Print
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!
.jpg)
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!
Comments
I am new at this and i have
- reply
By Karen Ryle on June 12
I am new at this and i have lots of thistle in my garden, Is there any thing i can do this fall to keep them from coming back next year other then digging them up each time one pops up?
I am wanting to plant a
- reply
By Jamie Shumate on June 4
I am wanting to plant a garden and it is the begining of June! The only place i have to plant my garden is in the evening shade but it has the morning sun, so will it be ok to plant my garden now in the shade
i recently planted a small
- reply
By travis andeasen on June 2
i recently planted a small garden with 4 rows. i planted corn and peas from seed, and tomatoes already started and peppers, and onions with starters, but i think i may have overwatered them cuz they were looking good then today they look wilted. any suggestions?
Is it ok to plant my garden
- reply
By BeUp on May 30
Is it ok to plant my garden next to are well?
It's generally advised not to
- reply
By Almanac Staff on June 3
It's generally advised not to put a garden near a drinking well, due to possible nitrate contamination.
why would I use gypsum? We
- reply
By laver on May 22
why would I use gypsum? We do have hard clay in our dry arid
desert. Do we apply that liberely or on the rows or till? We are not tilling the soil. good idea?
Gypsum has not been proven
- reply
By Almanac Staff on June 3
Gypsum has not been proven effective. Break up your hard soil and improve aeration and drainage by mixing in organic amendments such as compost, peat and manure. The Colorado extension services advises, "Add a two inch layer of the organic amendment on the surface of the soil and till or spade in to a four to six inch depth. When purchasing organic soil amendments, buy four cubic yards for every thousand square feet of area."
Hello, I'm confused about the
- reply
By KaraF
Hello, I'm confused about the wording when it says planting too close to the house will discourage wild animals from nibbling... So planting close to the house it a good thing then? The south facing portion of our house is really the only place I can plant but I would have to put them right against the house because our lot isn't very large. I was thinking of building raised beds or buying breathable fabric containers. What would you suggest?
Planting close to the house
- reply
By Almanac Staff on May 28
Planting close to the house will keep nibbling animals at a distance. Both raised beds and fabric containers work well. The containers you can store away during the cold months while the raised bed will be a permanent fixture.
I have looked at the best
- reply
By Paulabsnc
I have looked at the best planting dates for my region and evidently I am late in my planting. I have the plants not seeds. Can I still plant and grow? When do I plant?
Hi I have just made a veggie
- reply
By sarahjanee255
Hi I have just made a veggie garden I planted seeds in spots I had to dig up the soil and put it into planting boxes and re plant my other plants now all the seedlings are starting to come through everywhere is it bad having a cramped garden?
I have a question...Should I
- reply
By hollybarberra
I have a question...Should I soak all my seeds in water overnight before planting them in the garden or just certain ones? I have a variety of seeds I'm planning to direct sow both vegetables and herbs had read somewhere that I should soak them. Just wanting an "experts"advice. Thanks.
I just planted my first
- reply
By JCib
I just planted my first garden using wood pallets, The bottoms and sides are covered with landscaping fabric. Don't know if the roots will go deep enough, but really wanted to try this as it is much easier than building raised beds. I put my tomato and pepper plants in livestock water tanks. We shall see........
horse manure... fresh or
- reply
By Maine.. planter
horse manure... fresh or frozen lol.
I am going to rototill some fresh stuff into the whole garden except where the potatoes will be. good or bad idea.
thank you ahead of time.
Bad. Do not apply fresh
- reply
By Almanac Staff
Bad. Do not apply fresh manure to beds in the growing season; apply fresh manure only in the fall, several months before planting.
How do you keep crows from
- reply
By EMT
How do you keep crows from eating all your young corn plants???
We also have a page
- reply
By Almanac Staff
We also have a page specifically about Crows and how to deter them here: http://www.almanac.com/content/crows
Hi, EMT, If your rows aren’t
- reply
By Almanac Staff
Hi, EMT, If your rows aren’t too long, consider making a V-shaped “tent” above the row to protect seedlings until they are rooted well enough to resist the crow pulling on it. Another idea from a reader was to put balloons between the corn rows! One oldtime cure was to soak a few quarts of dried corn in whiskey, and scatter it over the fields for the crows. All the best.
I had a treatment plant
- reply
By bpkingfox
I had a treatment plant instaled with a sprinkler system off of it. Can I water my veggie garden with this system safely.
