If you are wanting to plant a veggie garden and are new to gardening it can seem quite overwhelming. In this post, I’m going to share how you can successfully plan your vegetable garden in 5 easy step. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a veggie garden yet or you have one already, going through the planning process will give your garden the love it needs.
From planning what to plant to where to plant the veggies, there are things that you need to put into consideration and you’ll learn all about that below.
So here’s the truth, I have a love-hate relationship with my garden. I spend HOURS getting everything prepared, so many hours that I burn myself out!
I’ve created an efficient planning system that will allow you to get your veggie garden in tip-top shape!
Here are my top 5 steps to planning a garden.
Find A Direct Sunlit Area
Before you do anything for your veggie garden, you need to find a well-lit area. Veggies need the sun to survive, some more than others. A good rule is about 8 hours of direct sunlight. This will allow your veggies to thrive and grow well.
If you are having a hard time finding a big enough spot for your garden that has direct sunlight, keep in mind that there are veggies that can do with a little less sun. Veggies like kale, broccoli, cabbage, and lettuces like cooler and less sunny areas.
Here’s a tip to keep those less sun-loving veggies thriving through those hot summer months, plant them next to a bigger plant to help shade them.
I know where I’m from if I don’t plan my lettuces next to a big plant to help shade it, my lettuce will go to seed way too quickly.
These are things to keep in mind when planting, but we’ll get to that a little later.
How big is your veggie garden going to be?
How big is your garden going to be? This is something that you really need to ask yourself! There are many things that you need to consider when you’re planning your garden out. If this is your first year, you may not want to start off with a huge garden.
You’ll need to ask yourself:
- How much time do I have to commit to this garden?
- How much time will it take me to prep the area?
- Will this be a year-round-garden?
- How much time do I have per day do I have to spend in the garden?
- How much money am I willing to spend on this garden?
- Will you be only gardening during the spring and summer?
- How much food do I want to produce each year?
I know that is a lot to ask yourself, I’d like to talk about each of these a little further.
How much time do you have to commit to your veggie garden?
This is a pretty vague question because there are some many aspects of creating a garden. You’ll need to prep the area, maintain the area, plant the plants, maintain your veggies, and the list goes on.
If you start your garden out too big, you may fail, and that’s not going to be a good experience when it comes to your garden.
How much time will it take you to prep the area?
If this is your first veggie garden then you’ve probably got a lot of work ahead of you. If this isn’t your first year, you still need to ask yourself that question.
There’s a lot that goes into prepping the area. You’ll need to figure out compost, raised beds, pH levels, and so much more when it comes to the prepping part.
How much time each day will you be spending in the garden?
Remember your garden is a living thing, it needs attention just like everything else. You’ll need to water, maintain the plants, and check for bugs and slugs each day. It is so important for you to ask yourself realistically, how much time do you have?
How much money are you willing to spend in your garden?
You think of gardening as a way to save money but that’s not always the case. You’ll need to add compost, you might need to get tools if you don’t have any. The list goes on when it comes to the cost.
However, the reward is amazing! You are going super fresh food for you and your family. The experience and the nutritional value of your garden are worth so much!
How much food are you wanting to produce?
Do you just want to grow some beans, tomatoes, and a few carrots? Or, are you wanting to replace the grocery store?
This is something that you’ll need to keep in mind when planning your garden.
Will this be a year-round garden or a seasonal garden?
If you are planning to keep your garden year round, then you’ll need to add that extra time and cost to the equation.
Yes, gardening is quite a commitment, but like I said earlier, it’s totally worth the outcome!
Creating raised beds
This is not mandatory but you’ll find that you’ll have an easier time with raised beds. I have raised beds in my garden and I love them. They help me so much that I just don’t know what I would do if I had to go without them.
I find that weeding is a little easier to maintain, it is a lot easier to keep the soil soft in the raised beds, and it’s easier to do a more thorough job when it comes to weeding.
How to make a simple raised bed:
2 2x8x8 and decking screws.
I made my raised beds using 2x8x8 and cut them into 4-foot pieces and screwed them together with decking screws and made myself 4’x4′ square raised beds.
I like to use decking screws because of the weather. This is a trick my dad told me, I’m not sure if it’s true or not, it’s just what I used.
I like the size of 4’x4′ beds because I can easily grab into the center of the bed on any side I’m on. Since my garden is a square foot garden this was a very simple way for me to measure this all out.
