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EmailIf you're a beginner vegetable gardener, here are basics on vegetable garden planning: site selection, plot size, which vegetables to grow, and other gardening tips.
Remember this: It's better to be proud of a small garden than to be frustrated by a big one!
One of the common errors for beginners is planting too much too soon and way more than anybody could eat or want. Unless you want to have zucchini taking up residence in your attic, plan carefully. Start small.
The Very Basics
First, here are some very basic concepts on topics you'll want to explore further as you become a vegetable gardener extraordinaire:
- Do you have enough sun exposure? Vegetables love the sun. They need at least 6 hours of full sun every day, and preferably 8.
- Know your soil. Most soil can be enriched with compost and be fine for planting, but some soil needs more help. Vegetables must have good, loamy, well-drained soil. Check with your local nursery or local cooperative extension office about free soil test kits so that you can assess your soil type. See our article on preparing soil for planting.
- Placement is everything. Avoid planting too near a tree, which will steal nutrients and shade the garden. In addition, a garden too close to the house will help to discourage wild animals from nibbling away your potential harvest.
- Decide between tilling and a raised bed. If you have poor soil or a bad back, a raised bed built with nonpressure-treated wood offers many benefits. See more about raised garden beds and how to build them.
- Vegetables need lots of water, at least 1 inch of water a week. See more about when to water vegetables.
- You'll need some basic planting tools. These are the essentials: spade, garden fork, soaking hose, hoe, hand weeder, and wheelbarrow (or bucket) for moving around mulch or soil. It's worth paying a bit extra for quality tools.
- Study those seed catalogs and order early.
- Check your frost dates. Find first and last frost dates in your area and be alert to your local conditions.
Deciding How Big
A good-size beginner vegetable garden is about 16x10 feet and features crops that are easy to grow. A plot this size, planted as suggested below, can feed a family of four for one summer, with a little extra for canning and freezing (or giving away).
Make your garden 11 rows wide, with each row 10 feet long. The rows should run north and south to take full advantage of the sun.
Vegetables that may yield more than one crop per season are beans, beets, carrots, cabbage, kohlrabi, lettuce, radishes, rutabagas, spinach, and turnips.
Suggested Plants for 11 Rows
The vegetables suggested below are common, productive plants but you'll also want to contract your local cooperative extension to determine what plants grow best in your local area. Think about what you like to eat as well as what's difficult to find in a grocery store or farmers' market.
(Note: Link from each vegetable to a free planting and growing guide.)
- Tomatoes—5 plants staked
- Zucchini squash—4 plants
- Peppers—6 plants
- Cabbage
- Bush beans
- Lettuce, leaf and/or Bibb
- Beets
- Carrots
- Chard
- Radishes
- Marigolds to discourage rabbits!
(Note: If this garden is too large for your needs, you do not have to plant all 11 rows, and you can also make the rows shorter. You can choose the veggies that you'd like to grow!)
When to Plant?
- See the Best Planting Dates for Seeds chart. Know when to plant seeds indoors and in the ground without danger of frost. Customized to your zip or postal code!
- If you're transplanting from a nursery or greenhouse, see our Best Planting Dates for Transplants (by region).
- See our article, "When Is My Soil Ready for Planting?"
Sample Vegetable Garden Plot Plan
This is just one roughed-out plot plan which one of our Almanac editors uses. Make it your own! Click to enlarge and print.
For more advice on starting a garden, visit our main gardening page at Almanac.com/Gardening.
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The 2012 Gardening Calendar features how-to garden advice, tips, secrets, folklore, plant illustrations. Learn more about the 2012 Gardening Calendar.
Comments
I have a problem with Morning
I have a problem with Morning Glories. They choke 60 % of my garden. I have a large Garden of about a half an acre. I am growing pretty much all the veggies that you recommend. How do I control these? Also what is a good deterrent for deer?
We have quite a few deer in
We have quite a few deer in our neck of the woods. See if your local barber will save a bag of hair clippings for you, scatter it around your garden, and you should see less deer...
Hair clippings do help. Also
Hair clippings do help. Also randomly placing old knee high stockings containing Irish Spring soap shavings helps, as does hanging pie pans around. I think the key to any of these home remedies is not to use the same method for too long at the time. Rotate the remedy when you see deer venturing back into the forbidden territory.
If the flowers are white,
If the flowers are white, then the plant here in the northwest is called choke weed. First, do NOT pull the weed up! Just little tips of root can and WILL spring forth again with a new plant. You need to use a good herbicide on the plant. When I found this out, it was springing back after my vegetables had already sprouted, so I couldn't just spray the whole plant without losing what I wanted to grow. I got an old child's paintbrush and painted all of the leaves of the new choke weed sprouts. Make sure that it has not rained or received water for a couple of days before either spraying or painting so that it will absorb the herbicide right away and completely. If the major portion of the plant is far enough away from your garden I would spray that with a heavy dose to get down to the major roots. If the plant is originating on someone else's property, you may have to install a deep enough barrier to prevent the roots from traveling onto your property, as they can travel some distance before springing up elsewhere.
