For gardens, a little planning ahead of time goes a long way.
Gardeners get excited about their spring vegetable gardens this time of year, but for the best results, you need to put some thought into planning a garden before you start digging in the dirt.
The first step to planning a garden is figuring out how much space you have available. You also need to know how much time you’re willing to devote to care for your plants and what kinds of vegetables you want to grow.
Next, you need to determine where to place your garden. Most vegetables need lots of sunlight and well-drained, fertile soil, but you also want the garden to be close to your home so that it’s easily accessible. Scout out a few different locations.
You will want to draw a detailed map of your garden, listing the overall dimensions of the plot and the number, width and length of rows of plants as you are planning. Write down each plant’s location with the kind of vegetable it will produce.
Plant perennials to one side of the garden so they don’t interfere with other garden activity. You should plant tall crops to the north or west side of the garden so they don’t block out light for lower-growing vegetables.