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Setting up your plot
When you’re thinking about where to grow fruit and vegetables in your garden, bear the following considerations in mind for the best results:
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Choosing your site
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Try to find a sunny spot with good drainage. A south-facing aspect is ideal. |
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Avoid overhanging tree branches and shade cast by buildings or hedges. |
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Make sure there is plenty of water. Avoid the area next to hedges as this tends to be dry. |
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Provide shelter from wind. You may need to put up a windbreak. |
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Make sure there is protection from marauding wildlife. You may need a rabbit and/or deer-proof fence. |
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The layout
Fruit and vegetable plots require quite a lot of work – planting, weeding, watering, tying, harvesting, manuring and so on. So make your life as easy as possible by designing the plot ergonomically - making it low maintenance.
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 | A good idea is to divide the plot into four areas – this enables you to rotate the crops, minimising disease problems.
Ensure the paths between the beds are wide enough to take a wheelbarrow, and have a hard surface – paving slabs will stop your feet getting too muddy.
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 | Beds about 1.2m (4ft) wide with paths all around are perfect, because you can water and weed without getting on to the bed.
Make sure there is a source of water nearby. It’s worth forking out a few quid and getting an outdoor tap. You’ll thank me on those hot, sunny days when you don’t have to carry heavy watering cans hundreds of yards
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