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Yield per unit area
Planning out my veggie beds for next year and wondering about brassicas. i.e. is it worth growing them in a small garden?
I'm doing the square foot gardening thing, and broccoli, caulis, cabbage etc. will take up one of my square feet for each plant, so it hardly seems worth the effort. I could put a tomato plant into the space, or a dwarf bean or courgette or something and get seemingly a lot more yield in the space than I'd get with a brassica.
Am I off the mark here? Does everyone include brassicas in their planting plans or do some of you miss them out and do crop rotation without them?
We'd still eat brassicas, just resort to Mr T to provide them, rather than the garden!
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I'm doing the square foot gardening thing, and broccoli, caulis, cabbage etc. will take up one of my square feet for each plant, so it hardly seems worth the effort. I could put a tomato plant into the space, or a dwarf bean or courgette or something and get seemingly a lot more yield in the space than I'd get with a brassica.
Am I off the mark here? Does everyone include brassicas in their planting plans or do some of you miss them out and do crop rotation without them?
We'd still eat brassicas, just resort to Mr T to provide them, rather than the garden!
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Comments
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oh i agree, i think that if you have a very small space they are not worth it in the summer but i am trying a few now as what you can grow is a bit more limited.
As far as the rotation is concerned i think as long as you mix plants which don't suffer with the same pests that will work ok. Plus bear in mind the hunger factor, potatoes are a hungry plant and like a recently manured bed but you are better off putting onions in the following season as they don't like it too rich...well according to Carol Kleins 'grow your own veg' anyway!!Every Penny's a prisoner :T0 -
I think personally it depends on whether you want to be able to get a crop off your plot all year round - if you want to be able to get veg in the winter/early spring months then it is worth looking at brassicas - maybe choose sprouting broccoli - you get lots off a plant though you do need a few plants - this is one crop that can be expensive to buy. Kale - grows well in pots so you could have several pots round your garden rather than take up valuble space in your plot or even squeeze them into decorative borders. You sow these two in July (so start in pots then transfer to plot/pot as space becomes free) and can harvest well into april/may. Swiss chard is another good plant to grow (can't remember if that is considered a brassica or not!) - sow in august and again can crop into april/may - these will grow in pots but also look very decorative.
A bit of careful planning and you can grow these without affecting your plot too much in the busy season but still get a crop when little else is available.
hth, YG0 -
Yes, I've got some sprouting broccoli in at the moment, but I'm thinking more of the busy months I guess. Looks like maybe I put brassicas in when gaps come up, but don't worry too much about it otherwise.0
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