Hi, I have heard that if you
Hi,
I have heard that if you put a bar of Irish Spring soap in your garden the deer will not come near it. I would assume that with 1/2 an acre you would need a few.
Good luck!
I have a lot of deer, I
I have a lot of deer, I found that by planting rosemary helps but I also found rosemary oil which is fantastic for keeping the deer away from my veggies and flowers
I want to plant a vegetable
I want to plant a vegetable garden, my very first. I need to make a raise bed garden as I need to sit while gardening, what is the best frame for a garden? Cinder blocks, wood?
I do not know much about
I do not know much about raised gardens. However, I have used the following to create my own self watering container garden. It took a little over an hour to build one. The tomatoes in the self watering containers resisted the first frost and kept producing until mid December.
link to PDF file
http://www.seattleoil.com/Flyers/Earthbox.pdf
Hope this helps
Wood is mostly used, but DO
Wood is mostly used, but DO NOT get pressure treated wood.
Why shouldn't I use pressure
Why shouldn't I use pressure treated wood?
Pressure treated wood has
Pressure treated wood has toxic chemicals, such as arsenic and copper, in it that will leach into the soil and into your plants.
UH, OH ! Just finished
UH, OH ! Just finished planting in my new raised beds made from pressure treated wood ! Any suggestions?
Don't worry about the
Don't worry about the pressure treated wood. They don't use arsenic anymore and the chemicals that are used are much safer. Also, many tests have been done to show that the amount absorbed into the food you grow is absolutely minuscule and cannot possibly pose any harm.
If you want a permanent bed
If you want a permanent bed cinder blocks work fine and last longer than wood. Treated wood is OK for growing things you aren't going to eat.
It depends on where you live.
It depends on where you live. We got compressed wood because we get so much rain. But here is an ideas, this company offers triple raised beds, that might be easier for you.http://www.hooverfence.com/vinyl/raised-garden-planter.htm
I have a garden that is 12x20
I have a garden that is 12x20 with tomatoes and hot peppers. I have 24 tomato plants and about 72 hot peppers. But I was just wondering about the watering of the tomatoes. I hear that you need 2 inches of water a week for tomatoes. How do you know how much to water in the morning? e-mail me at dcmartorano@comcast.net thank you.
Yes, you should give your
Yes, you should give your tomato plants 2 inches of water per week. Water your plants 2 to 3 times a week, giving them about 3 to 4 liters (roughly a gallon) of water each time. If it's really warm out, you can give your plants extra water.
You can also look at our tomato plant page for more growing tips.
Hope this helps!
I have planted my first
I have planted my first garden ever this spring, it is 12x20, i planted 8 rows of corn 8feet long, a row of half white runners 8 feet long, a row of burpless cucumbers 8 feet long, a row of okra 8feet long, 2 tomato plants and 2 bananna pepper plants, my corn is the only thing that is not doing wonderful, it is growing well, but within the last week, some of the stalks are falling over and when i goto straighten them up they are completely out of the ground, they seem to have no roots at all, just rounded ends where the roots should be, any ideas?
corn should be planted in
corn should be planted in patches not rows. It is pollinated by wind
The problem you are having
The problem you are having sound like you have cutworms. They eat the corn at the base of the plant, making it look like their are no roots. They feed at night, so you may not see any. Try digging around the root area and inspecting for a dark to black grub.
i would like to know if you
i would like to know if you can plant veggies in pots,and if so why didnt my garden grow?
May be your plants are not
May be your plants are not getting the necessary light or may be you need to fertilize the mud of your garden if you say than I can arrange you some cheap fertilizers from wholesalepages.co.uk I Got some contacts their;-)
Maybe the pots you used were
Maybe the pots you used were too small. Remember 50% or more of any plant grows underground.
I see where marigolds
I see where marigolds discourage bunnies from nibbling on your young plants. What do you do about squirrels? We have a real problem with squirrels in my backyard, and that is why I've not planted a garden before now. This year I want to try one. What do I do about the squirrels, short of shooting them?
Get a cat, but then you have
Get a cat, but then you have the cats messes to deal with. Fence them out is another option. There are also electronic rodent repellers which work well for keeping mice out that will probably work for squirrels.
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Thanks for the information.
Thanks for the information. But, how do you keep birds away from eating your corn?
see my above reply to the
see my above reply to the bluejay problem. I discovered this because of a crow problem. The owl decoy will not work on crows they will attack it but the fake snake does work.
I am doing my very first
I am doing my very first vegetable garden this year with my oldest son and we have bought tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, okra and 2 kinds of hot peppers and i have a 12X16 garden. I have yet to put anything in the ground because i have been getting the spot ready and this morning i woke up to blue jays in my garden. How or what can i do to keep them out of my garden and not eat my plants?
The blue jays and other birds
The blue jays and other birds aren't eating your plants, they are eating the insects that eat your plants. So, birds are always welcome in my garden.
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