Planning Your Vegetable Garden


Figure 1

This year armed with my notebook from the past season I can easily see where I can improve on location, and I can determine which varieties did not work, replacing these with new ones that may be better suited to my garden. Right now I see that my melon patch needs to be moved to where there is more sun, and my tomatoes, planted in haste, needed more space and support. Glancing at my observations I begin to visualize how my new garden will look. (Again if you are just starting, these are the kinds of records that you can put down as you start your new garden.)

Now come the harder questions that many gardeners force themselves to examine afresh each year. Following are just a few of the questions that can guide the beginner gardener in their planning. Do you want a formal garden framed with borders, or an informal garden that sports a more natural look? Should you plant only containers, or stick with beds? Do you look at creating a themed garden this year? Perhaps you want to have a salsa garden, or a children's garden? Beginning a new garden can be intimidating for the novice and choosing a themed garden can be a good starting block for what to plant. For the seasoned gardener, each year can bring a change to a new plan as you try an ever more challenging array of plants.

As I ask myself each of these questions I begin to narrow my focus. Formal gardens take a lot of time and work to establish and maintain. Since I only have a narrow window of time each day to attend to my garden, I choose an informal look. This year I choose to remain with my theme of a kitchen garden, because I love to cook. Of course, the part of planning I like the best is that it can all change at any time. The second I spy an extremely good heirloom variety of carrot, or a melon that needs more room, that's it. I pull another sheet of paper out and begin again, focusing on the new variety, while still keeping my old notes in mind. Such is the beauty of this stage of the plan, until it is in the ground, it can change a hundred times. (Once you settle on a plan you should stick to

The copyright of the article Planning Your Vegetable Garden in Organic Vegetable Gardens is owned by Tracy Nagy. Permission to republish Planning Your Vegetable Garden in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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