In really sodden, wet weather and there can still be much to do in the vegetable garden.
Keeping border weed-free is even more important. Weeds can swamp and smother your crops. And they prevent the free circulation of air, compounding problems of moulds and mildew. It really is worth keeping the weeds down.
When working in the garden, try to avoid compacting wet soil by walking on it. Use a board to spread your weight or consider planting in narrow or raised beds that you don't need to walk on.
Alternative 'no-dig' raised bed and narrow bed systems really come into their own in soaking wet weather.
If you have no choice but walk on your vegetable beds, then use a board to walk on, spreading your weight and reducing the compaction effect on the garden (and keeping your boots free from heavy, clinging mud!).
More on garden layout in Starting a New Vegetable Garden
Narrow beds give easy access and you don't need to walk on them
Rotational crop systems involve sowing different crops in different places each year to reduce soil-borne diseases, such as club root and potato blight damaging your crop and to manage fertility in the soil. Crop rotation satisfies both these criteria. There are four groups of vegetables, rotated in a three- or four-year cycle.
Rotational crop systems work on a three or four year cycle, with different types of crop being sown in the ground each year to avoid any build-up of disease.
Nutrient levels can be managed with crop rotation. Some crops need freshly manured ground and others will do better in ground that has not been manured in the previous year.
It seems complicated at first, so select the crops you wish to grow. Use the list below to determine which group they belong to, and cycle them through the rotation according to their group.
Keep a record of what you grow and where, as a reminder the next season.
Long-term crops such as asparagus and rhubarb are grown outside the rotation.
Vegetable groups
Bulb, squash or marrow, shoot and root vegetables
Pod and seed vegetables
Salad vegetables, spinach, spinach beet
Swedes, turnips, radish and leaf vegetables
Permanent vegetables include asparagus, artichokes, herbs and rhubarb
Keep a record of what you grow and where, as a reminder the next season.
