It is worth spending some\ntime thinking about the layout of the vegetable garden. A little forethought\nand planning about what you need in the vegetable garden and where you should\nput it, can reduce the amount of work required to keep it productive and make\nit a nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Garden style<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Your vegetable garden is a\npart of your living space and you will spend quite a lot of time there (as well\nas time looking at it), so it makes sense to expend a little effort on making\nit into an attractive and special place. You want it to be somewhere you will\nenjoy relaxing and contemplating as well as working. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Though most people think of\nthe vegetable garden as a utilitarian area of the garden, this doesn\u2019t mean it\ncan\u2019t be an attractive one too. You can get as imaginative and adventurous as\nyou want; the only limit on what you can do is your imagination. Depending upon\nyour taste you might plant a simple old fashioned row garden, a cottage garden,\na small micro farm of identical intensive beds, or a potager with a geometric\npattern of beds. The more adventurous\ngardens often require more work to keep them looking good, but reward you with\na uniquely ornamental landscape, as well as food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Garden size<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nsize of your garden will be limited by how much land you have available, how\nmuch work you are prepared to do and how much food you want to grow. Many\nbeginning gardeners yearn for a bigger garden, but productivity is as much\nabout how it is worked, as it is about the size of the garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The size of your garden will\noften determine what gardening methods you use. If you only have a small area\nthen you will probably want to use the most intensive growing methods. This\nenables you to easily double the yield per square foot of conventional gardens.\nIf you have plenty of land, you may prefer to grow a large row garden, as this\nrequires less work and inputs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have never had a\nvegetable garden before, it\u2019s a good idea to start with no more than two\nhundred square feet of intensive beds. This can be securely fenced, watered,\nfertilized and weeded and is easy to maintain. The smaller the garden, the\nbetter you can take care of it and the higher the yield per square foot. A\nsmall area tends to get used more efficiently and there is less empty space to\ngrow weeds and waste fertilizer and water on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As your skill and confidence\nbuilds you can expand accordingly. The average American vegetable garden is 500\n– 600 square feet, which is still fairly small. A large vegetable garden for 4\npeople might be 5000 square feet (which is still only an area roughly 70 feet\nsquare). <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you wish to grow enough\nfood to actually feed your family, you will have to expand your horizons and\nplant on a bigger scale. A couple of pounds of field corn or 20 pounds of\npotatoes just won\u2019t cut it. Even with highly intensive methods, it takes a\nconsiderable amount of space to be self-sufficient in vegetables. For a family\nof four you might need 100 tomato \nplants, 400 lettuce, 400 onions, 20 squash, 300 potato, 1000 carrot,\n1000 beans, 100 garlic and more. Obviously the exact size of this garden is\naffected by many variables: what you like to eat, the number of mouths to feed,\nthe fertility of the soil, your skill and your ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is another reason to\nmake the garden larger and that is so you can devote some space annually to\ngrowing soil improving crops. If you make it a third bigger than you need for\ncrops, you can take a third of the beds out of production annually and plant\nthem to green manures. This is an easy way to make a big contribution to soil\nfertility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is important that your\ngarden doesn\u2019t get so big that it becomes a chore; you don\u2019t want to become a\nslave to it. If your garden is too big it will often end up being half empty,\nit gets messy and overgrown with weeds and becomes a constant and depressing\nreminder of what you haven\u2019t done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Protection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of\nyour first priorities when creating the vegetable garden is to ensure that your\nplants survive long enough to mature. This begins by making sure they aren\u2019t\neaten immediately. Depending upon where\nit is located the main threats to your garden might be cutworms, slugs, deer,\ngophers, birds or dishonest humans. Whatever the problem, you need to devise\nsome effective means of controlling it (or keeping it out). If you don\u2019t then\ngardening can become a series of frustrating and disappointing incidents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In many (probably most)\nareas you will need a fence to keep out dogs, children, deer, raccoons,\ngroundhogs, rabbits or any other potential predators. Of course if you don\u2019t\nhave any of these problems, then you don\u2019t need to protect against them (one\nrule of economical gardening is to only do what is necessary).