Things You'll Need:
- measuring tape
- notepad
- computer art program such as paint
-
Step 1
First you need to decide where your garden will be located, of course give consideration to lighting availability and space. When that is decided, plan about how much space you have available. You may want to mark it off at this point. Use a tape measure to get rough estimates of the dimensions of your space.
-
Step 2
Now, keep in mind that most plants need at least 1 foot between rows for adequate growth. Some plants take less (such as carrots and onion) while some take more, like tomatoes and peppers...and still others take A LOT more (like pumpkins or melons). I like to divide it into sections. The closer growth plants in one area toward the front and the larger growing plants toward the back. In the front I average just one foot for each row of plants (depending on the depth of the garden) and to the back I try to average 3 feet between rows. This will give you a general idea.
-
Step 3
Now that you have a basic idea of how much you can work with you should decide what. What vegetables do you find yourself most often purchasing in the grocery store? You may come up with a list like this: tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, onions, carrots and lettuce. You may also come up with things like corn and asparagus. Or your list may be completely different. Arrange the items in order of most important. If you cannot live without tomatoes, make that number one and so on. Also look at other things such as difficulty and size. Corn takes up a lot of space while growing and if you're not willing or able to devote ample space for it (Though, I would recommend planting it along a fence row) then you may want to cross it off the list. Items like asparagus (which grows annually, does better in a bed, and you will not even get a cutting off of for 2 or 3 years) I would recommend crossing off for now...at least until your gardening technique has been perfected and you can make a lovely planter of these later. If you have alloted yourself 3 small rows in the front and 4 large ones in the back then make sure that you have narrowed your vegetable selection down to this number or you'll need to readjust your plans or consider planting less of one thing. For example in one row you could plant 3 tomato plants and one green pepper plant. Or you could plant one tomato, pepper, summer squash and cucumber.
-
Step 4
Once you've decided what vegetables you want, work up a plan on paper or in a program like paint and see it come to life. Don't worry if you change your plan everyday before planting, that's normal and expected and the reason for having a plan.
-
Step 5
After all of this comes together...it's time to head to the store and purchase your starter plants and seeds. Good luck and have fun! Vegetable gardening is not a chore, it's a hobby!
Comments
JMButler1728 said
on 7/18/2008 I'd never thought of sketching out my garden plan! Excellent ideas and nice article.
SeventhSibling said
on 6/2/2008 Tomatoes are the favorite to grow at my house, followed by zucchini (I loved grilled zucchine) and pumpkins. So we have food and fun growing because we have pumpkins for Halloween. Once again, your article is well thoughtout and accurate. 5 stars!
AutumnLeavz said
on 5/13/2008 I tried broccoli year before last but the rabbits kept eating them as soon as they would come up. Last year didn't have success either because we ended up having a drought. Hopefully this year will be more favorable.
My favorite are tomatoes with green beans being a close second. :)
amandaford said
on 5/12/2008 I want to grow kale, chard, broccoli and artichokes. I'm curious, what are your favorites? Thanks for the inspiration!
AmyJaine said
on 5/7/2008 Great info, now I've got to start working on it. Thanks.