How to Organize a Vegetable Garden
At the beginning of the growing season, there is not much difference in the appearance of tomato plants and squash plants. But by fall, the differences are quite vivid. Tomato plants can grow to 5 feet tall or even higher without trimming. In contrast, squash plants will stay low, but sprawl across the entire garden if you let them. It is important to plan from the beginning to make sure that all of your vegetable plants will be positioned to have the resources that they need. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Graph paper or planning software
- Sunny garden area, with plenty of organic material
Instructions
-
-
1
Make a chart that shows how much space you have available in your vegetable garden. You can do this with paper, Excel or custom gardening software.
-
2
Go outside and observe your garden. Mark any shady spots as well as the cardinal directions on your chart.
-
-
3
Make a list of the vegetables that you intend to grow. Use symbols to mark which vegetables prefer more or less sun, and which will need a trellis to climb.
-
4
Determine how much space each of your plants will need at maturity.
-
5
Begin making your chart, taking into account the mature size of plants and their relative sun requirements.
-
6
Place the climbing vegetables on the northern end of your garden so they will not shade your other plants. Begin placing the remainder of your vegetables from back to front.
-
7
Place any vegetables that have a tendency to bolt in hot weather in the shade of the tall plants. Some examples of this are spinach and cabbage.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Running out of space? Check for plants that will be done early in the season, such as peas. You can plant these close to plants such as zucchini, pumpkins and other squashes, which have a tendency to take all available space.
Some plants will inhibit the growth of others. Potatoes should not be planted near tomatoes or squash. Beans should not be planted near onions, and broccoli should not be planted near dill.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbocaj/
