This military post may containaffiliate links , which entail that I may incur a commission if you make a leverage using these data link . As an Amazon Associate I earn from restrict purchase .
Mapping your vegetable garden before planting helps you see how many seedlings you require , where they will be embed , and how you’re able to keep each layer bring forth all through the growing season .
Late winter is the arrant time to design your vegetable garden . After enduring snowstorms and cold temperatures for months , I lead off inquire whether spring will ever arrive at all .
thought process of warm Clarence Shepard Day Jr. and fresh garden harvests advance me to the next pace in design a veggie garden : Mapping the Garden Beds .
After organizing your seed box , page through the catalog thinking aboutwhat to get , andmaking a seed wish tilt , the following step is to figure out how everything will fit into the garden .
Things to consider when planning the garden beds
Before sow in a single seed , it is helpful to sketch a map of the garden so you know how many seedlings you will ask , where they will be engraft , and how you’re able to keep each bed producing all through the growing time of year .
Plant Spacing
Do n’t be tempted to overcrowd your garden . Each industrial plant requires a certain amount of distance to grow healthy and produce an abundant harvest . Plants that are too close-fitting together will compete for nutrient , moisture , and air flow .
Crop Rotation
It is beneficial to go around plant families from one garden layer to another each growing season . Vegetables that are in the same menage expend interchangeable nutrient and are vulnerable to the same gadfly and diseases . Planting dissimilar crop families from twelvemonth to year helps to avoid depleting the soil and forestall harvest specific cuss and diseases from build up up from one time of year to the next . In my garden , I focus on five vegetable works family for revolution provision purpose :
The plants in each family are grouped together and planted in the same beds , so I can easily move them to a different layer the undermentioned yr . Other vegetable such as lettuce , corn , carrot , and herbs are work in where there is way , but I try not to plant them in the same stain two class in a row .
Growing Vertical
improbable trellis plants such as pea , rod beans , and indeterminate tomatoes are confine to the north end of the garden beds , so they do n’t shade other plants .
Succession Planting
Even in my Maine Zone 5 garden , I can get up to three crops in the same garden space if schedule cautiously . Quick growing crops such as spinach , lettuce , and other various greens can be planted in leaping . Once the warmer atmospheric condition arrives , spring greens usually become bitter and thunderbolt . These can be removed , fertilise to the wimp , and the quad used to grow bush bean . Once the bush beans are finished producing , a spill crop of spinach , lettuce , and other cool - time of year crop are planted .
Winter Storage Inventory
The inventory of the maintain garden amplitude from the previous year also factors into the amount of works in the program . I do n’t weigh my harvests , but do keep billet on the number of plants develop from yr to year . At the end of winter , I inventory what is left in depot and decide if I need to increase or decrease the number of industrial plant grown to ply us with enough preserved food until the following year garden begins to produce .
How to Map the Vegetable Garden Beds
Planning start with a blank garden diagram and the inclination of plant that you want to grow .
Before you begin plot out your garden layout , retrospect the list of crops you want to grow , decided roughly how many plants of each veg you would care to conjure , and review the seed package to see how much area each plant will need .
The way you approach single-valued function out your garden beds will depend on your priorities .
For case , we rely to a great extent on canned tomato plant sauce , can salsa , and icy love apple to use in soup and stews . So love apple , capsicum pepper plant , onion plant , and ail are considered necessities in the garden and take priority on the garden place .
I set out with these crops and plat out where they will be planted for the new time of year . Then I move on to other crop that will require trellis supports and extra space to grow . Finally , I fill in with short seasoned natural spring crop along with what will be planted once these crops are finished .
Step 1: Sketch the Garden Area
First , make a study of the garden surface area establish the dimensions of your garden layer . This can be done on a computing machine program or plainly guide out on graph paper .
Step 2: Plot the Plants on the Map
Refer to your seed tilt and commence arranging the crops in the garden function . Usesquare foot garden spacingor the recommend blank between flora point on the back of your seed package to estimate how many plants you’re able to grow in an arena .
Step 3: Start with High Value Crops
set out plat your garden with the crop you regard important . For example , tomatoes , white pepper , onions , and garlic are very gamy note value in our garden . These are plotted first on my garden map to ensure there is slew of room to grow enough of these crops for preserve .
Remember to account for crop revolution and forefend establish the same plant families in the expanse they grew last class .
Step 4: Decide Which Vegetables to Grow Vertically
Move on to crop that call for treillage supports to grow . think back tall crops should grow on the north side of your beds , so they do n’t fill in other plants .
Plan out where you will grow your indeterminate tomatoes , Cucumis sativus , terminal beans , pea plant , and other crop that will benefit growing with support .
Step 5: Give Vining Crops Plenty of Room
Vining crop , such as squash , pumpkin vine , and melons will need plenty of elbow room to sprawl . Be certain to locate these plant in an domain where they can grow long vines without smother other plants . I wish to plant these along the edges of my garden beds and have the vines trail out into the track if they need to .
Step 6: Fill in With Other Crops
at last , occupy in with little veteran spring harvest along with what will be succession planted in summer and fall once these crops are finished . For example , spinach , lettuce , and salad greens will uprise in leap , and then replant the bed with bush beans when the fountain crop are finished growing , pursue by coolheaded season crop again in nightfall .
Tuck in a few herbs and flowers where space allows , but deflect overcrowding your plants so they have passel of place to rise strong .
—
There you have it ! A cosmopolitan idea of how your vegetable garden will be planted in the spring . This plan may interchange come planting prison term and as the time of year progresses , but this is neat starting period .
chromosome mapping the garden bed each yr will help give you a plan to follow , make it easy to cypher out the amount of source and seedlings you will involve to fill the space .
In addition , mapping the garden beds allow a record of what was planted in each location from year to yr to help with crop gyration for next year .
The next step in Planning Your Vegetable Garden - > How to make aplanting and seed - begin scheduleso you hump when to sow your seeds .
You May Also Like :
Good planning is key to a successful vegetable garden
Whether you are new to grow your own food or have been growing a vegetable garden for years , you will benefit from some planning each year . You will come up everything you want to organize and plan your vegetable garden in my PDF eBook , Grow a Good Life Guide to Planning Your Vegetable Garden .
