This is the most well-thought through vegetable garden I’ve ever created. Take a look at the plan I created, get tips to make your own, and get a jump on the season while we’re all cooped up at home.
1. My Garden Goal
My primary goal is to feed my family over as long of a growing season as possible. That means I’m choosing kid-friendly crops and varieties – not rare and experimental vegetables.
I made a list of the most important crops – the ones we eat on the regular. That includes: carrots, potatoes, onions, broccoli, tomatoes, winter greens, squash. It excludes: rutabaga, turnips, peppers, radishes, and other crops for sophisticated palettes.
2. Timing
Stretching food production over a long season means careful timing. I need enough space for the summer tomatoes and eggplants, but that leaves lots of space for spring/fall/winter crops in the same area. For each crop, I drew out when it’s planted, growing, and harvested.
3. Space-efficiency
Companion planting allows me to pack more crops into limited space, so I made a list of potential crop combinations. We have four 4′ x 8′ raised beds for intensive vegetable growing, so every inch needs to work hard and everyone needs to get along.
Good combinations include, with an * denoting combinations in my plan:
- *tomato + carrot/parsnip
- *tomato + basil
- eggplant + potato + onion
- bean + celery + spinach
- lettuce + carrot + cauliflower + radish + kale
- *broccoli + cucumber + garlic/onion + potato
- *bean + eggplant + cucumber
4. Garden Plan
I drew the garden plan out with pencil and graph paper. It’s drawn to scale based on the mature plant sizes. On the same page, I made a diagram for each bed to show the timing. Draw, erase, draw, erase… Finally, I had the right mix of crops, timing, and space efficiency.
Resources
The most helpful resources to craft your plan need to be local to your climate. Here are the most helpful ones I have found for the Pacific Northwest:
- Here are my garden plans from 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2011
- Portland Nursery’s online vegetable planting calendar tells you when to start indoor seeds, direct sow, and transplant seedlings.
- Portland Nursery also offers an online companion planting guide
- Maritime Northwest Garden Guide, by Seattle Tilth, Carl Elliott, Rob Peterson
- Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades, by Steve Solomon
