Plans For The Vegetable Patch 2020

I think it is fair to say that before the outbreak of Covid-19, I didn’t really have any plans for my vegetable patch. I was simply going to just carry on from where I left off last year and plant a variety of things and see which grew.

As soon as the virus hit though and the food shortages happened, I definitely changed my outlook.

Now there are some amazing garden bloggers out there-Lavender and Leeks is one of them who not only have green fingers but can also draw beautiful plans on graph paper which is also to scale.

Even if I managed the scale bit, the drawing would, most likely look like something my children had done so, I made a date with my husband. Obviously not that kind of date with lockdown but I got him to meet me at the vegetable patch with a snorkel lift so I could take a photo from above.

If you follow me on social media, you will have seen how I chickened out of this and didn’t get as high as I had previously planned but I think it is a good alternative to beautiful drawings.

So this was the idea behind the scaling of dizzy heights-my veg patch plan.

There will be changes. I have already planted more salad in an old tyre next to the cold frame (bottom left of the photo). The potting bench will be going in the greenhouse so I am thinking of another raised bed along the back fence but I am refraining from doing anything about that until the greenhouse is erected as I am not sure how close to the fence it will go. I imagine a person sized gap all the way around may be in order should any wayward child or animal decide to get stuck there.

My cold frame has actually seen better days. I did put it back together but I could’t find screws small enough to keep the roof hinges in place and, with this new make do and mend philosophy, the Frozen cereal bowl works as a weight so the roof doesn’t blow off and doubles up as a bowl for the dogs if they come to help my in the garden (it’s thirsty work).

My biggest personal achievement is the bean canes I cobbled together and tied with string and are balanced against two sides of an old rabbit run. I am very pleased with myself about this and you won’t see any imperfections when there are little bean fingers covering the canes.

The play area is a bone of contention. This was originally meant for brassicas but the schools closed and, in order to try and get the children into gardening/allow me to garden, the raised bed was selflessly donated and they have had hours of fun in there so I can’t complain.


I’ve got herbs planted and other exciting seeds like sweetcorn, watermelon and sunflowers.

In hindsight, maybe I should have used the flower bed for the brassicas. Somehow flowers seem a but frivolous in these times but they are so beautiful, so I thought we could all do with some cheer from the petal variety.

I have tomatoes growing inside alongside chillis and other things that will eventually go out when it warms up again.

I highly doubt my greenhouse will be delivered let alone put up in time for this year’s tomatoes but if it is, then that is a bonus that I didn’t expect.

So from having no plans at there beginning of March, my little veg patch is not doing too badly.

I just wish I had known about the impending lockdown sooner and I would have definitely bought more pots, compost and seeds.

As it is, I have had to think imaginatively and anything which could remotely be used as a planter has been swiped and filled with whatever organic matter I could find. I even found the part of the muck heap with the most rotten manure.

Now, going back to the Frozen bowl, Let it Grow.

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