There's no doubt about it: gardening is hard work. Between the planting, watering, weeding, mulching, and harvesting, gardeners have plenty on their plate.
Before preparing your beds, though, it's important to create a plan for your garden. Though it seems intimidating to add yet another task to your long gardening to-do list, creating a well-thought-out plan can actually reduce your workload and increase your yields.
Planning Your Garden Can Reduce Your Workload
Believe me when I say I understand that planning a garden is no easy feat. We closed on Meadow View Ranch on March 31st, which meant I needed to get started on my gardening tasks pretty much the moment we moved in.
We live in zone 4b, and our last frost date is May 15th. I knew that in order to have my garden ready to rock by then, I'd first need to clear the ground, work compost into the soil, build any raised beds, plant cold-hardy crops like potatoes and lettuce... the list goes on and on. The last thing I wanted to do was add planning the garden to my plate!
I knew, though, that planning my garden out before I began creating it would save me a ton of headache in the end. Here are some of the benefits you can expect if you plan out your garden ahead of time.
You'll Maximize Your Yields
Planning your garden maximizes your yields for several reasons. By mapping out every foot of your garden, you'll have the best idea of how many crops you can plant where. For example, my garden is 32 ft x 32 ft. Knowing that, I can plan my beds accordingly--let's say I'll make a bed for my potatoes that is 15 ft x 10 ft.
By drawing out my garden on a piece of paper or spreadsheet, I can plan the number of potatoes I can place in my bed. Knowing that each potato needs one foot of space on all sides, I can plant the maximum number of potatoes that my bed can hold.
On the other hand, in a garden that hasn't been planned out, my potatoes might simply be planted in a haphazard manner--say, with 2 feet of space on all sides. This cuts my number of planted potatoes in half, which means I'll harvest half as many potatoes. That's a big change!
Another way that planning your garden can help increase your yields is by making sure you have your plants in the correct section of the garden. For those of us who live in the northern hemisphere, you want to have your tallest plants on the north side of your garden, and your smallest plants on the south side; rows should be planted east-west.
Why is that, you ask? It's simple: it keeps the taller plants from shading the shorter ones. That way, all of your plants will receive sunlight all morning and afternoon. In my garden, it means that my corn and okra are planted on the north end of my garden, while my strawberries, carrots, and potatoes hang out on the south side.
So by planning out your garden and making sure you place your plants optimally, they'll receive just the right amount of sunshine and grow big and strong--giving you more produce to harvest and enjoy.
You'll Minimize Weeding
Looking for a way to reduce the amount of weeding you need to do in your garden? Plan it out! When you draw a map of your garden, you can visualize the spacing and place your rows and pathways in the best spots possible.
For example, in my garden I planned for 3 feet of space between my garden beds. That way, I can lay down mulch, pavers, or stepping stones in between the beds to make a walking path. By placing pavers or mulch down, the majority of the weeds between my rows will be suppressed. Score!
5 Tips For Planning Your Garden
Now that you know the great benefits of planning your garden, it's time to get down to it. But how do you plan a simple, efficient garden space? Let's find out.
1. Map Your Space
Of course, the first step to planning your garden is figuring out where it'll go. Try to pick a place that receives full sunlight (at least 8 hours per day) and is somewhat shielded from the wind. Take note of any obstructions in your path. Here are some things to look for:
Large trees that can block sunlight (or might act as a windbreak, which can be helpful!)
Buildings that might block sunlight
Large rocks, root balls, or water features that will need to be moved or worked around
If you see any of these things in the space you're envisioning for your garden, draw or write them down and decide how to move forward. In many cases, simply shifting your garden 10 feet one way or another may solve the issue.
In others, such as if there's an immovable boulder in the middle of your garden plot, it might be an appealing visual feature to enjoy in your garden. Placing a bench or bird bath near these large items can turn them from an obstacle to an attraction.
2. Decide Which Plants You Want To Grow
Once you've mapped out your garden space and dealt with any issues, you're ready to decide which plants you'd like to grow. Here's a pro tip: only plant what you'll eat.
