- 1). Know your vegetables. Research the best planting conditions and season for each vegetable as well as the time it takes to mature. This information will be indispensable when designing the garden as a whole.
- 2). Arrange your plants by height. Taller plants should be placed at the north or northeast end of the garden. Medium plants should be in the middle and shorter varieties toward the front. This will ensure that every vegetable in the garden gets enough light and air flow.
- 3). Stagger your planting according to when you want your vegetables to mature. If you're planting a salsa or salad garden and plan to eat the vegetables together, then you may need to plant them at different times to ensure that they are ready to harvest together. If you prefer to harvest at different times, you can stagger your planting for this as well.
- 4). Make the best use of your space. Install trellises for any plants that can be encouraged to climb. This will free up ground space for other vegetables. Depending on the layout of your garden, you may want to plant in rows or in squares. Whatever your design, be sure that you can easily reach the center-most plant. A 3- or 4-foot square should be sufficient. Smaller squares will be easier for gardeners who want to do less stretching.
- 5). Rotate your crops. There are three families of crops. Cole crops are in the cabbage family and include vegetables such as turnips, cauliflower and broccoli. Cucurbits are vegetables in the cucumber family such as squash, pumpkin and gourds. Solanaceous crops are in the tomato and pepper family and include eggplants and Irish potatoes. Rotate these crop families so that your current crop is not in the same family as the previous crop grown in that area.
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