designing a garden plan for 2024
Let's plan the vegetable garden together! As it's springtime, now is the perfect time to start planning the garden. This week, I'll be sharing my plans for the new space. I'll take you through my step-by-step design process, my goals for the garden, and the planting plans and layouts. Even though I'm starting from scratch, I'm excited to have the opportunity to create something beautiful in a new garden. Come along with me as I plan for the 2024 garden.
The New Garden Space
Trying to see the vision
The garden space I get to tend to this year definitely needs some love as you can see. It's always hard at first in spring to see the vision with all the mud and brown, soggy leaves scattered everywhere, but fresh green will pop up in a few months, and everything will start to come alive again.
There are three wood-raised beds to work with. The wood is significantly deteriorated, but I'm determined to make the best of it. The garden, set in the corner with a fence behind the raised beds, is not limited to these beds; there is lots of landscaping around to also spruce up. It’s a corky space, but let’s see what we can do. So count this as the before picture of a garden glow-up.
It will be nice to have a smaller space to manage where I can focus all my attention on being as productive and efficient with my space as possible and challenge myself to see how much I can grow.
Goals for the Garden
Make the space more inviting by adding solar path lights and a bird feeder
Clean out old plants that aren't in a suitable place and move them around to fill out the area.
Handle the weed issue and eliminate as many weed root systems as possible.
Maximize the space and grow as much produce as possible.
Make improvements to the soil for the future of the garden.
Create a beautiful and productive space.
Grow lots of sunflowers because they bring me joy!
Planning a garden from scratch
Here’s what I’m thinking as I plan this space out. No matter the space, I assess a few things: climate/zone, sunlight, water access, and soil. That will then inform what I grow and where they are placed.
Step 1: Climate/Zone
I haven't moved that far from my previous garden space, maybe 30 minutes away. I'm still in the same zone, 5a, which tells me my area's lowest temperature. As for the last frost day, it's about the same as the end of April/ beginning of May. Who knows what's around the corner come April? Hopefully, there will be no snow, but it might just be a lot of rain. This information means I can move forward as usual, just keeping a close eye on the weather and ensuring we don't get an unexpected frost when I start to plant out frost-tender plants.
Step 2: Sunlight
As I’ve been observing the space, I’ve noticed a medium-sized tree directly across from the bed, which will provide shade at certain points of the day. I’m also seeing how the sun moves across space as the day progresses. Full sun is considered 6-8 hours of sunlight. I think this space is closer to the 6-hour mark, but I will continue to keep an eye on this on a sunny day to confirm. With a good amount of filtered sunlight outside the raised beds, I think shade-loving plants will do well here.
Step 3: Water Access
This house has a hose located on the west side, stretching all the way across the yard. With this setup, I can easily manage watering. I’ll also be using mulch to maintain moisture, reducing the need for frequent watering, especially during the scorching July heat. This way, I won’t have to deal with the hassle of constant hose dragging 2 times a day on high-heat days.
Step 4: Soil
Even if the soil were fantastic here, I would still be amending a new season with a healthy layer of rich compost on the top. In my first garden, I made it a priority to start every new season off with compost from my compost pile and a sprinkling of worm castings or organic fertilizer. Taking these steps will ensure my success with this kitchen garden. The soil in these raised beds is hard, full of weeds and roots, and needs some drainage and lightness from the organic-rich soil. I might consider adding some perlite to aid in aeration to help fix this problem. Good soil is everything in gardening; this is a high priority for the space.
Step 5: What to Grow
With this information, I can be better informed about what to grow. I know what I like to eat and use in my everyday cooking and what will most likely succeed in the space. I’ve made that list, which is below. Many are from my must-grow plant list that I shared last week and on the blog. When gardening in a new space, stick to varieties you know will perform well or that you have experience growing. I won’t be experimenting with a ton of new varieties just because I don’t have experience in this space and am still making observations. I also don’t know how strong the pest pressure is and if I will have to make adjustments for critters. Because I have less room than in my previous garden, I must be more strategic about what I grow and where. I won’t have one bed full of potatoes or just tomatoes. Interplanting and companion planting will be the best options for the space to fit in as many plants as possible while still giving them the room to mature and produce well.
