Designing Your
Vegetable Garden Layout

planning your vegetable gardenEnjoy Planning Your Garden!

Planning a vegetable garden layout for a raised bed, square foot, or traditional backyard garden?

Use our free worksheets or online garden planner to help design your garden!

Half the fun is planning your garden; whether you are a first-time gardener, or have many years of experience.

You may need to visit your nearest garden supply company to pick up a few garden tool supplies to get started!

When planning your vegetable garden, whether for a potted container garden, vertical vegetable garden, indoor or outdoor garden there are several things to keep in mind.

Video of Easy
Vegetable Garden Layout Designs

Planning your vegetable garden carefully, whether you will be growing tomatoes, cucumbers or lettuce is the most important first step!

Download Free Garden Planning Worksheets, Garden Diary, Zone Chart, Or Planting Guide


Share your vegetable garden photos and stories HERE.

Tips to Keep in Mind

5 most important vegetable gardening tips for success5 Important Vegetable Garden Tips to Help You Get Started!

First, consider a few tips that will help you decide where your vegetables should be planted.

  • Are you growing anything tall, like corn, beans or peas? 
  • If so, you'll find that planting these vegetables on the north side of the garden can keep them from casting shade on your shorter crops.
  • Medium sized vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, squash and pumpkins should go in the center of your garden.
  • The southern end of the garden should contain your shorter crops, like carrots, beets and lettuce, radishes and onions.
  • In general, vegetable garden layouts should run from south to north, allowing you to make the most of sun exposure and air circulation.

    • If you will be gardening in containers on the porch or patio, you may want to plant herbs in one container, lettuce and radishes in another, onions with a parsley plant, and a cherry tomato (or regular tomato if you prefer) in its own container.

    vegetable border along garden pathVegetables Make Pretty Borders Along Garden Paths

    Square Foot Gardens are a Perfect Small Garden!

    square foot garden layoutSquare Foot Garden Plan
    • To build a 4' x 4' square foot garden, simply build a frame using 2 by 6 boards.
    • Divide into 16 one-foot squares using small slats or string.
    • Plant each of the squares with one or more vegetables (depending on the size of the plants!)
    • You can include a vertical area on the north end of your square foot garden.
    • Use a section of metal fencing securely fastened with metal stakes to support your climbing vegetables!
    sample square foot garden design worksheetSample Square Foot Garden Design

    Save Space by Vertical Gardening

    vertical garden designVertical Gardens Save Space

    Another important thing that you need to think about when you are planning how to layout your garden, is providing space for some vining plants to grow up as well as out.

    There are several vegetables that do quite well if you let them climb a trellis or an arbor, and providing for this vertical growth can help you save space for the other smaller growing vegetables.

    • Cucumbers, beans, melons and squash are all vegetables that do very well when they are given something to climb.

    Organic Vegetable Gardening

    small organic vegetable gardenSmall Organic Vegetable Garden

    If you wish to grow organic vegetables, it will be helpful you have compost area on your property. (Or you can purchase compost at your local gardening store.)

  • If you have the space, and if you love the idea of sweet melons, throw some melon seeds hear your compost pile. 
  • The warm, moist and nutrient rich soil near a compost pile does quite well for melons, squash, and cucumber vines.
  • Consider how to make the most out of the space that you have, and remember that even a small compost pile can help your garden grown and thrive.

    • Other Space-Saving Ideas

    space-saving Ideas for Your GardenMix Lettuce Plants in with Slower Growing Vegetables to Save Space

    Even when you are working with a very small garden, you can be creative with your vegetable garden layout.

    For instance, did you know that you can plant lettuce and tomatoes virtually on top of each other?

    As the lettuce grows very quickly, you can harvest some of it, while the still growing tomato plant will provide some shade for the remaining lettuce and stop it from going to seed so quickly.

    This is a great way to conserve space, and works well in all types of gardens including in-ground, raised bed, potted, vertical, or container vegetable gardens.

    Use Winter Months to Plan!

    Planning the layout of your garden can be a fun thing to think about in the winter months.

    Order a free seed catalog from Territorial Seed Company for ideas and inspiration for your vegetable garden layout.

    When spring arrives, you will be ready to get started with planting your garden!

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    Planning a Garden Layout