Garden plans part 2 - your garden site

You can grow our home vegetable garden plans just about anywhere that has good sun and good drainage, but a spot near your house will probably be most convenient. Stay away from spots that are too shady (you want at least 9-10 hours of unshaded daylight), and that spot in your yard where water always accumulates after a rain.

Here are some special features of our garden plans:

Compact and efficient. All our home vegetable garden plans comprise an area of about 6' x 8'; that's less than 50 square feet. We planned each plot to provide great garden veggies for fresh eating for two people. Our garden plan is laid out in a rectangle, with the long sides oriented east and west; this means your garden faces south.

Raised beds only. All our gardens use raised growing beds, with 1’ access paths in between. Raised beds provide a nice growing environment for your plants; they warm up sooner in the spring, have good drainage, and provide a way to grow those plants that like a deeper soil depth e.g. carrots and beets.

Continuous harvest. Our garden plans will keep the harvest coming by means of succession planting and the right selection of vegetables.

Getting started

Till your garden as soon as you can work the soil in the spring. Lay out your beds using stakes and string, and use a rake and shovel to form the beds and paths. This garden plan can be done in a couple hours working at a comfortable pace.

You can ensure fertility in your garden by raking or tilling in compost before shaping the beds. A one-inch layer over the whole area would require about 1-2 average wheelbarrow loads. You can also use well-aged manure, but this is best applied the season before planting e.g. if you are preparing an area in the fall to plant the following spring. Fresh manure should not be used.

As an alternative, you can use grass clippings from your lawn. Don’t till them in, just pile up on your growing area to make permanent mulch. You can plant transplants right through the mulch; with direct seeded crops like carrots you will have to move the mulch aside to plant directly in the soil. You can also add your leaf pile to the garden in the fall in the same way.

Next: How to start seeds and care for transplants. Key point when starting seeds indoors: Wet the seed starting mix before filling the pots more . . .

More 'Just in Time for Spring' good news! The $100 Spring Special from SBI! has bloomed once again. You know Site Build It! is what lets us bring this web-site to you, now you can grow 2 web-sites (or keep one and give one away) with the Spring Special!.

Return to New Terra Farm home page from Garden Plans