Vegetable Garden Layout

The garden layouts pictured below were all produced using this online vegetable garden planning tool.

The traditional vegetable garden layout is to plant the vegetables in rows, each row growing a different type of vegetable. Each row usually runs from north to south to take full advantage of the morning and afternoon sun. The seeds are sown in single rows using string and stakes to keep the rows straight. Enough space needs to be left between the rows to allow room to walk and to comfortably gather your produce. If your ground is not level, and you want to plant in rows, the rows should run across the slope rather than up and down, to prevent the soil from being washed away when the garden is watered.

Planting your vegetables in rows makes it easier to distinguish between vegetable and weed seedlings. Watering is also made easier since a soaker hose or a trench of water can be run along side each row, allowing the water to easily reach the base of each plant. Because a row garden is reasonably open, there is good circulation of air thus restricting fungus and mildew which could grow after rainfall or a dewy night in a more closely planted garden. Because of the layout of this style of garden, a lot of space is taken up with the paths between rows which means there is less space for planting your vegetables. So this layout would not be the first choice for the smaller yard. Also constantly walking on these paths will compact the soil there, making it more difficult to rearrange your vegetable beds at a later date. In this traditional row layout, there may possibly be more pest attacks because vegetables of the same variety are planted in a row, allowing the pest to move easily from one plant to the next.

Although it is not strictly a particular vegetable garden layout, the raised garden bed (an example of which is square foot gardening) is included here because it is often planted in blocks rather than rows. Vegetables are normally planted closer together than in the row vegetable garden layout making this is an ideal choice if you only have space for a small vegetable garden. These beds need to be narrow enough so that you do not need to tread on your beds to plant, weed, water or harvest your veggies. A good width would be 3 to 4 feet, (.9 - 1.2 metres) if you can get at the bed from both sides. You can build raised beds out of recycled wood, bricks, concrete blocks, stones or just pile up the soil on top of the ground. A good depth would be about 8-12 inches (20-30 cm).

A raised bed will enable the soil to warm quicker so you can plant earlier in the season. It will also improve drainage. Even if you have very poor soil or even a concrete slab (make sure you have a soil depth of 12 inches or 30cm for this situation), a raised bed will allow you transform a barren patch into a bountiful harvest. A raised bed also alleviates the problem of tree roots competing with your veggies for nutrients and water but make sure that any tree will not cast too much shade on the garden beds.

The four square garden is based on a very simple layout. The garden is usually divided into four square or rectangular garden beds with two perpendicular paths (like a plus sign +) running between them. These paths could be composed of paving stones, packed earth, gravel, wood shavings or even lawn. At the intersection of the two paths, there could be a focal point such as a statue or a pond. In 12th century England, this garden was generally in the front yard, with the entrance to the garden being a white picket gate, although it could be an arbor or trellis covered with a flowering vine. Typically the garden was surrounded by a protective enclosure such as a rock wall, fence or hedge. Of course, you must be careful to avoid shading your vegetables growing inside though!

A formal assymetrical garden layout is ideal if you don't want to be too rigid but you do prefer a sense of order. You can do this by experimenting with different geometric shapes (for the paths or the garden beds) next to each other or overlapping, strong lines or repetition of elements to get the desired effect. Using curving lines, modern materails or casual furniture will make this style seem less rigid.

Adding a formal clipped hedge as the border of the garden, pond, or individual beds will add to the structured feel of the garden. Or you could grow your own topiary using a potted boxwood or bay tree and trimming it to fit a frame.

A child's garden is very educational and a great incentive to get your children helping in the garden and also to eat vegetables which they have grown themselves. If your children are old enough, get them involved in choosing which vegetables to grow and in creating their own vegetable garden plans.

The vegetable garden plan shown here consists of a tepee made from 5 long sticks, fastened together at the top. Sugar snap peas, which are fun to pick and eat right there, are then planted around the base and allowed to climb up the tepee on strings which have been strung between the sticks (leaving one section free for the doorway). Mulch inside the tepee.

In this winter vegetable garden, I have chosen the following vegetables:

• cabbage (an early and late variety)


• kale


• leeks


• corn salad (or lamb's lettuce)


• perpetual spinach


• swiss chard


• celeriac


• endive


• chickory

In the garden planning software I used here, I was able to enter my frost dates and the program showed me the planting and harvesting times for my selected vegetables.

If you live in the northern hemisphere, position your winter vegetable garden on the south side of a wall if possible. In the southern hemisphere place the garden on the north side of the wall. This will enable the garden to still receive the winter sun, while protecting it from the colder winds. A brick, concrete or stone wall is also a thermal mass which will store the sun's heat during the day and radiate it at night, keeping the area close to the wall warmer.

Don't feel as though you need to stay strictly in the guidelines for each layout. Be creative. Find your own style. Choose what suits your situation the best. Be prepared to use different shapes like the circular garden on the right. Take a little time to decide which vegetables to grow. Be prepared to add herbs and flowers to your vegetable garden or herbs and vegetables to your flower garden! And don't be afraid to try a mixture of vegetable garden layouts - for example a potager style garden in raised beds.

One of the easiest ways to design your vegetable garden layout is by using software on the computer to just drag and drop the veggies like I did for all of the above vegetable garden plans. In the same piece of software, you also get access to a planting list of all the vegetables you have placed in your vegetable garden plan showing sowing and harvesting dates. This works for both the northern and southern hemispheres.