Mapping your vegetable garden before planting helps you see how many seedlings you need, where they will be planted, and how you can keep each bed producing all through the growing season.
Late winter is the perfect time to plan your vegetable garden. After enduring snowstorms and cold temperatures for months, I begin wondering whether spring will ever come at all.
Thoughts of warmer days and fresh garden harvests encourage me to the next step in planning a vegetable garden: Mapping the Garden Beds.
After organizing your seed box, paging through the catalogs thinking about what to grow, and making a seed wish list, the following step is to figure out how everything will fit into the garden.
Planning and planting a new garden bed can seem overwhelming for beginners. Where do you start? How big should it be? What do you plant? With some strategic planning, you can have your dream garden up and running in no time. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk through the 10 key steps to planning a successful garden bed from scratch.
Choose the Right Location
Choosing the optimal location is critical for gardening success. When surveying your yard, keep these factors in mind:
Sunlight
Most vegetables and flowers need at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day Scout for spots that receive sunlight for the majority of the day,
Access to Water
Easy access to water is crucial since you’ll need to water regularly. Position your garden bed near an outdoor spigot or invest in a garden hose.
Soil Quality
Good soil drainage and nutrients are vital. Avoid planting in dense clay or dry sandy soil if possible. Test your soil pH and amend as needed.
If the perfect spot is lacking, consider garden beds, raised beds, or container gardening to improve conditions. You can also rent a community garden plot in many urban areas.
Map Out the Size and Shape
Now that you’ve identified the ideal location, it’s time to map out the size and shape of your garden. A good rule of thumb for beginners is to start small – a 10×10 garden bed is very manageable.
Consider the layout – a rectangular or square shape with 3-4 foot wide beds allows you to reach the center for weeding and harvesting. Sketch your design on paper or use software to map it out.
Pick the Vegetables and Flowers
What will you grow? Resist the urge to plant every seed that catches your eye Start with just 5-10 plants, a mix of quicker growing crops like lettuce, spinach, and radishes along with longer yield plants like tomatoes, peppers, beans or carrots
Choose flowers that can withstand heat and your climate. Popular starter picks include marigolds, zinnias, cosmos, and sunflowers. Refer to planting guides for crop rotation tips.
Calculate Spacing
Check the seed packets or plant tags to determine the mature spread of each plant. This spacing ensures your plants have enough room to thrive as they grow.
As a rule, plant flowers closer than recommended since crowded plants produce longer stems. For veggies, follow the guidelines to allow ample space for growth.
Purchase Seeds and Materials
Make a list of all required materials then head to your local nursery or hardware store. Pick up seeds, starter plants, fertilizer, gardening tools, irrigation supplies, and lumber or fencing to assemble raised beds if needed.
Prepare and Improve the Soil
Now it’s time to prep your planting beds for seeds and transplants. Clear any debris or weeds. Till and mix in 2-4 inches of compost or well-rotted manure to enrich the soil. Rake smooth and water thoroughly.
For raised beds, line the frames with landscape fabric then fill with a quality potting mix. Level and moisten the soil. Installing drip irrigation now makes watering easier later.
Follow Planting Directions
Read seed packets and plant tags for planting depths, rates, and instructions. Generally, sow seeds at 2-3 times their width. Cover with soil and water gently. Space transplants according to guidelines. Water thoroughly after planting.
Add Support Structures
Install trellises, cages, stakes and supports for climbing plants like peas, tomatoes, and pole beans before planting. This prevents damaging roots later on.
Mulch Well
Spread 2-4 inches of shredded bark, leaves, straw or other organic mulch over the soil. Mulching conserves moisture, reduces weeds and helps regulate soil temperature once plants are established.
Water and Maintain
Ample, consistent water is crucial for seedlings and young plants. Follow package instructions for specific care. Weed weekly, fertilize according to directions and be diligent about pest control. Enjoy the fruits (and flowers) of your gardening labor!
Planning a new garden bed from the ground up may seem daunting, but taking it step-by-step makes it much more manageable. Following this checklist will set you up for gardening success! Still need some inspiration? Here are a few sample plans for 5×5, 10×10 and 15×15 garden beds to get you started.
Sample 5×5 Garden Plan
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Carrots
- Radishes
- Marigolds
This plan focuses on fast-growing salad crops that can be succession planted. Radishes and lettuces mature in just 4-6 weeks after seeding. Carrots and marigolds will carry the garden through summer.
Sample 10×10 Garden
- 2 Tomato plants
- 3 Pepper plants
- Bush beans
- Beets
- 4 Zinnia
- 2 Sunflower
- Basil
- Oregano
This layout allows for a row of shorter vegetables like beets and bush beans with taller tomato and pepper plants along a trellis or cage. Zinnias, sunflowers and herbs fill gaps for continuous color and harvests.
Sample 15×15 Garden
- Tomato (3 plants)
- Eggplant (2 plants)
- Pole beans (5-6 plants)
- Broccoli (6-9 plants)
- Carrots
- Chard
- Marigolds
- Zinnias
- Dill
A larger 15×15 bed provides space for bigger crops like broccoli and eggplant. Pole beans utilize vertical space when trellised. Herbs like dill repel pests while flowers attract pollinators!
When planning any garden, focus on choosing quality plants suited to your climate, soil, and space availability. Plant a variety of quick growth crops along with those that take more time to establish. Protect plants, mulch well and water consistently. Most importantly, have fun and enjoy the process!
How to Map the Vegetable Garden Beds
Planning begins with a blank garden diagram and the list of plants that you want to grow.
Before you begin plotting out your garden layout, review the list of crops you want to grow, decided roughly how many plants of each vegetable you would like to raise, and review the seed package to see how much area each plant will need.
The way you approach mapping out your garden beds will depend on your priorities.
- Learn More: Choosing What to Grow in the Garden
For example, we rely heavily on canned tomato sauce, canned salsa, and frozen tomatoes to use in soups and stews. So tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic are considered necessities in the garden and take priority on the garden space.
I begin with these crops and plot out where they will be planted for the new season. Then I move on to other crops that will need trellis supports and extra space to grow. Finally, I fill in with short seasoned spring crops along with what will be planted once these crops are finished.
Step 1: Sketch the Garden Area
First, make a sketch of the garden area showing the dimensions of your garden beds. This can be done on a computer program or simply drawn out on graph paper.
Planning a Vegetable Garden for Beginners: The 5 Golden Rules
FAQ
How to plan a garden bed layout?
Draw the longest boundary of your garden first. Then, add the additional boundaries and fill in the middle with features that you want to keep. Anything that currently exists but needs removing can go on, too, or you can leave it out and make a note of any work that needs to be done.
What is the 70/30 rule in gardening?
… formless or even untidy after mid-summer.” In your own garden, allot about 70% of your space for structure plants and your remaining 30% for filler plants
What is the formula for a garden bed?
Use the formula Length x Width x Depth to determine the amount of soil needed to fill the container. A raised garden bed that measures 8-feet by 4-feet by 10-inches will need about 27-cubic feet of soil.
How do you prepare a garden bed for beginners?
- Work the soil when it is moist, but not wet.
- Turn the soil over to a depth of at least 12 inches.
- Add 2-3 inches of compost and turn it into the bed.
- Either cover the bed with a thick (3-4″) layer of mulch or use a weed and feed to help keep weed seeds from germinating.