So you’re starting a garden? Expanding what you already have?! I’m so excited for you! Gardening is many people’s happy place. Not only can you grow healthier, cheaper food than what’s offered at the grocery store, but it’s also cheaper than therapy… or Lawyer retainer fees. 😉
No matter the reason for your journey, whether you have questions or don’t know where to start, I’ve got your back! From figuring out what to grow to drawing a layout. This is the post for you!
You can learn what to plant, how to sketch out the garden or beds, and where to put the plants. It sounds daunting, I know, but it really is much simpler than you think. Why pay for expensive courses and ads when I’ll explain it right here!
Check out the Frequently Asked Questions section at the bottom!
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Start Small if you’re Learning
So you’re new to Gardening and Homesteading? No worries! Just pick a couple of things that you like and perfect them. There is no need to grow a 100-plus-square-foot garden that you have no idea how to tend or prune.
Start with just 2 or 3 of your favs and become an expert on those. If you have issues, this gives you enough time to research and fix them while still taking care of everything else in your life!
Starting my expansion!
How Much Space Will You Have
Do you have a yard? How big? Are you renting, and if so, will the landlord be ok with an unground garden? Answer these questions and then determine if you will be container gardening or starting a small in-ground/raised bed garden.
Once you figure this out, walk outside and check out the outdoor space. You can even map out a garden using stakes and twine. Measure and calculate how many square feet that will be. Now, on paper, you can see how many rows you will get.
Remember that it’s perfectly fine if you want or need a container garden. Tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, root veggies, herbs, and other plants do great in containers!
Just remember that if you are in a warmer climate, you will likely need to water more often to keep the soil from drying out.
What To Plant
Only buy and grow what you or someone else in your household will eat. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? I’ve seen people get so excited about gardening that they grab a ton of seeds and plant things they don’t need or want. Later, they’ll be looking at the harvest, thinking to themselves, “I don’t even like peas”.
Just make a quick list of the herbs and veggies you use regularly. This will give you a starting point on what you may be able to plant this season.
Keep your zone & the season in mind
Don’t assume seeds at the store in the springtime are good to plant right now in your area.
So you walk into your local garden center and grab a few seeds. Nothing crazy, just what you know you like and have space for. Winning is great! However, not every seed on the shelf is suitable for your climate, and the season it is sold.
This frustrated me to no end when I was still learning. You will easily think you’re doing something wrong, but it’s just bad timing!
For instance, I’m in Zone 9b in SE Texas. We get 100-degree-plus weather every Summer. Broccoli doesn’t like the heat. At all. For us down here, it is one of the few Fall crops we plant to keep it as far from the heat as possible. I still need to look for heat-tolerant varieties, because Fall and even early Winter aren’t that cool.
However, you can bet your paycheck that every Spring, I waltz into a garden center for one thing or another and BOOM, broccoli seeds for sale, and some are not the heat-tolerant varieties.
Once you have your “To Grow” list, do some quick internet searches on when to plant each one in your zone. Luckily, most things will still be in the spring.
Not sure what zone you’re in? No worries! The USDA has a map you can use to search for your zip code. Click here to see what zone you live in by zip or check out the map below for a more general overview.
How Much Space do the Plants Take?
Every plant has a minimum spacing requirement to thrive. Cucumbers, for instance, are a bit greedy. If you are a fan of green or black beans, pick pole varieties that climb and have a smaller footprint in your garden than the bush variety.
Check out the back of the seed pack. If it’s not there or you haven’t purchased yet, run a quick research such as “Green bean pole spacing” and let the Google machine tell you. No worries.
You may be in love with the idea of a specific crop, but to find out, it will take WAY too much space. For me, that’s artichoke. Absolutely love them! But the space greedy little brats take up a 4-foot by 4-foot area, and I’m just not cool with that much space on one veggie. Especially one that produces so little. Sadness.
Note the spacing requirements for each plant on your list and take a look. Don’t mark anything off yet, unless there is a drastic space requirement like the mean artichokes.
How much will your family consume?
Look up yield per plant vs how many plants per person. Plant accordingly.
For example, if you would like to do green beans, the pole variety takes very little space. You can plant four plants per square foot, and it takes roughly five plants per person per year. So if you have a family of 3, you will need 15 plants for the year.
This may sound like a lot, but in a 2’ x 6’ space, you can put two bamboo teepees, each holding 5 + plants! Plus, you don’t HAVE to plant a year’s worth. Just as much as you can.
Get the Lay of the Land
Take a good, long look at your yard or planned garden area. Are there low spots, small hills, or other features? If so, don’t get frustrated. Take advantage! If you have a sloped yard, for instance, put water-loving veggies like cucumbers and carrots in the lower-lying area(s). Higher spots? Plant peppers, lavender, or other plants that can handle or even need drier soil.
You may need to put some things into raised beds to get them out of clay or rocky soil, or take advantage of your land/yard. I’m planting root veggies in raised beds to keep them from hitting the harder clay areas in my newer rows. I’ve been supplementing, but it can take a while.
Just a hint: Try to keep annuals and perennials grouped if possible. It’ll just make your life easier when it’s time to plant, plan, and winterize everything.
Will you need to supplement the Soil?
Consider the quality of your soil. If you know you have sandy or clay fill soil that will require some work, we’re back to starting small. Don’t try to do a huge area all at once. It’s a lot of work and can be expensive.
