I've realised I've made a mistake

I've set out a new vegetable garden this year. Not huge, but resulting in about 15 sqm of growing space. Eagerness to get it up and running before the season started meant I came up with a plan and got it into the ground Feb/Mar.

I've since worked out that in the same area, by reorienting the beds east/west (currently north/south) I can get 27sqm of growing space - circa 100% more. Worse still, what I have done now means a summer of difficult mowing. Grass is the current path medium in the majority and the set-up means I've made the paths too narrow to access with anything other than a strimmer. I've since been able to access a volume of woodchips that with an east/west orientation gives me scope to have paths between beds of woodchips instead.

I now have to make a choice; tear down my veg garden as it is, reorient it correctly and only make second plantings in June/July - a lot of work, but sets it up 'correctly'.

Alternatively, I can leave it as is until the winter, then reorient then. However, that equally means masses of work, mowing in difficult areas throughout the season. It also means less of the garden is in full sun, so the yield will likely be lesser. I could mow and throw down woodchips in the paths now, but it will a) be very messy and b) still need changing later. For reasons of space doing it this way also makes the change later, harder.

Has anyone done this? Just bite the bullet or wait to - neither is ideal and both mean work plus a yield.

PS: For anyone reading who is still in the planning stage this represents a prime example of why we should wait to take action, but also why one must be adaptable - accept feedback. It's only now that this garden is off the paper and on the ground that I can read how difficult it will be to manage. I planned its implementation carefully and this is our 3rd year on the property. I haven't rushed to this and thought the current layout was right. It isn't.

If it were me, I'd leave it as is and reposition everything after the growing season is over.  Why?  Because you've already planted it and later sowings might not work well for some crops.  Also this time of the year is extremely busy here and repositioning a garden for me would mean double the workload for someone who's already doing a majority of the outside work due to my spouse's injuries and inability to do much at the moment.

Depending on your view of cardboard, it would be excellent to throw down on the freshly trimmed paths and then cover that with wood chips.  Yes, the chips would need to be raked away when you reposition, but hopefully the grass will be gone by that time.  If you do use cardboard, make sure to remove all tape, labels, stickers, etc beforehand.  

You mentioned beds and I'm wondering if they have sides (wood, stone) or if they're simply mounded?  Also not sure of your growing area, but if the beds were repositioned early enough in the fall you could perhaps sow a cover crop on the newly moved beds or add some amendments that would be incorporated into the soil prior to planting next season.  

I think it depends on your climate.
Here, it is the last chance to get anything into the ground before fall, so rearranging garden beds is not an option.
You could also figure out what areas are now garden bed and will stay so during the rearrangement and plant those,
and then rearrange the paths and plant whatever still grows when you are done.

MJ,

May I offer the thought that the biggest mistake one can make regarding ground is to not grow in it?  You already have an established crop and their roots are forming associations with soil biota, something wonderful for soil building.

So maybe you learn from this year and plan ahead for next year.  Nothing wrong with that.  Permies is, among other things, all about learning from our own experience.

I would say you are on the right track.

Eric

I agree With Michelle.

Michelle said "If it were me, I'd leave it as is and reposition everything after the growing season is over.  Why?  Because you've already planted it and later sowings might not work well for some crops.

If it were me and I decided to plant a second planting, I would plant in the opposite direction. Sure the rows would be shorter.

Our beds are square so it doesn't make any difference which way we plant.