A proper design is the key starting point for raising a successful vegetable garden. You might think your garden should just be crops placed in a rectangular fashion, but that may not be the best design for you. It doesn’t have to be too complicated, it simply requires some patience. In this article, we will explore how you can make the most out of your space for a flourishing garden. 

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Size 

First, think about the size of garden you want.  That will determine both the setup and the maintenance of your garden. The latter is frequently overlooked by beginner gardeners and can lead to crops not being harvested in time, weed growth, underwatering – a total recipe for a disaster. If you are a beginner, then start small. As you gain more experience you can add more gardening sections, so keep that in mind as you design your layout. Another thing to consider, specifically for intermediate gardeners, is the number of people you are raising the vegetables for. We will discuss sizes and appropriate vegetables after we tackle the all-important issue – the type of garden to create. 

Container vs Dugout Gardens

Once you’ve decided on the size, there are two ways to go: container gardening or directly digging into the soil. Container gardening requires reduced setup times but digging directly into the soil has the advantage of better long-term yields and less work in the following seasons.

For beginners, growing your favorite veggies in a raised bed held in a wooden container is a highly effective strategy to quickly get started. Raised beds are best for root crops because they allow for loose soil and better drainage. All you have to do is buy some wooden boards, cut out appropriately sized pieces (8-10 inches tall) for the walls of your container and then hammer them together. These beds should be no more than 4 feet wide, this will let you reach all parts from the outside. The container can then be filled with soil and organic compost to create the perfect environment for either planting seeds directly or transplanting from starter beds. Containers can be laid out as you wish, typically in rows with space to move between them. The containers can be properly placed to fully utilize your garden’s microclimate.

Digging gardens directly is the traditional method of garden design. It is labor intensive but produces better results in the long run. This path requires you to map out the total area of your garden and plan the dimensions of the beds you will plant in and the space between the beds. Once you’ve figured that out, dig out the soil in an area that will eventually hold your plants and mix in compost to loosely put it back into the trench. This should create a bed where you can plant your vegetables. If you are extra ambitious, you can dig the trenches using the French double-digging technique. 

The double-digging technique is the best way to create your garden and will ensure remarkable soil for the full season and seasons to come. The process is straightforward: dig a trench twice the depth of your shovel to create your first row and set aside the topsoil. In the bottom of the trench you can place compost and soil improvements like phosphorus fertilizers. Then, loosen the soil in the trench with a digging fork. Repeat this process for your second row. Now use the topsoil from the second row to fill the first row and create your garden bed. After you’ve made all your rows, use the topsoil from the first trench as the soil bed for your last trench. This is the best method as it lets the roots of your vegetables reach deeper into the earth. Also, more plants can be grown in the same region since they don’t depend on only the topsoil for their nutrients and moisture. It gives you the finest soil for your plants.   

An important thing to remember for the classic “dugout” garden is to ensure that you maintain enough space between the rows so you can move around without having to put any weight on the loose soil in the rows. Additionally, you can also enclose the rows with wooden partitions much like the container-based gardens. Remember the partition walls don’t have to be very high.

Raised Bed Width

In either of the two types of gardens discussed above, there remains the question of the width of the raised bed. The simple approach is to have a single row of plants per raised bed. This approach leads to a neat row of vegetables that can be harvested easily and requires little maintenance since weeding is easier. The downside is that they use a lot of space.

The alternative is to have a wide raised bed to accommodate multiple rows of the same vegetable. Of course, make sure that all sides are accessible. The result is that you can plant a lot of vegetables in less space because you don’t need to have any space between the rows. Plants grow more densely, so weed growth is limited. Additionally, watering is significantly lowered since the plants create shade on their own. Therefore, they keep the soil moist by acting as their own mulch. However, not all plants can survive in wider rows, as they can end up competing for resources.

You can take a hybrid approach and mix the widths so that some plants are grown in narrower beds while others are in wider ones. This will let you plant a variety of plants in your garden and maximize your overall harvest.

Path Specifications

No matter what layout you decide to implement, do not underestimate the importance of wide paths between the planting beds. Generally, it’s good to have enough space for your wheelbarrow or cart to move through. This will increase the overall functionality of your garden and allow you to maintain it even better. If you have limited space, you can design your garden in smaller plots and make paths in between. Having paths will make harvesting your veggies simpler and provides a nicer aesthetic, taking away from the wild appearance of a traditional plot with rows.   

Vegetable Layout

Now we’ll address the vegetables themselves and how they should be placed next to each other. This requires an understanding of the climate and the microclimate of your garden. Safe to say, a well thought out plan for the entire season will yield remarkable results. We will present some layout ideas together with possible vegetables below.

We mentioned earlier that the size of the garden plays an important role in controlling maintenance times as well as what kinds of vegetables can be grown. The smallest type of garden is around 4’x4’ and can accommodate a combination of leafy greens like lettuce and spinach; herbs like rosemary, basil, thyme, marjoram, parsley, sage and chives; or salad, and stock plants like radishes and tomatoes. You can split the garden into a grid of 4’x4’with 1 square foot cells. Each cell can hold a particular type of plant. The average upkeep of a garden of this size is around 1 hour per week. So, with minimal effort you can produce delicious fresh vegetables!

The next intermediary size is around 10’x10’ that would require around 3 hours of maintenance a week and could feed a family of 4 around 2-3 meals per week. A garden like this can grow many different vegetables. A good approach here would be to split the garden into two wide beds with about 2’ left between them. Each bed can be split into 3 cells, which can be helpful for different groups of crops that grow well together. As a bonus, you could implement crop rotation to cycle the different groups and replenish the nutrients in the soil. For instance: clockwise from the top, the first cell could host plants like chard, spinach, beetroot, greens etc. The second cell could hold plants like cucumber, melons, squash and pumpkin. The third cell could hold celery, coriander, fennel, carrot, parsnip, parsley, dill, onion etc. In the second row, the first cell from the right (still going clockwise) could accommodate eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes and peppers, the second cell could hold cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts and finally, the last cell could grow peas, beans and other kinds of leguminous plants. You can learn more about the best pairings for your vegetable gardening layout here. 

The more advanced version of the previous layout is to expand the size to around a 20’x20’ garden. The upkeep here is significant, involving around 8 hours per week. It will, however, feed a family of 4 around 5 meals per week. This could be a great way to get the entire family involved on weekends! The idea is the same as before but now care must be taken to arrange the beds. Think of making 8’x4’ beds arranged in two rows with 3 beds per row. Leave a 4’ wide path between the rows and 2’ wide access paths between the columns. The rotation cycle and the crops that can be planted are the same as before, but the size of the beds allows you to plant a lot more. Fair warning: a garden of this size will require consistent work involving proper weeding, watering and arranging for mulch, nets, and pallets for support.  

Designing a garden doesn’t have to be difficult, all it takes is patience and a few minutes of research about each vegetable. This research will help you make sure that you choose the best design for your vegetable garden and the best veggies that grow well together. Make sure you put proper thought into your garden vision before you start digging.