Laying your raised bed
If this is the first year that you have your garden, you may have grass under. If that’s the case, you can either dig up the grass or you can lay a thick layer of newspaper down, then lay the raised bed down.
You’ve just saved yourself a ton of weeding time, by laying the newspaper down.
Let’s talk soil
Creating a great soil combo
Without soil, your veggies will not thrive. The soil is an important part of the equation and that’s what we are going to talk about now.
Year after year of planting a garden, plants take nutrients from the soil, it is important to replace the nutrients. Once a year I add an organic compost, peat moss, and vermiculite to the soil. Then about once a month, I add organic vegetable plant food. I only choose organic when it comes to my garden because this is food we are talking about and I don’t want to take any chances.
If you’d like to learn more about your soil and really everything about gardening, I’m going to link 2 of my all-time favorite gardening books for you to enjoy!
These two books have taught me so much about gardening and I refer back to them year after year!
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. You can read my full disclosure here.
Square Foot Gardening with Kids
Have a great plan!
Gardening is a huge project, and huge projects can have a tendency to overwhelm us. That’s why having a great plan is so important from the beginning.
Unfortunately, your garden isn’t going to grow itself. It needs a lot of hard work and attention for it to produce for you.
The best way to tackle this giant project is to create a solid plan. You need to pick your spot, make your beds, prep the soil, pick the plants, and so much more.
Each year, I create a plan of what I want to plant, do I want to start it from seed or from a start. Then I look back year after year on my planner to see what the average rainfall, the sun, and temp each month and each season.
This gives me a good idea of when I can plant what.
Each year I take notes on what worked and what didn’t so I know if I should try something new. Since I’ve been planning out my garden I’ve been about to double the amount of food I grow year after year.
I start out just creating 2 raised bed where I planted a few things in the spring and harvested in the summer. I’d let it die down and then I’d start again the next spring.
Well, I now grow food year round and have 9 raised beds, fruit trees, and berry plants. It’s all because I keep track of what I’m doing year after year.
If you’d like to preview this planner, I’ve put together a free preview for you.
Jenn
my hubs and I just bought a house and I’m so excited to have room to plant stuff! These are great tips! thanks so much!
Of course. Good luck on the garden this year!!
I need to start growing herbs. I don’t have a green thumb, but my husband does, so hopefully he will be into it. I would save so much money if I just grew my own!
It surely does take practice. I started small and worked my way up. Just remember to set time out each day for your plants and they will grow beautifully for you! Good luck!!
I am a start person and I inherited a huge garden area when we bought our house but I haven’t been able to make the most of it yet. I’m going to use the garden planted and really do it this year!
Awesome! Good luck to you!!
I’m looking at starting my very first garden this year and these tips are very helpful! I will definitely be going with starts on my first try 🙂
Awesome! Starts are so great to start off with! I wish you the best of luck on your new garden, how exciting!!
This is fantastic! I can’t wait till I can start my own garden!
Yay! Thanks.
Can’t wait to get back in the garden, it all starts on paper and with a plan.
It really does! Thanks.
I love to plan my garden!! I have a 10 year old helper too and it’s fun for the both of us! Thanks for your tips and happy gardening!
Oh that is so great! My 11 year old is not so much into helping anymore. I’m looking forward to a few non rainy days so I can get my hands nice and dirty!!
Wow Jenn! You always have the most thorough posts – this was really helpful! When I am older and can have a garden I’m coming to you! 🙂
Love this!
xo
Krista
http://www.hundredblog.com
How sweet Krista, thank you so much for your kind words 🙂 Please by all means email me anytime with any questions I would love to help 🙂
I love this article! We are in the middle of trying to plan our garden and were needing some advice. Perfect timing. I especially love the seeds vs starts.
Great Ali, if you have more questions please email me I’d love to help!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Great tips! I need to start planning mine now! 🙂
Awesome! Good luck on your garden!!
This is so good! It’s totally time for me to start planning my garden-I am so stoked!
Thanks, Angie! Good luck on your garden!! I’d love to see pictures 🙂
This is great! I’m looking forward to planting my spring garden soon. My kiddos are excited to plant strawberries.
Strawberries are so great! Love going out and picking them right off the plant before the birds get to them 🙂 Good luck on your garden!!
