Planning a Vegetable Garden

First, find the best site for your vegetable garden. Look for a spot that receives at least six to eight hours of sunlight a day. Look at the position of any trees in the area to make sure they will not shade your garden in the summer. The site should be well-drained, a slight slope would be great. Soil fertility is the next thing to look at. If you have several locations to choose from use the area with the best soil conditions. If you only have one possible location then you can improve the soil by adding manure, leaves, compost and old straw to increase its organic content. Once you have decided on the location make sure you will be able to get water to the garden and that you are close enough to do all the maintenance that will be needed.

Now you are ready to make a list of the vegetables you will want to grow.   A typical list might be: 

• Carrots – 2 types
• Radish – White
• Radish – Red
• Lettuce – Red Sails
• Lettuce – Buttercrunch
• Tomatoes – Assorted
• Beans
• Peas
• Butternut Squash
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini
• Parsley
• Brussels Sprouts
• Potatoes

Then sketch your garden plan, and be sure the vegetable rows run in an east-west direction. North-south rows will shade each other as the sun moves across the sky. On the north side of the garden you should place the taller crops. You might consider including some flowers in your garden plan to attract bees and butterflies.  By checking the back of your seed packets you will be able to sketch on paper the spacing needed for each vegetable type. Be careful not to squeeze too many vegetables into your plan. Once the plants become full size you will want to be able to work around the plants.