Planning a Vegetable Garden Layout:
Free Garden Plans and Online Planner
Planning a vegetable garden layout can be one of the most fun parts of gardening!
★ SaveYou can plot your garden on paper to help determine the size, shape, and amount of vegetables you can grow. Or use our interactive Vegetable Garden Planner to create the size you want, choose your vegetables, build your garden, and print it!
Below are two sample 20 x 40 foot vegetable garden plans to choose from: one with 5 rows of sweet corn, and one without corn.
Or use our planner tool below to design and print your own 20 x 40 vegetable garden plan.
Our Gardens Over the Years
Over the years, we have had large in-ground gardens on our farm, raised bed gardens, and also some container gardens. There are advantages to each, and it really depends on your skill level, and how much time and energy you want to spend on gardening.
Charlotte
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Use Our Free Online Vegetable Garden Planner
Use our free online Vegetable Garden Planner to design a vegetable garden that works for you! Then you have the fun of choosing exactly which vegetables you will plant in this year's garden.
It helps to organize a bit before starting out, so we have put together a free printable garden planner to help you plan your garden.
An attractive and productive vegetable garden is a source of pride that also provides a bounty of fresh, wholesome produce. It helps to keep your garden plan as simple as you can. If you learn to really love gardening, you can always increase the size and complexity of your garden plan next year.
What Type of Vegetable Garden to Plant?
There are many ways of growing vegetables in a home garden. Backyard gardens are the most traditional type of plot. However, many gardeners are discovering the joys of container gardening, raised bed gardens, and square foot gardens.
★ SaveThese types of gardens are great for beginner gardeners, and for those who don't have the time or physical strength to prepare, plant, and keep up an in-ground garden. If simplicity is what you want, follow the links above to the articles on each type of garden.
★ SaveBackyard Gardening
Once a site has been selected, measure the garden so you will know the square footage of the area. Factor in space for extras such as a cold frame, rain barrel, storage shed, compost bin, and greenhouse when possible. Place these items where they will not crowd your main planting ground.
- Draw it to scale. When planning a vegetable garden layout, draw the proposed plot to scale, laying out the beds and walkways.
- Beds and rows are usually three to four feet wide and run north to south.
- Paths should be about two or three feet wide.
- A small lot is fine. A 500-square-foot space (20 x 25 feet) can go a long way toward supplying a family of four with fresh, healthy vegetables.
Vegetable Garden Layout
A small, well-laid-out garden with its beds running north and south for the best sun is ideal. Picture a plot 4 feet wide by 20 feet long.
With a four-foot width, you can reach the center of the garden from either side, so there's no need for paths inside the bed. A straw path along each long side keeps your feet off the soil.
Put the tallest crops, like pole beans and tomatoes, at the north end, and work down to the shortest crops, like lettuce and spinach, at the south end, so nothing gets shaded.
Have room for extras?
Here is one way to fit a compost bin, storage shed, rain barrel, cold frame, and greenhouse beside a 4 x 20 garden:
- On the west side of the garden, put the compost bin in the most northern corner.
- Beside it, moving south, place your storage shed.
- Continuing south, leave a spot open for the rain barrel.
- The walkway starts just beyond the rain barrel.
- Past the path, heading south, put your cold frame.
- Last but not least, the greenhouse goes in the southernmost corner, where it gets the most sun.
★ SavePlanning a Vegetable Garden Layout: Step-by-Step Success
★ Save- Plant tall crops that cast shade, such as pole beans and corn, in the northern half of the vegetable garden.
- Group perennial vegetables, like asparagus and rhubarb, together along the edges.
- A small hedge around the site can protect the garden from wind.
- Consider sunlight, soil, and climate when choosing the garden spot.
- Cold air drains downhill and collects in low areas, so the bottom of a hill is the coldest, most frost-prone spot.
- Choose level ground close to the house, so watering, weeding, and harvesting are easy.
5 Layout Tips That Make a Big Difference
- Watch the sun first. Walk your garden in the morning, at noon, and in late afternoon. Note which spots get 6 to 8 hours of sun before you place a single bed.
- Put tall crops on the north side. Corn, pole beans, and tomatoes on trellises go on the north end, so they don't shade the shorter plants.
- Make paths 18 to 24 inches wide. That's room to kneel, carry a basket, and push a wheelbarrow through.
- Tuck lettuce under the tomatoes. The tomato plants shade the lettuce in summer, which slows bolting and uses space that would sit empty.
- Plant melons beside the compost pile. Melons love the extra warmth and moisture, and their vines can spread out without crowding the garden.
Not sure which way your rows should run? Oregon State University Extension explains how to place your garden rows for the best growth.
For more layouts, see our free vegetable garden plans and small vegetable garden plans.
Healthy Soil Is Very Important!
Before planning a vegetable garden layout in the ground, it is a good idea to have the soil tested through your local extension office. Most garden soil will benefit from a layer of compost that includes well-aged manure to add fertility.
★ SaveDo as much as you can to improve your soil, because keeping your plants healthy is key to your gardening success! See vegetable garden soil for more.
★ SaveGarden Soil and Compost
Soil tests show what type of soil you have to work with and the minerals it already contains. This information is handy for your next step: balancing the soil to give your growing plants the nutrients and soil condition they need.
★ SaveA compost pile recycles garden waste by breaking it down quickly into a rich, crumbly fertilizer. You can build a simple compost bin with posts; see our compost bin plans. For the best results, a compost pile should measure at least 40 cubic feet.
★ SaveOnce you've picked a compost bin, the next question is what to put in it. A good pile is a mix of "greens," like kitchen scraps and grass clippings, and "browns," like dry leaves and straw. Use about two to three parts browns for every one part greens. Keep it about as moist as a wrung-out sponge and turn it now and then.
The chart below shows what to add, and what to leave out so your pile doesn't draw pests or spread plant diseases.
★ SaveOne more tip before you plant: include some herbs or marigolds when planning a vegetable garden layout. They attract helpful insects, add color to the garden, and the herbs will spice up your home-cooked meals.
More Garden Planning Guides
Return to our Planning a Vegetable Garden hub for complete guides to garden design, layout, raised beds, containers, and planning tools.
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