<\/p>\n\n\n\n After\nyears of depredations from deer, rabbits, raccoons, quail, squirrels, gophers\nand birds, I finally realized that in extreme situations, you may as well\ndesign the garden area for protection right from the start. Erect a full 7 ft\ntall bird \/ raccoon \/ deer proof perimeter fence (and if necessary a gopher\nproof floor) and you will no longer have to worry about these pests beating you\nto you carefully tended crops. This can make the garden a lot more productive,\nlower maintenance and less frustrating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In extreme cases you might\nalso have to add a roof of netting to keep out birds and squirrels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fencing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\ntype of fence you select will usually depend upon your budget, with the cheapest\nbeing plastic deer fencing or some kind of chicken wire fence. As a bonus these\ndon\u2019t block out much sunlight and can be used as support for vining plants.\nWood fences look good, but can cast shade and are much more expensive (as well\nas a waste of wood). Whatever you choose it must be continuous and\nimpenetrable, or it\u2019s worthless Incidentally when I say impenetrable this means\nvery small openings. I once saw a rabbit squeeze through an opening that was\nabout 1 1\/2\u201d in diameter, I couldn\u2019t believe my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A fence can be more than\nmerely a barrier; it can also give privacy, be ornamental, provide support for\ncrops and act as a windbreak. In cold climates fruit trees were once trained\nagainst south facing stone walls, as these hold the suns heat and provide a\nwarm microclimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A nice wide functional gate\nis also necessary, so it\u2019s easy to get through the fence and in to the garden\n(so many garden gates seem to be held together with string – mine included).<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have enough room you\ncould have a hedge of fruit trees and shrubs, rather than a fence. If this is\nto the south it must be low, so it doesn\u2019t cast shade. On the north side it can\nbe as tall as you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Growing beds or rows<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Vegetable gardens in this\ncountry used to consist of long rows of crops separated by areas of bare soil.\nThese imitated the fields of commercial growers, who needed the wide areas\nbetween rows for machine cultivation (they were often created by people who\nwere farmers). In recent years wide raised beds have gained broad acceptance as\na more efficient and productive way to use limited garden space (smaller\ngardens as a results of higher land prices may have had something to do with\nthis change).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The choice of whether to\ngrow in beds or rows is best decided by the circumstances and what you wish to\nachieve, rather than by any philosophical ideal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have limited space,\nlots of time and a desire to maximise productivity, then intensively\ncultivated beds are the best option. Row\ngardens require less work, water and other\ninputs than intensive beds and work better if the soil isn\u2019t very fertile.\nHowever they do require more space. If you have plenty of room, poor soil and\ndon\u2019t want to have to water very much, then the old fashioned row garden may be the way to go <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact that I have a lot\nmore to say about growing in beds, isn\u2019t an indication of my personal\npreference (though I am more familiar with growing in this way). It is more a\nreflection of the fact that growing beds require more attention and care. See Bed Preparation<\/strong> <\/strong>for more on\nthe pro\u2019s and con\u2019s of these <\/strong>beds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Garden beds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bed \/ row orientation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Gardeners have long argued\nabout it, but it probably doesn\u2019t make much difference whether your rows \/ beds\nare aligned north \/ south or east \/ west. However you do have to ensure that\nsmall plants aren\u2019t shaded excessively by taller ones. This is most easily\naccomplished by aligning the beds \/ rows north\/south, as then you don\u2019t have to\nworry about tall crops shading those to the north of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In very cold areas you may\nwant to designate a couple of the warmest, sunniest and most sheltered beds for\nearly and late crops. These should ideally be located on a south facing slope\nto maximize solar gain. Failing this you can orient the beds on an east\/west\naxis and tilt them slightly to the south. Also make sure they are not in a\nfrost pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In very windy areas it\u2019s\nusually best to situate the beds at right angles to the wind, so each bed\nprotects the ones downwind. For maximum wind protection you might also stagger\nthe paths (to prevent the wind travelling down the paths unhindered).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bed size<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The width of a bed is\nusually decided by how far you can comfortably reach to the center. This\nusually works out to a bed somewhere between 3 and 5 feet wide. Wider beds give\nyou more growing area, while narrower ones are more convenient to work with.\nThey are easier to dig from each side and step over, so there is less chance\nyou will stand on them (you can also straddle them with a wide garden cart.)\nHowever they require more paths, which means less growing area, which may be an\nissue in very small gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is convenient to\nstandardize the width of a bed, as it facilitates planning and record keeping\nand you can use standard size cold frames and row covers. French market\ngardeners made their beds to conform to their standard size cold frames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bed length is less critical\nthan the width and is usually dictated by the size and shape of the site. Don\u2019t\nmake the beds too long though, or it becomes a nuisance to walk all the way\naround them (this is particularly important if the paths are narrow). One way\nto decide on a length for the bed, is to make the length multiplied by the width\ninto a nice round number (e.g. 4 ft x 25 ft = 100 sq ft, or 5 ft x 40 ft = 200\nsq ft). This simplifies your garden mathematics (yield per square foot, how\nmuch amendments to add, etc).