Vegetable Garden Layout – The First Steps

The big decision is made, you are going to start growing your own vegetables and the first step in learning how to vegetable garden begins with thinking about your vegetable garden layout.

Perhaps you are thinking that it is strange to think about vegetable garden design before deciding the vegetables that you are going to grow but it is more important to make sure you have the right sight and layout. Of course you already have a selection of vegetable varieties in mind but without taking the time to plan your vegetable garden layout you run the risk of not achieving the bumper harvest you are expecting. 

A small vegetable patch is better for the first time vegetable gardener otherwise there is a danger of feeling overwhelmed and a desire to give up before really getting started.  The key is to create the right vegetable garden layout for your situation.

Finding the right vegetable garden layout does not have to be so hard, you just have to take a couple of things into consideration.

The ideal location for your vegetable garden is one that is warmed by the sun for most of the day. Vegetable planting in a shady situation restricts what you can grow and also reduces the yield. Look at how the sun crosses you garden as this will also have a bearing on how you draw up your planting plan. When it comes to sowing and planting you want to make sure that each plant receives the maximum amount of sunshine possible and so you will be giving thought to planting smaller growing vegetables so that they receive as much sun as possible before becoming shaded by the taller varieties.

If planting in the ground and not containers, another important consideration for vegetable garden layout is the width of the beds. The proven ideal width of vegetable garden beds is 4 feet which enables the gardener to plant and maintain the bed without having to step on and compact the soil.

Of course you may not have the luxury of being able to plant in the ground; your space restrictions may necessitate having a container vegetable garden. The rule pertaining to maximum sunlight is still important with this method of gardening.

Draw the space you have allocated for your vegetable garden on paper roughly to scale. Indicate where north, south etc are and the path of the sun over your planting ground. Place a piece of tracing paper over the top and draw your vegetable garden layout by lightly sketching with a pencil so that you can you can easily rub out and change your mind before finalizing your ideal.

When you are happy you can think about moving forward with your vegetable garden planning and vegetable garden layout.

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 4:44 am and is filed under vegetable garden design, vegetable garden layout. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.