The best laid plans of mice and men and all that

To (sort of) quote Robert Burns, it is time to plan out what goes where on the allotment. And to realise there is never enough space both on the plot and at home on window sills. I guess that is where the second half of the quote comes into its own and said plans 'gang aft agley' ie often go awry.

The rotation system means that I should move the potatoes so they don't get blight. They have ended up (almost) where they were in my first year(ie 2 years ago) - not quite the ideal 3 year rotation but it will have to do.

The shallots, onions and garlic can't move unfortunately until at least midsummer so I will have to interplant them with courgettes or tomatoes if I don't want the land to be a dead zone come June/ July. Perhaps the land could be used for PSB (purple sprouting broccoli). I am currently lusting after some ready grown pot plants (to save me seed space at home) from Dobies.

Then there are the perennial plants (asparagus, raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb and herbs) that can't be moved. The Jerusalem Artichokes cast shade so are tough to site and can cope with the dry soil under the overhanging grape vine so they will probably stay put by the wall.

That means that, roughly speaking, the plot will look a little like this. But not as neat.

















PS I may have been over optimistic that the plot is 7m x 14m but I was brought up in a metric/ imperial limbo which means I have no idea of what a metre or a yard looks like.  I have been reliably informed by co-workers that a metre is about a stride's worth. 

The measurement isn't helped much by the allotment society calling it 2 rods. Now, I looked up a rod online and there isn't a general agreement on what one is. It seems to be anything from 1.5 metres squared up to 7 on the continent. In the UK, all I know is that the standard allotment outside of London is 10 rods so I have a fifth of what those lucky out of towners have.