If you plant collard greens because you think it's pretty, but you can't stand the taste of it, you'll be wasting precious garden space. Instead of planting fruits or vegetables you won't use, try planting beneficial companion crops or pest-repelling flowers to fill in space in your garden. Here are a few of my favorite companion crops to plant in my garden:
Nasturtium: This one is new to me this season, but I've read so many wonderful things about it that I'm ecstatic to have it in my garden! Nasturtium is an edible plant that produces beautiful, colorful flowers. It also repels many insects. It's a win-win!
Sunflowers: I love to plant sunflowers around the edge of my garden mostly because I love how they look. They're also great at attracting helpful pollinators like bees, so they serve two great purposes.
Various flower bulbs (lilies, daisies, etc.): Much like sunflowers, I love to plant bulbs around the perimeter of my garden because they are beautiful and attract pollinators. Vegetables are nice to look at, but nothing beats walking through a flower garden!
3. Give Yourself Plenty Of Room
Unfortunately, I have plenty of experience with not leaving enough room to walk through my garden! When you're planning out where things will go, it's all too easy to cram too many plants in your garden. After all, you want to grow as much as possible, right?
What I've learned through trial and error is that not leaving enough space between my garden beds is that it's nearly impossible to work in the garden. Whether you're weeding, watering, or harvesting, you need space to move around.
If you don't, you'll have to walk around on your tip-toes, hoping you don't crush your plant babies! Trust me, it's no fun--you'll lose your motivation to be in the garden and let weeds get out of hand.
The garden should be a fun place to hang out. Part of that is ensuring you can walk around freely, push a wheelbarrow around, or place a harvest basket on the ground next to you.
4. Use Raised Beds And Trellises To Your Advantage
One of the easiest ways to give yourself plenty of room to work in your garden is to grow vertically whenever possible. We'll be purchasing cattle panels to place in my garden as makeshift trellises, but there are countless ways to encourage your plants to grow vertically to grow space. Here are a few:
Train your cucumbers, melons, and peas to grow up a fence. Place your seedlings near the edge of your garden, then use the fence as a support system for the growing plants.
Use tomato cages. Tomato cages are widely used to support tomatoes, though they can also work great with peas and beans. To be honest, tomato cages aren't my favorite because most plants outgrow their confines, but they'll work in a pinch.
Create a bamboo tepee. Using three bamboo posts, create a tepee shape and stake it in the ground surrounding your plant. Make sure to attach the bamboo posts to each other with twine or string.
Using raised beds is another great way to maximize your garden. If you live in an area with poor soil, utilizing raised beds might be the best option--at least the first year or two. By placing quality soil and compost in a raised bed, you'll be able to grow strong, heavily-producing plants while you're working to improve your native soil.
5. Plant A Cover Crop
It's easy to plan a summer garden full of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. But what will happen to your garden over the winter when there's plenty of snow on the ground and seemingly endless wind?
Part of practicing regenerative agriculture or permaculture is planting a cover crop for the winter months. If you remove your fruits and vegetables and leave the soil bare all winter long, valuable topsoil will blow away and nutrients will go with it.
Instead, plan to plant a cover crop once your summer and fall crops are harvested. The plants will help hold in the topsoil. They'll also contribute nutrients to the soil when you work them into the ground in the spring. Here are a few wonderful cover crop ideas:
Annual rye grass
Vetch
Comfrey
Red clover
Oats
Wheat
Gardening Is One Big Experiment
Probably the most important thing to keep in mind as you're planning your garden is that it won't turn out exactly the way you intend it to, and that's okay! Part of the beauty and fun of gardening is adjusting to your circumstances, finding out what works, and changing the things that don't.
Keeping a journal of your garden each year is a wonderful tool to help plan next year's crop. Take note of what you tried and how things turned out. You'll find that experimenting with different plants, layouts, and watering schedules will help your garden improve over time.
To me, gardening is a form of art. The fun is in the journey just as much as the destination; I enjoy the process of trial and error to find what works in my own space.
What works for me might not work for you, so don't be afraid to break from the norm and try something bold. You can always change it next year.
Happy gardening!
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