How to Design a Vegetable Garden Layout
Designing your vegetable garden layout is a necessary part of gardening when you do it year after year. It is wise to avoid putting the same plants in the same area, especially when any plants were diseased the year before. Some people keep running records every year, which is a good idea.
- Think about what you want to grow this year and what you grew last year. Hopefully, you remember where you had things planted the year before. It's really best to have two separate plots so you can switch plants with plots from year to year.
- Make a list of vegetables you are planting this year.
- Sketch a rough draft of your garden plot. It does not need to be to scale.
- Have your vegetable plot facing true south as closely as possible.
- Put the tallest vegetable plants along the northern edge of the garden, or wherever they won't shade the other plants during most of the day. If you grew the tallest plants there last year, consider putting them along the western edge.
- Arrange for short plants to be grown facing true south or near it.
- Sketch in the medium-sized plants in the middle in order of their height when fully grown.
- Think about using companion planting methods, such as the Three Sisters arrangement as used by the Native Americans. They planted corn, beans and squash together in groups. For a full understanding, refer to a book on companion planting. This helps you to maximize your garden space, and most of us could use more space.