The circumstances you
- reply
By Almanac Staff
The circumstances you describe are general and require a specific answer. We are not qualified to give you a conclusive response to this, sorry. Consider getting the water tested and then talking to your cooperative extension service about the results and the viability of using the water on edibles. We champion the idea of recycling water but it may be that this water is best used on ornamentals and the like. We hope this helps.
I have a huge rabbit
- reply
By renae rosenbaum
I have a huge rabbit problem.....We have jack rabbits & cotton tails. My house sits accross from an open field. We have a large lawn area in the front yard, as well as several large planters. Little did my husband & I know we were opening a 24/7 buffet for the lil boogers when we started filling in these planters. For a brief time we had 9 beautiful purple fountain grass, 7 agapanthus nile lilies, 5 Day lilies, several calla lilies, tulips, & hiacinths, freesia & asiatic lilies among flowers. What the rabbits didn't eat down to nothing died from lack of h2O because the they chewed through my drip system hoses. There has got to be a solution! We are so tired of repairing the drip system & feeding the rabbits. We just want our pretty yard back & to survive these attacks. Please help! I am surrounded by dirt & need something pretty to look at. Any suggeststions on remedies & or rabbit proof plants, ground cover or flowers. we had rosemary at our old house, rabbits didn't seem to touch that....
Here are are a few flowers
- reply
By Almanac Staff
Here are are a few flowers that rabbits may be less likely to eat: geranium, ageratum, wax begonia, bee balm, peony, Russian sage, salvia, daffodils, and ornamental onions. For vegetables try potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and squashes. Some larger shrubs may also work. Rugosa roses have thorns that will keep bunnies away. Have you considered putting up a fence?
This post is a good guide for
- reply
By Garden-nz.co.nz
This post is a good guide for the gardening beginners...very good tips are shared here! Got to learn many important things which should be kept in mind for gardening! I must say that this is a must read post!
Hello, I am building my first
- reply
By Flatfootthomas
Hello, I am building my first tilled garden in many years and trying to do it right. when I till the garden flat, then make rows, do I plant in the mounded rows or in the valley? Sorry to be so dumb but been awasy from gardening for over 30 years. Thanks So Much
Hello, Thomas, For most
- reply
By Almanac Staff
Hello, Thomas, For most veggie seeds, you just make rows but there is no need to created mounded rows. The seed packets will mention how deep the seeds need to be planted.
Those gardeners who mound their rows often have heavy soil with poor drainage, such as hard-packed clay soil; the rain just runs off it. Mounded rows can also help warm the soil faster in the spring.
If you do mound your rows, usually you plant on top, not in the valley. Make a depression in the middle to hold the water a little longer.
Of course, there are certain plants that prefer mounds such as melons and squash. See our Plant library for each plant's planting needs: http://www.almanac.com/plants
If you are putting a fence
- reply
By hazel
If you are putting a fence around your garden what kind of fence would you put?
A low (2ft) wire mesh, such
- reply
By oldngrumpy
A low (2ft) wire mesh, such as chicken wire, will deter small animals. If you have deer in the area place an additional high (3ft) wire or string 3ft outside the low fence and tie some rag flags to it. The deer will not jump the high fence and low fence both. Something about the combination makes them wary of being trapped.
It depends on your purpose.
- reply
By Almanac Staff
It depends on your purpose. Do you wish to keep out animal pests? In general, a simple 3-foot-high chicken-wire fence with 1-inch mesh keeps out rabbits and most small- and medium-size animals. You'll also need steel or rot-resistant wood posts. We'd suggest you visit a home improvement store for more advice, but hope this gets you started!
I am new to gardening Last
- reply
By NNYLisa
I am new to gardening
Last year none of my green pepper plants had any growth
This year I had a lot of green pepers but they stayed small
They tasted great but also had a "brown rash" on the bottom
They were not touching the ground at all
Anyone know what this is?
Peppers and tomatoes are both
- reply
By oldngrumpy
Peppers and tomatoes are both sensitive to calcium deficiency that is often caused by watering with fluoride laden water. Fluoride blocks calcium uptake into plants and causes "blossom end rot". Severe cases literally rot on the end opposite the stem. Less severe occurrences resemble the brown to black "rash" you described.
Check the soil for ph, and nutrient content and amend it with bone meal generously. Crushing a calcium based antacid tablet into the hole when planting is also good. Try to use rain water or allow municipal water to sit in a barrel to "gas off" for 48 hrs prior to applying.
Post new comment