<\/p>\n\n\n\n To maximize the growing area\nyou may want to keep the paths fairly narrow (in small gardens they can be as\nnarrow as 12 – 14\u02dd). If you make the paths narrow don\u2019t make the beds too long,\nas you can\u2019t easily get a wheelbarrow down very narrow paths. You don\u2019t want to\nhave to carry spadefuls of compost half way down a 100 foot bed. Generally it\u2019s\na good idea to bisect your garden with a nice wide path, so the furthest\ndistance you would have to carry that spade would be 25 feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have lots of space\nyou can make your paths wider (18 – 24\u02dd), to facilitate getting a wheelbarrow\nbetween them. The disadvantage of wide paths is that you have more unproductive\narea to take care of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bed shape<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The majority of people fill\ntheir gardens with rows of straight beds without thinking about any other\noption. Straight beds make sense if you just want to grow as much food as\npossible in a small area. They are easier to enclose with wood, easier to set\nup for watering and easier to protect with gopher wire and bird netting. Their\nuniform length and width also makes it easier to calculate the square footage\nof your crops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are of a more\nartistic inclination you might consider the possibility of using more\ninteresting shaped beds. These greatly affect the appearance of the garden and\nare worth a little thought. Curved beds can create an interesting pattern and\ngive the garden a more informal and attractive appearance. Circular keyhole\nbeds are favored by permaculture gardeners. They say there is more growing area\nand less path and they are easily irrigated with a single sprinkler. I\u2019m not\ntotally convinced by these arguments, but I do like the way they look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paths and access<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When laying out your garden\nbeds, give a thought to the paths and how you will transport things. Amendments\nsuch as manure and compost are heavy and you want to be able to move them\naround as easily as possible (downhill is a lot easier than up hill). If you\nare importing bulk manure you may want a driveway and gate so you can back a\ntruck right into the garden. This is a lot easier than having to transfer it\ninto a wheelbarrow first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Water<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the past a reliable and pure source of water was a primary\nconsideration when choosing a garden site, but now most of us have plumbing to\nsupply this essential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The very best source of water for your garden is rainwater, as it\nis free, falls on your soil without you having to do anything and even contains\nsmall quantities of nitrogen, sulfur and other nutrients. On average half of\nall rainfall falling on the ground, doesn\u2019t soak in to the soil, but runs off\nand is lost. This is wasted, so it is a good idea to do whatever you can to\nensure that the soil retains as much rainfall as possible. The best way to do\nthis is to increase its organic matter content, though you might also be able\nto create swales to maximise infiltration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The commonest source of\nwater for urban gardeners is the utility company. City water doesn\u2019t contain\nmany nutrients and often contains a lot of chlorine (and sometimes fluoride)\nwhich plants and soil organisms don\u2019t really like (I once tried to sprout\nalfalfa seed in heavily chlorinated water and it died). It also tends to be expensive and\nincreasingly <\/p>\n\n\n\n unreliable due to droughts\nand hose pipe bans (at least <\/p>\n\n\n\n here in California it is).\nOne advantage is that it has good pressure for overhead irrigation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can make your expensive\ntap water go further by using gray water and by collecting the rainfall that\nlands on your roof and other hard surfaces (more on both of these later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many suburban and rural\ngardeners get their water from wells. This is often superior to city water, but\nsometimes contains large amounts of dissolved salts. An increasing number of\nwells are contaminated from various industrial and farm sources, or from lawn\nchemicals. In some unfortunate areas we may now add pollutants from fracking to\nthe list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In some situations you may\nbe able to get water from clean rivers, lakes, or streams. This is usually of\ngood quality, though you should be sure of your legal position before using it.\nUnless you are a corporation and have friends in high places diverting it for\nyour own personal use is often illegal. This is totally justifiable in drier\nareas, where streams can easily dry up from unregulated use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plumbing,<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is good to have water\nfaucets conveniently spaced around the garden. You can waste a lot of time\ngoing to turn distant faucets on and off (which often results in plants not\ngetting all the water they need). This also tempts you to leave them turned on,\nwhich can be bad in hot weather, when the water inside the hose can heat up and\ncause it to swell and burst. