← GO BACK TO GROW GUIDES

Once you have a list of crops you might want to grow, think about where and when you’ll grow those crops.



Follow these 7 steps to get started:

  1. If you want to, you should be able to make all of the garden space “work” all the time. As soon as a crop is done producing, you can plant another different crop right away, at least as long as there is enough space for that crop and enough of the gardening season left for the crop to reach maturity. Most of your garden can produce two or even three different crops in a season. For example, beans and tomatoes (which need warm weather to grow well) can follow early crops of lettuce, spinach, radishes, or shallots (green onions) all of which are quick-growing and cold-tolerant. In general, whenever an open space appears in your garden, fill it with something else (or mulch it). If you don’t fill it, the weeds will. See garden plans for help figuring out how to do this.

  2. Plan for the long-season crops first, and you’ll be able to fit in the shorter-season crops around them. If you choose to grow them, perennial crops like asparagus, rhubarb, and raspberries take up sections of your garden for multiple entire years. Other crops like Brussels sprouts, leeks, and parsnips tie up your garden space for just about the whole growing season (100 days or more). Figure out where these crops will go, then worry about fitting in the medium-season crops (plants like eggplant, tomatoes, broccoli that take 65-90 days to grow). The fast-growing crops (30- 60 days) can then be squeezed in around the others. 

  3. Consider using beds. Rectangular beds are handy because they allow you a lot of flexibility to deal with plants of varying sizes. If you divide your whole garden into beds 1 m (40 in) across (and however wide you choose), each bed can be used to grow either three equally spaced rows of small crops (like salad greens), two equally spaced rows of medium-sized crops (like beans) or a single central row of a large crop (like tomatoes). You can, of course, plant things in rows (or any which way you choose), but rectangular beds with one, two, or three rows are simple and efficient. See beds for diagrams and additional explanation. 

  4. Arrange your large plants so they won’t shade the others. Some plants (tomatoes, corn, and Jerusalem artichokes, for example) can shade out others. Put these plants where they have enough room and won’t block the light (often in a bed at the edge of your plot). In general, the rows in your garden should run north-south to allow light to get to all of the plants as the sun moves from east to west across the sky.

  5. Leave enough room between the rows to allow you to walk and remove weeds. In general, the spaces required by the plants themselves will be fine for this, but a little bit too much space is better than not enough space.

  6. Make use of vertical space. In a small garden, you have a lot of vertical space, but not much horizontal space. Stake or cage your tomatoes, trellis your peas and cucumbers (provide them with structures made of wood, metal, and/or string to grow on), and you’ll have more room for other crops.

  7. Rotate crops so related plants don’t stay in the same place. Broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, kale, radishes, kohlrabi, rutabagas, turnips, and cauliflower are all very closely related (they’re in the same plant family, known as “Brassicaceae,” or the mustard family). As a result, they take the same nutrients out of the soil and are vulnerable to the same pests and diseases.

    As much as you can, move these crops around your garden so that no two related crops occupy the same space for two years in a row.

    There are other groupings of plants that SHOULD NOT follow each other: Potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are in the family “Solanaceae” (sunloving family); Carrot, parsley, celery, parsley, dill, and parsnip are in the family “Apiaceae” (carrot and parsley family); summer squash, winter squash, pumpkins, watermelon, cantaloupe, and cucumber are in the family “Cucurbitaceae” (gourd family); Chicory, endive, salsify, dandelion, lettuce, Jerusalem artichoke, sunflowers, and globe artichoke are in the family “Asteraceae” (aster family); Beets, chard and spinach are in the family “Chenopodiaceae” (goatsfoot family); and onion, garlic, leek, and chives are in the family “Liliaceae” (lily family).

← GO BACK TO GROW GUIDES

CONTINUE SHOPPING

Browse through hundreds of different varieties

📙 SEED CATALOG {A - Z}
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

ENTER THE SEED SHOP ➜

ON SALE NOW UNTIL MIDNIGHT

SHOP 🔥 DAILY DEALS
Lavender, English - SeedsNow.com
Lavender, English
Sale priceFrom $1.50
Chamomile, German.
Chamomile, German
Sale priceFrom $1.50
Cabbage - Savoy Perfection - SeedsNow.com
Cabbage - Savoy Perfection
Sale priceFrom $1.50
Broccoli - Early Purple - SeedsNow.com
Broccoli - Early Purple
Sale priceFrom $1.50
Radish - Purple Plum - SeedsNow.com
Radish - Purple Plum
Sale priceFrom $1.50
Pepper (Sweet) - Cubanelle - SeedsNow.com
Pepper (Sweet) - Cubanelle
Sale priceFrom $1.50
Onion - Red Burgundy (Short Day) - SeedsNow.com
Onion - Red Burgundy (Short Day)
Sale priceFrom $1.50
Cucumber - Marketmore - SeedsNow.com
Cucumber - Marketmore
Sale priceFrom $1.25
Leek - Giant Musselburgh - SeedsNow.com
Leek - Giant Musselburgh
Sale priceFrom $1.00
Gourd - Crown of Thorns - SeedsNow.com
Gourd - Crown of Thorns
Sale priceFrom $1.00
Cabbage - Brunswick - SeedsNow.com
Cabbage - Brunswick
Sale priceFrom $1.00

FEATURED BLOG POSTS & ARTICLES

VIEW ALL BLOG POSTS
Your Guide to Gardening Through all 4 Seasons

Your Guide to Gardening Through all 4 Seasons

As the weather becomes consistently cold (in late October and early November, in the upper Midwest), you can work at preparing your garden for winter. There are several aspects to winter preparation.
How to Deal with Squash Bugs

How to Deal with Squash Bugs

Squash bugs can destroy crops and are quite the nuisance. Check your squash plants daily for signs of squash bugs and their eggs.   What to look...
How to Save 🍅 Tomato Seeds

How to Save 🍅 Tomato Seeds

There are several ways that you can save your heirloom tomato seeds, but here are two of the most popular techniques.  Fermentation Method: Choos...
How To Tell When 🍆 Eggplant Is Ripe

How To Tell When 🍆 Eggplant Is Ripe

Eggplant is a versatile fruit often used in Italian dishes such as ratatouille, caponata, and lasagna. Eggplant easily absorbs the flavors of wh...
Start these NOW for a fall garden!

Start these NOW for a fall garden!

Summer will soon be over but having a thriving vegetable garden doesn't have to end when summer does. With a little bit of planning, and p...
How Many Plants a 12″ Container?

How Many Plants a 12″ Container?

Here is a suggested number of plants that will grow successfully in a 12″ container. It would be a waste of money and time to start more seeds...
Why Won't My Root Veggies Grow?

Why Won't My Root Veggies Grow?

You’ve put in all the work, planted your root veggies with care and all season you’ve been eyeing their gorgeous leafy green tops and waited with a...
Seed Planting & Spacing Guide (printable)

Seed Planting & Spacing Guide (printable)

← GO BACK TO GROW GUIDES Here is a cheat sheet you can save to reference all of the planting and spacing specs for each of your seeds. Click on the...

CONTINUE LEARNING

CONTINUE SHOPPING

ENTER THE SEED SHOP ❱