wonders a little when drilling the bores.

105 planting holes drawn around a Doritos Dip Lid which measures 85mm diameter, at 150mm apart in both directions on a 2.4x1.2m sheet which I will use for onions, beetroots etc.

Onions

Potatoes

Allotment Security Is Slacking

My niece Kirsty and sister in law Pauline visited their plot yesterday which is on the same site and sent me a photo of my security guard on my plot laying down on the job with the title "Allotment security is slacking" He is laying on the timbers that slid off the bread basket saw horses and damaged my leg bless him. And it is set up in what will ultimately be a bed I guess.

The did put him back on duty when they left but left him in a more relaxed pose ;)

Meanwhile back at the ranch and at my wife's suggestion I set up a scaffold boards between two tables in the lounge, got the trusty soldering iron out and spent a couple of hours of cutting/ welding weed membrane sheets off the 2m wide roll into 2.4m x 1.2m Bed sheets and 2.4m x 800 path sheets.


Next will be setting out the hole pattern for burning out and welding the holes for 3 x 3 row potato and 3 x onion planting membrane bed sheets.