Step 6: Where to get the plants
I will rely more on pre-started plants from greenhouses and nurseries this year because I don’t have such a large garden to fill, and I also don’t have my seed starting set up. So, I’ll rely on what I can plant directly into the garden and plants that I would regularly start my self I'll buy as seedlings from a greenhouse. Although this does limit me to some degree in the varieties I get to choose, I still can have a successful summer garden with lots of veggies. I share my favorite places to buy plants and all things for the garden on the blog this week too, in my Twin Cities Greenhouse & Garden Center Guide.
Designing the Raised Bed Layouts
Next is the layout of each raised bed. Now that I know the plants I want to grow, I need to start space planning and measuring the beds to figure out how many of each plant I can fit into each according to the plant variety’s requirements and needs. It’s like having a bunch of puzzle pieces.
When creating a plan, I always use it as a general guide for me to follow. Things change as the season goes on, and I always find myself needing to adapt and change things a bit. Here’s a rough overhead layout of the space.
Building a planting plan
Building a garden is like putting together a puzzle. Sorting out the proper lighting and space requirements for each plant and fitting them into a cohesive plan can take some time. With that in mind, I’m sharing my first attempt at creating a raised bed layout. I look at this plan as more of a general guide because I have to be prepared for anything as the season progresses—pest issues, weather, etc. I hold the plan loosely.
Main Season vs. Quick Succession Vegetables
I am confident, however, in placing my main crops, like tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, and green beans. A main season crop takes the majority of the garden season to mature and produce fruit, unlike plants like lettuce, radishes, carrots, and beets, which are quick succession plants. Those can be sown multiple times throughout a season and reap a harvest. I can easily make the most of my season by gardening this way and rotating in quick-growing crops when a harvest is made to prevent any wasted space.
When to start planting the garden?
These planting plans won’t be planted all simultaneously. As the season progresses, so will the planting. Lettuce, spinach, radish, herbs, swiss chard, peas, and kale will be planted first because they can tolerate cooler temperatures. Then, once May comes around, everything else will go in after our last frost, including basil, zucchini, tomatoes, and anything that can’t tolerate cooler temps below 50 degrees. I do plan to do some slight succession planting, too. So keep that in mind as you look at the planting plan. Once a crop is harvested, say radish, that space will be filled with something like lettuce or more radish.
Raised Bed #1
This first raised bed is about 5’ 5” square. I like playing with symmetry in these beds and finding the balance between wild chaos and neatly planned rows. I’ve also included some beneficial flowers for each raised bed. I’m also placing lots of lettuce greens in between and underneath the tomato plants because, during the season’s heat, these plants will create cool, shady spots the lettuce greens love. Plus, it will help prevent bolting and extend the harvest season for that veg.
This bed includes:
Sun Gold Tomatoes
SweetHeart Cherry Tomatoes
Poblano Peppers
Sweet Peppers
Basil
Scallions
Marigolds
A variety of baby green (cut come again) and head lettuce varieties
Raised Bed #2
This second raised bed includes an A-frame trellis where, on one side, I’ll grow cucumbers and the other peas. I’ll grow leafy greens, spinach, and kale underneath the trellis because they like a cooler shaded spot. My favorite part about this bed is the nasturtiums that will fall over the edge of the bed. A mounding-shaped variety is perfect for this and creates the most beautiful borders. Cucumbers and flowers will be the last to be planted in this bed. Everything else loves the cooler weather and will be planted sometime in April, depending on the weather.
This bed includes:
Marketmoore cucumbers
Snap Peas
Nasturtiums
Calendula
Radish
Dill, Parsley
Swiss chard
Head Lettuce
Raised Bed #3
The last garden bed is connected to bed #2, roughly the same size, 5x7’. I’ve been playing around with the layout of this bed quite a bit. There are many layout options, but I like adding dwarf sunflowers in the middle of the bed, popping up between the large leaves of the zucchini plants. This bed needed a bit more wow factor, and I think adding some natural vertical interest from these sunflowers could be beautiful. Dwarf sunflowers usually are no taller than 3-4 ft. Also, with zinnias surrounding the entire bed, the space will have a bit of a cutting flower garden aesthetic, which I love.
This bed includes:
Zucchini
Green Beans
Zinnias
Sunflowers
What’s next?
The only plants I don’t have a place for are the melons and the full-size sunflowers. I have some time to think it through and also sort out how to clean up the space surrounding the garden and make it the best it can be. I’ll be sharing updates as the garden season progresses and the plan begins to take form.
