How should i layout my garden

Before this blog took over, I worked as a garden designer for over 10 years. My favorite gardens always had an edible garden in them! They are all well planned, easily accessible, very productive, inviting, and beautiful.

Full disclosure here. Most vegetables grow best in full sun. Not all open areas in a garden will be sunny. A tall tree or building can cast several hundred feet of shade when the sun is lower in the year from late fall through early spring.

Via Pine House Gardens. Always choose the most sunny location you can for a kitchen garden, where plants can get at least hours of direct sun per day, especially between 9 a.

Usually the south, south west, or south east side of a house is great for a veggie garden on northern hemisphere. Via NW Bloom. What direction should vegetable garden rows run?

Typically the garden gets more sun exposure when rows are running north south direction. Sometimes we can not do so, such as in this sloped garden. A well designed vegetable garden layout needs to have good circulation paths.

A main path should be at least 30 inch wide for ease of circulation. You can have narrower paths or stepping stones through garden bed as well. Via Magnolia. Check out this detailed guide on easy 25 DIY garden paths with inexpensive materials. If you want more edible garden beds ideas, check out this reader favorite article on how to build 28 easy and productive raised beds! You can find the spacing requirements of different plants on a seed packet, or use this spacing chart above.

This is for intensive plantings with good soil in small space or raised beds. Increase the spacing by x1. Another popular edible garden design is the square foot garden. Square foot gardening system is the practice of dividing the growing area into 1 foot square sections for better planning of an intensive vegetable garden. Via Almanac. You name it; you can probably find a way to make it work in this garden. I am in love with this garden plan because it looks neat and tidy.

It has a nice balance to it and seems like it would be easy to maintain. This is another garden plan that I love. The reason is that it has the garden layout for spring, summer, and fall.

However, the drawback is that the image has a key that you must translate. Square foot gardening is a great way to be able to fit a variety of vegetables into one vegetable garden space. Which is why I love this layout. Also, I love how plain the design is. It is easy to follow and see what is going on. It makes planting a small garden very simple. Plus, it also shows you the proper placement of vegetables to keep everything from overlapping or stunting growth.

Are you working on a smaller plot and need to know how to arrange everything? This plan is for you then. This design includes everything from vegetables to herbs. It also looks nice, since you have the shorter items in the front. If you are stumped as to how you should arrange your fall garden , then check this plan out. It is easy to read and includes all of your necessary fall vegetables.

But my favorite part about this design is that it includes everything in a lot of detail. You have the trellis where you are supposed to grow peas. Then you have lots of fresh greens and carrots thrown in the mix as well. It is a great design that embraces simplicity. This garden design has a lot of detail included in it as well. You can tell that the creator had the thought of aesthetics and not just production. But if you live in a suburban area, then you know how your garden looks can often matter to those around you and your HOA.

Which is why this layout might be conducive to many. Also, it includes lots of fresh vegetables that are spread out uniquely. Auntie Dogma knew what she was talking about when she created this garden layout. It is effortless to read, and she explains why she chose to place items in certain places. But if you are also looking for a helpful resource on growing and planning your first garden, then this could be a useful resource. Whether you need background or just a garden design idea, most will find this a valuable resource.

I already mentioned a little above that many people plan out their garden using companion planting. This is when you plant certain plants together that will compliment or protect each other just by being in close quarters.

Well, this is what this layout is all about. They tell you which vegetables they are growing this year and where they will plant. Plastic covers will raise the temperature in the raised beds. You can start your seeds and plants several weeks earlier. You may also be able to reseed or replant certain vegetables and harvest more produce during the growing season. Also, the Garden Planner includes icons for row covers as well as cold frames, greenhouses, hoop houses etc which automatically adjusts the season for plants grown beneath them.

You can find these icons by clicking on the selection bar drop-down filter just above the plant selection bar , and choosing Garden Objects from the list - the garden objects will then replace the plants in the selection bar.

Add the row cover icon to your plan over your plants, and the Garden Planner will automatically extend the dates for those plants. I love this program. It was a move into the 21st century for me.

After 37 years of growing my own food with paper records I took a chance with total satisfaction. My garden is complicated and this makes it simple. Skip to main content. By Catherine Boeckmann. January 13, Previous Next. Tags layouts plots plans free. What do you want to read next? Vegetable Garden Planner Reviews Small-Space Gardening: 5 Tips for How to Create a Kitchen Garden How to Build a Raised Garden Bed.

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