Vegetable Garden Ideas

Home Vegetable Garden Ideas

• Grow vegetables together in groups that have about the same planting and maturing dates. After these vegetables are harvested another crop can be planted in their place to keep vegetables coming in succession.

• Arrange vegetables in the garden according to size; low-growing vegetables to the tallest vegetables. Put the tallest ones on the north side of the garden (such as corn and tomatoes) so they don’t shade the lower-growing vegetables.

• You can inter-plant fast-growing vegetables such as radishes and green onions with slower-growing vegetables. You can also plant different vegetables of the same size together if they have close to the same maturity dates.

• Use raised beds at a user-friendly height for physically handicapped gardeners.  

• Perennial crops such as strawberries and asparagus should be put in separate beds or placed on a side of the main vegetable garden. This way they don’t hinder preparations in main garden.  

• When planting long, single rows leave enough space between the rows for walking and cultivation.

• With vegetables that will be eaten fresh, plant a small amount every two weeks to have a continuous fresh supply.

• Sweet corn should be planted in blocks instead of rows. This allows for better pollination.

• Use crop rotation when planning your home vegetable garden. Avoid planting the same vegetable or same family of vegetables in the same place more then once every three years. This will help keep disease and pests from multiplying on one kind of crop over the years.

• Lay out straight rows and wide beds by measuring and using string tied to stakes. Label your rows or beds with the vegetable variety and planting date.

• Use trellising and/or fencing around the garden to provide vertical space for vining crops.  

• When plants have passed their prime put them in the compost pile and replant in their place after replenishing the soil with compost and/or fertilizer.  

• Mulch your vegetable garden to deter weeds and keep the soil cooler and moister in the heat of the summer.

• Maintain high soil fertility when you’re planting an intensively managed home vegetable garden (wide rows, succession planting). Well-fed plants are healthier and more productive.

• Choose the correct vegetable varieties for your climate and food needs. If your area is plagued by certain diseases or pests, try growing vegetable varieties that are resistant to them. This will usually be the hybrids.  

• It saves work to plant in wide rows because the vegetable plants will shade the soil when grouped together. This retains moisture and shades out most weeds.  

• Use a vegetable garden journal to keep good records; what you planted, dates, pests, diseases, harvesting, successes and failures.  

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