How to Size and Plan a Vegetable Garden

This video will give advice and principals for sizing a vegetable garden, and provide key points to layout a vegetable garden. Make sure you keep tall plants to the North of shorter plants to allow for Photosynthesis. And ensure you keep plants properly spaced as well as accounting for walkways.

Key Links

Engineering Graph Paper - really useful for any layout work from gardening to woodworking (affiliate link).

My DIY Tomato Cages - low cost, strong, sturdy, and they store better than conventional cages

Vegetable Height and Spacing Guide

Cliff Notes on planning/layout of a vegetable garden

Vegetable to Canning Guide

Vegetable Plants Required per Person, or Square Foot Area Guide:
From Rutgers University

From Michigan State

Again, I would suggest that you use those Plants per person/square foot guides with caution if you are new. They are based on farm yields over time, and are averages. So, your garden will never produce exactly like these guide, but they do provide a decent estimate.

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[george]

Pretty much one of the top four best gardening channels on the tube

[jdvibes]

I’m a beginner gardener my name is John and your information has been some of the best I’ve seen and heard on YouTube I really appreciate the work and the effort that you put into your videos thank you very much I have six raised birdie garden beds that I’m starting this year wish me luck! Michigan

[brandyrupert]

This can get pretty overwhelming for a person like me who has only ever grown a few things in grow bags. Im in way too deep now. I started way too many plants. Im stressing over exactly how to lay them out. I should have started with a plan first. I guess Im just going to start transplanting and praying. 🙏 Theres soo much info on youtube. This video is actually helpful.

[shouldb.studying]

3 days of going down the rabbit hole on growing a vegetable patch and this has been the most useful video so far, thank you 😀

[Mischiou]

I love you for showing this. I was struggling to come up with a decent plan. Thank you...

[VanDerLaars]

Don't really understand those two thumbs down. The video/content is great!

[vanityxaffaire]

Really appreciate the straight-forward, actionable advice! Keep up the great videos. As a recent home buyer this is really helpful to pre-plan what to do with our empty yard for next season.

[chiobhon]

I love your dedication to the metric system

All the best
Eben

[kunyfunt]

I just made a 20x20 garden so glad I found this video

[nicford]

So helpful! I am planning my own garden this year. Great details and hints that will help tremendously to someone new at this.

[barbarazuazua]

Loosely quoting you: "You need experience, you need to earn it." I made a garden in 2020 for the first time. I wasn't prepared for all the animals that are hungry and losing habitat. This year the habitat is even smaller due to even more development and I'm building an enclosure. I learned a lot my first year, and, more importantly, I need to be mindful of how much I plan to do. I'm making space to grow as a gardener but I won't use all that space right away. I'm hoping I make the space correct for the future but not to have eyes bigger than my stomach.... as you said, like my grandfather used to say. ;) Thanks for an informative video. I subscribed for more.

[greenthumbelina]

I plan on incorporating more vegetables into my flower gardens this year. I love how well flowers and vegetables grow together and complement each other in my small yard. I've already started planning where my raised beds are going and where the walkways will be. I hope that 2021 is a better year for all of us. Stay safe and healthy.

[Katgirl]

Very helpful! I am known to get garden fever and then poop out because of the sheer work. This winter I will plan BETTER with your suggestions. Thank you!

[peoriatitan]

Very helpful. This is my first year doing an actual in ground garden. Have done a couple raised beds the past few years.

[jdvibes]

Hey!! I love love love your composting video thank you!

[Clarinda]

I love the look of your garden. Mine is spread out all over the place, a few plants here, there, and yonder. It works for me, with very little labor to keep it going. I'm in the south so many of my veggies are planted in guilds under trees to shade them during the heat of the day, otherwise they would burn up mid-summer.

[RayRay-drog]

Nice--I'm just getting my garden going again after a 3 year gap--between a water line replacement and a new fence--well my new garden i'm trying something different it's 5 foot wide by 30 foot long--we'll see how it goes! Great info!

[michelep]

Thank you so much for this video. Because I tend to over plant, I was hoping to try out selling at the local farmers market this year. The links you provided are going to be very helpful.

[lar]

Planning is the key to a successful garden. I have a 14x21 garden, and I opted for the intensive gardening method to increase my yield. For example, if a seed is to be planted 2 inches apart in rows 6 inches apart, I plant 3 to 4 rows 2 or so inches apart in those 6 inches. I also use plots instead of individual rows. I have 3 main plots 4 feet wide and 11 feet long. A path that goes around 3 sides of the inside perimeter of the garden and 2 paths between the plots. One thing to remember is, don't be afraid to change your design from year to year. Think of a plan that works for you and what you are growing.

[MommabearOfThree]

A lot of great information. Thank you for this video