I suggest starting in the fall on bigger expansions that will need supplementing. Do one light till or soil turn with good, organic compost and cover with mulch or wood chips. This will give you the Fall and Winter to add fertilizers and let the ground recover, creating a better environment for your garden the following growing seasons.
You can then add layer after layer as the seasons go by. Within a few rounds, you’ll barely remember the rough time you had with your soil!
Companion Planting When Possible
Companion plant as much as possible! It’s a great space-saver and can help the garden, too! I suggest the 3 Sisters. This is corn, squash, and pole beans growing together and supporting each other. In one area, you can have three crops growing!
Pole beans pull nitrogen from the air and put it into the soil; the corn needs the nitrogen, so you get to fertilize less. Corn returns the favor and gives the beans a stalk to grow on. Squash helps shade the area, minimizing weeding.
You can also put smaller items at the base of your tomatoes. Garlic and herbs are a great and standard option. Garlic even helps control the pests! I have also seen people put small varieties of onions and carrots at the base.
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Sketching it Out!
Nothing fancy is needed, but you should be sure your plans will work. It may even surprise you and show you have more space than you realized!
That happened to me this season when I was more than doubling my growing space. I suddenly realized there were gaps in multiple rows. Well, hello, okra. Hello cabbage. Welcome to the party!
I’ve tried different apps over the years and haven’t really liked any of them. The free versions seem to be designed to frustrate you into paying for the upgrade. No thanks. I stick to pen and paper, and it gets done pretty quickly. Don’t worry about making mistakes!! It’s completely fine, and you don’t need to show anyone.
This is just to put your mind at ease with a firm plan and layout for what you want to accomplish this season!
Here are simple step-by-step instructions for drawing your garden.
- Measure the length and width of your bed(s) or garden area(s) with a measuring tape.
- Write everything down with the length in feet.
- Now grab a piece of paper; again, nothing fancy is needed. You can totally use lined notebook paper. If you have multiple areas, you will likely need various sheets of paper. I don’t suggest using the backs; your lines will show through, and if you make a mistake, you lose multiple bed layouts.
- Using a ruler, draw lines to represent your growing area and scale it. Make each foot equal an inch or a half inch in the line. For instance, if you have a raised bed that is 6 feet by 3 feet, you can draw a box that is 3 inches by 6 inches or 1.5 inches by 3 inches.
- Now you should have a list of what you plan to grow and how much space each takes. So use the same to scale changes and apply it to the veggies. For instance, tomatoes are supposed to be at least 2 feet apart, and I keep them about a foot from the edge of the bed. Using a ruler, mark the inch, aka 1 foot in real life, and put a circle. Then mark the space between and place another circle.
6. Keep doing this from plant to plant, required spacing to spacing until you are done or run out of room.
7. Label the plants as you go. It’s ok to scribble them out and make changes later.
8. Now take a look. Did you run out of room? Or do you have room to spare? Now is the time to really see what is going on. Mentally moving extras to containers is always an option!
It’s not fancy, but it’s effective!
Now, Get to Work!
Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start. Once the soil is prepped and ready, take a look at your drawn layout. Do you need teepees for beans, a trellis for cucumbers, or are your seeds already planted…? Shoo! Why are you still sitting here!!
Good luck and happy gardening!!
Until Next Time!
PJtxGirl
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Frequently Asked Questions
When should I start planning my veggie garden?
If you want to start planting in the Spring, you will need to start planning in January at the latest. This will give you time to get everything situated, seeds planted, and germinating before your last frost date.
How do I arrange plants in the garden?
Check out the sections above labelled “Get the Lay of the Land” & “Companion Planting When Possible”. These will help a lot.
How do I draw a garden easily, step by step?
People sometimes ask, “How to design a garden layout?” I go into detail about this above in the section labelled “Sketch it out!” and even include a couple of photos of mine as examples. Just remember, it doesn’t have to be pretty or perfect. Just functional!
How many years does it take to establish a garden?
Simple answer…one! You can start right now in containers inside if the weather is bad where you are. If your soil is a bit on the rough side for one reason or another, you may struggle the first year, maybe two, but you should still be producing something to get you pumped!
What is the best direction for a garden?
It really doesn’t matter. As long as the area is considered “full sun” (6+ hours of sun a day), your rows will be fine. It’s actually more worrisome what veggies may cast shadows on others. Like an entire wall of pole beans could easily put tomatoes into shade, but the time should be made up for as the sun goes back down on the other side.
What is the best place to start a vegetable garden?
Wherever you can! As long as it is in full sun, 6 + hours a day, you’re good to go! Just make sure it isn’t in the way of movers, kiddos, etc. It’ll save you heartache down the road.
If, like me, you are in the suburbs, just be sure where the utility lines are. Go online and search for your state and the phrase “before you dig,” and you should find a free resource to mark lines and cables.
Check with your HOA. In my neighborhood, for instance, I cannot have anything other than decorative plants in the front. Super frustrating, but it is what it is.
How do you divide a vegetable garden into sections?
Technically, you don’t have to. It’s ok to start a different plant next to a couple of tomatoes. They’re friendly enough and won’t mind.
However, if you want or need to, paths are a great way to divide the layout. I have three 4-foot rows separated by two 2-foot paths for access.
If you would like it more sectioned and paths are just not logical, I suggest a small tepee of 4 bamboo stakes and plant pole beans on them. You will basically be creating a living plant wall. This teepee can be placed between where you need to section, plus you’re giving all your green and black beans a home.
Until Next Time!
PJtxGirl
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