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Water supply pipes should be\nburied 18\u02dd deep, to minimize the chance of them freezing in winter\n(alternatively you could drain them in winter). This also reduces the chance of\nhitting them while digging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you live in a dry climate\nyou should think about installing a drip irrigation system. This takes time and\nmoney to install, but will usually repay this in time and water saved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your climate is suitable\n(you get some rain all summer) I would also suggest a rainwater collection\nsystem, to store rainwater from the roof. This makes particularly good sense if\nyou use expensive city water. See Watering<\/strong> for more on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other facilities you will appreciate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A few other things can make\nyour time in the garden easier and more productive. When planning the layout of\nyour garden you might think about whether you will need the following and where\nyou might put them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Garden shed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is pretty much an\nessential, as it is used for storing tools, amendments, seeds, stakes, hoses,\nirrigation components and all of the other stuff the garden requires. It is\nalso a good place to store and process seeds and herbs, keep gardening books and\nrelax in wet weather. If you are a high tech gardener you might also have a\ncomputer or tablet and wi-fi there for quick reference. You may also want to\nhave electricity for lights, heating cables, etc. Ideally it will be well\norganized and comfortable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The shed should be located\nclose to the main vegetable garden for ease of getting tools and putting then\naway, so they don\u2019t get left out in the sun or rain. It should be put where it\nwon\u2019t cast shade on the growing beds (such as the north side of the garden). <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s important that the shed\nbe rodent proof. Not only will rats and mice eat anything even remotely edible\n(including large seeds, tubers and bulbs), they may also gnaw on anything made\nof leather, rubber, paper, cardboard or wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In my perfect garden the\ntool shed would have a covered area (with a transparent roof) adjacent to it,\nwhere you could work in the rain. This would act like an extended open\ngreenhouse and give you an extra place to store tender plants in winter. You\nmight even grow some tender plants under it permanently. This area is also a\ngood place for a <\/p>\n\n\n\n workbench and provides a\nplace to park your wheelbarrow, so it is protected from the elements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A shed is a significant\nvisual feature of the garden, so make it attractive as well as practical. Most\nmanufactured metal and plastic sheds are pretty ugly and if you are handy I\nurge you to build your own shed to complement the house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If your shed isn\u2019t very\nattractive you can use screens and climbing plants to make it look nicer. You\ncould also decorate it with paint or other artwork. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Access to the shed should be\nvia a path that is wide enough for a garden cart or wheelbarrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tool storage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you don\u2019t have a tool\nshed, at least have some kind of covered place to store tools. This should be\nclose to the middle of the garden for maximum convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Greenhouse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A greenhouse isn\u2019t\nabsolutely essential, but for the serious gardener it comes pretty close (until\nyou have had one you have no idea how useful it can be). Not only does it\ngreatly expand your plant raising capabilities, but it also adds a lot to the\npleasure of life in the garden. This is so important that I have devoted a whole\nchapter to it. See Greenhouses<\/strong> for more on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n C<\/strong>old Frame<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A cold frame can be used for\nraising seedlings, hardening off plants from the greenhouse and protecting\ntender plants. In cool climates they can also be used for extending the growing\nseason. In chilly Britain the larger kitchen gardens often had row upon row of\nbrick cold frames for producing early lettuce, carrots, potatoes, strawberries,\nmelons and peppers. When the plants grew big enough (and the weather was warm\nenough) the glass lights (lids) were taken off and the plants left to grow in\nthe open. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You will mostly use a cold\nframe for hardening off your transplants in spring, before planting them\noutside. It greatly simplifies this important activity and this alone makes it\nworthwhile to have one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compost Area<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In a small garden this might\nsimply be a plastic bin to take care of kitchen scraps, or a three bay compost\nbin. If you have a big garden and make a lot of compost, it\u2019 may be helpful to\nhave a dedicated area set up for making it, perhaps a large shaded area for\nwindrow type composting. Even if you prefer to move your compost piles around\nthe garden, building them in a different place every time to benefit the soil,\nyou may still want a place to store leaf mold, manure, wood chips and soil.