5 Golden Rules for Garden Planning

Rule 1: Provide the right growing environment

Full sun is essential for most veggies. For shady areas, choose crops such as leafy salads and greens.

Ensure you soil is fertile, moisture retentive yet well-drained by regularly mulching with or digging in compost.

Rule 2: Grow what you like!

Concentrate on the fruits and vegetables you love to eat. By growing your own you can choose varieties that promise exceptional taste and quality.

Rule 3: Make the most of the space you have

Choose vegetables that are hard to find in the grocery store, or expensive to buy.

Many types and varieties of fruits and vegetables are well-suited to growing in containers. Miniature varieties of vegetables, naturally compact salads and dwarf fruit trees can all be grown in pots.

You can use our Garden Planner to maximize the use of garden space. The Planner will show you exactly how many of each vegetable or fruit you can grow within the space available to you, without overcrowding them.

Rule 4: Make gardening easy

Opt for varieties that are suited to your growing conditions and the time and resources you have available. Pest and disease resistance is worth seeking out.

Place your vegetable garden or containers close to the house to make it easier to tend and harvest. Install water barrels to collect rainwater from greenhouse or shed roofs. Paths between beds should be wide enough for a wheelbarrow, while beds should be of the right proportions for easy maintenance and crop rotation.

Rule 5: Timing is of the essence

Sow quick-growing crops at one- or two-week intervals to spread harvests out and ensure that your garden is achieving its full potential. Harvest prolific croppers such as pole beans little and often to encourage more produce to follow.

The Garden Planner can help plan this type of succession cropping. By viewing your plan in a particular month you can see where and when gaps appear.

Here’s a free 7-day trial of the Garden Planner—ample time to plan a garden! Give it a go!