Great tips! I have a little journal that I write down what grew well and where… because come spring I can never remember what I did last spring! haha!
Oh me too! For the longest time I kept trying to grow things and never remembering. Having a planner or journal is a life saver! Good luck on this year’s garden!!
Great post! Having a green thumb is what I lack but I have always wanted to have my own garden to go the more natural and healthy way. I’ll defiantly have to download one of your plans. Thanks for the tips!
It is all about taking the time each day for your plants. If you remember to water them and check on them each day they will be happy and grow well for you. Good luck on your garden!!
Jen your graphics for this post are great! I wish I had a yard for a garden. I would love to grow my own produce and flowers.
Thank you Dia! If you want to grow a few things and have a patio you can grab a few containers and start there. My garden becomes my sanctuary in the spring and summer. Thanks so much for stopping by!!
For a beginner like me, this is perfect! I just started my first herb garden last year and I’d love to do more. I just don’t know if we get 8 hours of sunlight!
If you are worried about getting direct sunlight avoid heat loving plants like corn and tomatoes. Most everything else will grow. Lettuces, kale, and broccoli love the not so direct sun areas. Good luck!
I can so use these tips and your download. We’re planning to start our vegetable garden this weekend, fingers crossed. 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Good luck!!
Uhh, this is great! I like how you added all the steps to take and even free printables! Thank you so much!
Of course, good luck!
this is brilliant. I really want to start a veg garden in the near future so going t bookmark this. 🙂
Awesome! Thanks!!
I printed this post. The kids are getting ready to get started on their little garden. Thank you so much for the information!
Of course! Good luck!
I wish I had a yard to have a garden. I’ve been looking into a makeshift garden because I really want to start growing my own produce. Thanks for the great list of what to consider. 🙂
Of course! Good luck!
I started planting vegetables a couple of years ago. I was amazed at how easy it is to grow things. It didn’t take long to figure out what I could grow best so now I mainly stick to garden greens, kale, radishes, herbs, swiss chard, tomatoes and peppers. Since I have a very small and shady backyard, it took some work to find a small patch that got 8 hours of sun. I loved your article on planning and pinned it to my Garden board. Thanks!!
Wonderful, thank you!! Good luck on this years crop!!
I am already planning my garden. I am planting tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, pumpkins, cilantro, and basil. I just need spring to get here.
Wonderful! Sounds like a wonderful garden!!
This is so great – I love your tips and the printables! We have a small fruit & veggie garden that is in desperate need of love this year, but it’s been so wet and soggy that we haven’t had a chance to get out there to prep the soil. Do you have a favorite organic soil and plant food that you use and like more than others?
I usually head to Lowes (a few blocks from the house) and pick up whatever organic compost they have, it is usually a local brand. The food, I don’t remember the brand but an all purpose organic vegetable plant food will work great. I haven’t purchased mine yet since we are having the wettest February and March on record and haven’t made it outside yet…Hopefully soon!! Hope this helps, good luck on your garden!!
Over the years, I’ve had both a full scale and a container garden… Gardening is very healing and getting produce makes the work worth while… 🙂
It sure does! Thanks.
I really want to grow a garden but I never seem to figure out what to do with the Vegas summer. Thinking of starting early this year. your garden planner might be a good tool to help me out.
Awesome! Yes I’m sure Las Vegas summers can not be easy on a garden! Good luck!!
This makes me so excited for Spring! It’s only my second year having a garden and this is all great advice!
Wonderful! Good luck to you this year!! Thanks!
I can’t decide what to grow this year! I’m good at growing sweetpeas and sunflowers from seeds but veg needs to be starts (I’m in the UK without a greenhouse), I love spring it’s so exciting planning a garden.
I mostly grow my veggies from starts. Good luck on this year’s garden!!
Great post and easy-to-follow tips for how to start! I’ve been wanting to start a vegetable garden for awhile now, thanks for giving me some ideas on how to begin. 🙂
Awesome! Good luck!
I can’t wait to plant a garden now! love the planner idea too!
Wonderful, good luck!
This is super helpful! Thanks for sharing!
Of course, thank you.
I love this breakdown and how simple you’ve made it!
XOX
Candice
http://www.candicestubblefield.com
Thank you!
Great guide, hubby and I have a plan to have our veggie garden when we get our own place, hopefully soon!
That’s wonderful!! Good luck.