On-site toilet

Note how your plot sits relative to the sun. Most plots run north–south along their long dimension, so rows planted across the short dimension will shade each other. A six-foot row of runner beans casts a big shadow and is best aligned north/south, so it doesn’t shade neighbouring crops for most of the day but…

A little botany helps. Vegetables fall into botanical families that tend to share characteristics — the part you eat, cropping season, growing needs or appearance: A few families offer just one crop of interest — sweetcorn (a grass) or lettuce (a daisy). The main fruits group under Rubus (raspberry, blackberry), Ribes (currants, gooseberry), Vitis (grape — there are a few vines…