\nThis area could also hold a worm bin, as it needs shade from intense sun and\nprotection from raccoons and rats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The compost area should be\nclose to the main vegetable growing area, so you don\u2019t have to move materials\nor finished compost very far. If you import a lot of bulk materials it should\nideally have easy access to the road, so you can unload directly from a truck\nto the pile. You don\u2019t want to have to move manure or other materials any\nfurther than necessary. Ideally this area will be downhill of the road, but\nuphill of the garden, to make it easier to move bulk materials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This area should be\nprotected from extreme weather. In hot areas it will need shade, while in cold\nareas it will do better in the sun, but protected from wind and rain. There\nshould also be a source of water to keep the piles moist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Propagation\/nursery Area<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A propagation \/ nursery area\n(ideally next to the greenhouse) can play a crucial role in filling the garden\nwith plants. It supplies plants for expanding the garden as well as for\nreplacing those harvested, or lost to other causes. It should have a protected\nnursery bed for starting seedlings outdoors, a cold frame and an area for\ngrowing on cuttings and young shrubs and trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is nice to have an area\nfor growing on seedlings, protected with bird netting and maybe even shade\ncloth. This area might even have its own automated watering system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Potting bench<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This will usually be near\nthe shed and propagation area. It provides you with a solid surface to perform\na variety of gardening tasks, not just potting up plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Garden sink<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n An outdoor sink simplifies\nthe task of cleaning vegetables and other things and helps to keep the house\nsink clean. Newly harvested crops can be washed and stripped of waste parts\nbefore they go inside (the waste stuff going straight on the compost pile, the\nwater going back into the garden (this can also help to conserve water). It\ndoesn\u2019t need to be connected to anything permanent, attach a hose for water and\nhave a bucket underneath to drain into (or a perforated drain pipe in the\nground, with water loving plants around it).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sink should be located\nnear the greenhouse, propagation area and potting bench, so it can also serve\nthese areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Seed starting table<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In a warm climate you don\u2019t\nneed a greenhouse for starting summer seedlings, you can just start them\noutside on a table (to keep them up off the ground). This should be protected\nwith netting, to prevent birds playing havoc with the tender seedlings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n V<\/strong>egetable storage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A large productive garden\nwill produce a lot of food, which must be stored carefully if it is to last\nlong enough for you to eat it. This means somewhere to store it all is\nextremely important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The traditional way to store\nvegetables and fruit over the winter is in a root\ncellar. This was traditionally dug down into the side of a steep bank to take\nadvantage of the fact that the soil provides humidity and a cool stable\ntemperature that is always above freezing in winter. This kind of root cellar\ntakes a lot of work to build, but if you have the time and energy it will be\nworthwhile (it can also be quite picturesque). See Storage<\/strong> for more on root cellars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n S<\/strong>olar dehydrator<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have lots of fruit\nbearing plants (figs, apricots, plums, \npeaches, apples, mulberries, cranberries, grapes, blueberries (not to\nmention herbs, tomatoes, kale, onions and more) you will get far more fruit\nthan you can use fresh and will have to devise a way to preserve some for later\nuse. If you live in a sunny climate one of the best ways to do this is by\ninvesting in (or building) a solar dryer. This enables you to inexpensively dry\nsome of the surplus for later use. If your climate is too cool or humid for\nsolar, you could use an electric dryer, but of course this costs money to run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hose center<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The sun is very hard on\nhoses in hot climates. Not only does the ultraviolet light degrade the hose\nfrom the outside, but any water trapped in a closed hose may become hot enough\nto cause it to burst (always leave a hose open). Hoses will last much longer if\nyou keep them out of the sun when they are not in use, ideally in their own\ncovered hose center (make one for each faucet). If it is it big enough you could\nalso keep plastic buckets there (they degrade in sunlight too), as well as\nsmall tools and maybe a notebook and pencil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sitting area<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I think that the vegetable\ngarden should also have a comfortable place to rest right next to where the\nwork takes place. This gives you somewhere to sit and relax, chat, drink tea,\nthink about the task in hand and to contemplate the meaning of life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A sitting area will require\ncomfortable chairs, a table and maybe even a hammock. It will benefit from some\nshade in hot weather, which could be an old tarp or sail, or an arbor covered\nin grape, kiwi or hop vines (or scarlet runner beans or cucumber for that\nmatter).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"