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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?
- If you are planting seeds, consult our Best Planting Dates for Seeds chart. It's customized to your frost dates as well as Moon-favorable dates.
- If you're putting plants in the ground from a nursery or transplanting from a greenhouse, see our Best Planting Dates for Transplants (by region).
Now Design Your Best Garden Ever!
Plan your perfect vegetable garden. Use our online Garden Planner to draw out your vegetable beds. Click here to try the Garden Planner for free!
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The best way to plan a successful veggie garden is to look at what similar gardeners have planned and see what works for them.
The above garden plot plan was created by one of our readers!
Click here for our Garden Plans Gallery and you'll find lots of ideas and inspiration.
Happy gardening!
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Comments
Maybe the pots you used were
Maybe the pots you used were too small. Remember 50% or more of any plant grows underground.
The size of the pot is def a
The size of the pot is def a factor I grew some Basil in a pot and some in the ground the Basil in the ground was amazingly better..if say triple the yield
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.
Look for coyote urine at your
Look for coyote urine at your garden supply store or online. Rodents won't come within yards of the smell. It's also good for fending off deer and other nuisance critters without harming them.
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.
fake snakes made from rubber
fake snakes made from rubber or plastic work on people also some people are scared of snakes it keeps them away from your vegges
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.
they may be eating some
they may be eating some insects but mostly they are eating worms that are good for your soil and they and other birds will eat your seed and sprouts after you plant. An owl decoy will help, I also use two black hoses, the kind that are used on the back of a washing machine , but any black or brown hose about 2 or 3 feet long will work. I place them in my garden in a way that resembles a snake and move them to different locations about once a week. This works great.
For Grudge: Sounds like you
For Grudge:
Sounds like you have cut worms. To protect the corn that has not been cut yet, make cuffs for all the surviving plants. You can take paper cups, cut out the bottom and cut a slit up one side. Slide the cuff over the plant, tape the slit, and push the cuff down into the ground about an inch or two. This should keep the cutworms from gaining access to the plant shoot until the danger has past. You could also use plastic cups which would last longer, or make tubes from plastic water bottles. If you find any grubs while doing this work, especially ones with pincers on them, destroy them! Hope this helps!
I hard that some plants
I hard that some plants compliment other plants and should be planted next to the one
that compliment the other in order to help pollination. Is this true & if so do you have a planting guide?
I am currently doing research
I am currently doing research on this as well. If you look on-line there are numerous sites which suggest,"companion plants" for all different kinds. Also lots of flowers to attract bee's, like honey suckle and bee balm. Happy planting!
A good companion planting it
A good companion planting it the "three sisters" first passed to early settlers by Natives. It's corn, squash, and beans. The plants will grow in the needed order to protect the others and they are nitrogen neutral when planted together. Little weeding should be necessary after the plants emerge and less water is needed in the tight pattern that mulches itself.
Book by Louise Riotte called
Book by Louise Riotte called Carrots love tomatoes &roses love garlic is a superb book for companion planting
I am attempting my first ever
I am attempting my first ever vegtable garden and want to go all organic, I seem to have red ants EVERYWHERE around my raised garden beds, does anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of them organicly?
Try a light sprinkle of boric
Try a light sprinkle of boric acid. It is a light white powder sold at hardware stores in the pesticide dept. just use a light sprinkle. they walk through it an when they groom they ingest it and it poisons them. it should not hurt flying bugs as it has to be picked up and eaten. it also works on roaches. it should be organic, but check to make sure. But if you just leave the ants alone and work around them, you should be alright. They are considered benifical.
Hello, I plan on starting my
Hello,
I plan on starting my first vegetable garden this spring. I have a small cat problem though. The neighbours cats, while friendly, already make use of my flower garden in the front. Could anyone suggest a safe method of keeping the cats out of the veggie/herb garden?
A large dog...lol...mine
A large dog...lol...mine keeps all the neighborhood cats away.
I have heard that sprinkling
I have heard that sprinkling citris peels onto the dirt keeps them out.
hello, i'm new to gardening
hello,
i'm new to gardening and have a very limited site that gets good drainage but is somewhat shaded by large oak trees. what vegetables can you recommend for a newby?
I'm just starting my first
I'm just starting my first veggie garden, and because of the small back yard my husband and I have and my bad back, we isolated a spot and built up a raised garden bed. After reading these threads I realized that it was probably a bad idea that we used pressure treated wood.... what should I do now? Is the pressure treated wood going to stop my veggies from growing? will it make them dangerous to eat with the arsenic and copper that leaches into the soil and plants?
Hi Kimmie, It really depends
Hi Kimmie, It really depends how the type of pressure-treated wood. Pressure-treated lumber sold in the US after 2003 contains no arsenic (and is no longer CCA-treated). The wood you bought should come with tags that identify how it's been treated and here's a page about types of treated wood: http://npic.orst.edu/ingred/ptype/treatwood/index.html
If you have questions about this, or any pesticide-related topic, please call NPIC at 1-800-858-7378. To be on the safe side, they suggest lining the beds with plastic.
I have chipmonks and squirls.
I have chipmonks and squirls. Last year they ate ALL my tom and peeppers. Funny thing, they would eat them 2 days before I could even do a eary pic. I really dont want to cage thentire garden, any advice? By the, my tenant just moved in w/2 small dogs, maybe the wil keep vermen @ bay
See this squirrel page here
See this squirrel page here for remedies that have worked for me and other readers: http://www.almanac.com/content/squirrels
I have used the hay that my
I have used the hay that my cows didnt eat as mulch in my garden now i have grass comming up every place that i used the mulch what should I do
Old-timers say that if you
Old-timers say that if you see weeds coming up through the hay you need to mulch more. Add another layer of hay. Another tip from a reader is to put the hay in the chicken yard first and let the chickens find all the seeds. Then use it as mulch.
The grass that comes up from hay is usually pretty easy to pull out by hand.
I also have a jay
I also have a jay problem.
They attack rubber snakes & owls & steal my tomatoes & strawberries.
The only thing I've found to stop them is a net!
hi what is the best veggies
hi what is the best veggies to plant in winter
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