How To Plan A Vegetable Garden: A Beginner-Friendly Guide
Updated: Sep 10
Angie's Beginner Garden Planning Method
Measure your space
Start with a few varieties of plants
Choose crops you enjoy eating
Read the seed packet information for planting
Check your zone & frost dates
Make a plan and adjust as needed
For The Beginner That Needs An Edge
Planning your first vegetable garden can feel overwhelming: What should you plant? How much space do you need? When should you start seeds? This beginner-friendly guide walks through the simple steps I use to turn those questions into an actual garden plan.
These thoughts go through every gardener's head when planning their garden for the year.
Having more questions than answers can feel overwhelming even to experienced gardeners. We will cover a few tips on how you can plan & plot out your garden - stress-free!
Start By Measuring Your Garden Space
First and foremost, when planning a garden, you must know the size of the space you are working with. During my first year of gardening, I was told the plot size and planned my plot, and when I went to mark my plot, I realized my plot was a different size!
Measure the width and length of your plot and note it down. I prefer to use Excel for all my garden needs- this allows me to easily and quickly change my plans. After measuring, I create the below garden plot Excel spreadsheet.
As you can see, I went from 176 square feet to 165 square feet. Excel allowed me to plot how my plot looks - crooked. In the long run, knowing my exact plot layout saved me from starting too many seeds indoors.
Each square represents 1 square foot, which will become important when planning and planting, especially if you are looking to do any square-foot gardening.
In general, knowing the space you are working with first will allow the rest of your planning to be smooth.
Choose Vegetables You Will Actually Eat
My next tip may seem pretty basic, but I've talked with many gardeners who were just getting started and found that many of them struggled with what to grow.
Do you like to eat salads?
Try growing lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, and kale
Are you constantly sautéing?
Enjoy baking?
Looking for something unique?
Potatoes come in wide varieties & colors and are incredibly easy to grow
Whatever you decide to grow, be sure to grow it because you like it.
Start Small For Your First Garden
After you decide what to grow and know what size space you have, you are ready to weed down your list of plants. Once you have that information, you are ready to plot your garden.
To begin your first gardening season, thinking smaller is better! After all, you are gardening to enjoy it, and it shouldn't be stressful - that is advice my husband gave me, but I ignored. Halfway through my first gardening season, I was tired, spending a significant time in the garden, and a little confused.
In due time, you will have more experience and be able to try to grow more crops. Things like beets, carrots, radishes & kale are all very simple to grow, tolerant of both heat and frost, and versatile in the kitchen!
I ignored the "start small" advice and planted 70+ different crops
Learn From Angie's Errors While You Plot Your Garden
For example, in my first garden season I ignored the "start small" advice and planted 70+ different crops. I thought I was pretty organized - everything was marked, and I had my handy spreadsheet showing me what I planted where. The issues started when things weren't growing - I would just put a new seed in the ground. I didn't mark it, remove the old tag, or even pay attention to whether the old crop ever grew. I wish I had planted a different crop instead of replanting a new seed.
About mid-season, I had 6 tomato cages and only 2 tomato plants. Every week I would replant seeds - a big mistake. I should have just let them be and planted a different crop to grow. At the end of the season, I had 15 tomato plants (way too many for my space), and I only had about 10 red tomatoes all season.
Be that as it may, had I started my first garden small, I would have saved headaches in the long run and ensured a happier, stress-free season! In future seasons, I will plot my garden first and edit as needed pre-season.
Do Not Overcomplicate Your Garden
Despite best efforts, it's surprisingly easy to turn a very simple garden into something complex. If you remember the tips below, you will ensure an organized garden.
Use weed block
I highly recommend using weed block - this will save you from having to intensely weed weekly. Simply cover your entire plot in weed block & stake down where necessary. I recommend using the stakes, and not rocks or bricks. When you are ready to plant, cut an X shape in the weed block, dig a hole, and plant your seed.
Label your seeds
Is this a weed or a seedling? Save yourself the struggle and label every seed you plant. Over time, you will learn what seedlings look like and can skip the labels, but for first-timers, labels are recommended.
Don't overcrowd your plants
The seed packets have valuable information on them - such as spacing. Be sure to space plants appropriately, and not to overcrowd. Overcrowding plants sooner or later will lead to disease and unhealthy plants. If you plot your garden, this will be easy to avoid.
Should I Start Seeds Indoors?
In my first year of gardening, I started (almost) all my seeds indoors using mini greenhouses. There are positives and negatives to starting seeds indoors vs planting directly in the ground.
A positive of starting seeds indoors is that you can know which seeds sprout and which seeds do not sprout. You'll have plenty of time to start another seed if the first seed fails to sprout.
For me, a negative of starting the seeds indoors was having to care for the seeds - making sure not to overwater or underwater. Taking off the greenhouse lids was also a challenge for me - I planted multiple varieties of plants in the same greenhouse, and each germinated at different times. When I removed the greenhouse lids, some seeds hadn't germinated, and I wound up restarting seeds (again).
Finally, when I realized that the days to maturity are based on the "in-ground" date, not the seed start date - that sealed the deal for me. I wondered why in the world I spent all this time tracking, starting, and growing seeds indoors. Not starting seeds indoors will save me a little pre-season garden stress next year.
When Should I Plant?
Whether you are planting seeds or plants in the ground, you will want to wait until the ground is warm. Typically, this is about 4 weeks after the last frost date. In zone 5b, the time to plant outdoors is typically around Mother's Day in May.
What To Do After You Finish Your Plan
After I plan my garden, I like to revisit it in about a week. That gives my brain time to decompress and come back with fresh eyes to ensure I don't have any changes.
Next, I make a list of what I need - everything from compost and amendments to seeds, and more. Once I have my list, I decide where to buy from, especially the seeds themselves.
Finally, once I have all my supplies, I start organizing when I need to start seeds, lay amendments, etc., and I get those tasks on my calendar so I don't forget.
When it comes time to take action, I smile because I know I have a plan. At the end of the season, I smile again because it all came together.
What Should I Consider When Planning A Vegetable Garden?
First and foremost, I would consider your zone & frost dates. Knowing your zone and frost dates will start you on the best path possible.
Then, I would consider what plants grow in your zone and in your growing season (the # of days between last frost and first frost). If you really want to grow a specific plant, but it needs 110 days to grow, and your season is only 90 days, then that likely isn't a plant for you (at least not as a beginner!).
Finally, know your space and requirements for planting. I would recommend starting with a few plant varieties and then planting per the seed packet. These tips will ensure you are off to a great first garden season!
Interested In More Beginner Garden Tips?
This is the first blog of a five-part series on Angie's Recipe Garden.
Over the next few weeks, I'll be covering the following topics:
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