How to properly plan a plot for a vegetable garden

Increasingly, a dacha is no longer only a place to solve food problems, but also a place to relax. And not the whole area is allotted for the garden. How to plan a garden so that there is not only a harvest, but also that it is beautiful? And I also want to leave a place for garden “beauty”. Everything is possible, you just need to find the right approach.

Choosing a place for a garden

Most plants love sunlight. Then they grow and bear fruit normally. It is necessary to choose a place for a vegetable garden taking into account this fact. It is especially important to allocate a well-lit area for a vegetable garden for the middle lane and northern regions.

Before planning, take a look at how the shade is distributed on your site during the day. It is not only buildings that are discarded. Another shadow gives a solid fence, trees and shrubs. According to the results of observations, divide the area into three groups: illuminated all daylight hours, until noon and all day in the shade.

For regions with a cool climate, the best place for a garden is where the sun shines throughout the day. In the south, choose other areas – in partial shade. For the southern regions, it is ideal if the sun is only in the morning, and in the afternoon the plot is covered with shade. Where there is shade throughout the day, only shade-loving plants can be planted. There are few of them in the garden, but there are enough flowers or ornamental plants. So you can make a flower bed.

How many beds do you need

To plan a garden, you need to know how much space you need to allocate for each type of plant. When you decide on the area, it will be possible, already in the planning process, to choose the size of the beds and their shape. So, how many beds do you need? First of all, you must decide what you want to grow in your garden and how many kilograms you would like to have each of the crops. The easiest way to do this is in the form of a table.

Then you need to find data on yields per hundred square meters in your area. Data is needed for each type of plant that you want to grow. The table shows the average yield in Russia. We counted them into kilograms per hundred square meters. By region, they will differ, and significantly. But for the first estimate, you can take these numbers. After the first harvest, adjustments can be made. You can also try to find out from your neighbors how many vegetables they grow and focus on local indicators.

Calculation of the area of ​​beds for crops

All you need to do to calculate the area under the beds is to divide the figure that you plan to receive in the form of a crop by the yield for this crop. Get how many acres you need to allocate for this vegetable. Then, when planning a garden, decide on the length and width of the beds, then you can finally understand how much space is required.

Let’s take a look at an example. For example, we want to grow 250 kg of potatoes, 50 kg of onions, 50 kg of tomatoes and 50 kg of cucumbers. We believe:

• The yield of potatoes is 250-300 kg per hundred square meters. We want the same 250 kg. That is, we will allocate 1 hundred square meters for potatoes.
• Luka want 50 kg. Productivity – 100-120 kg. We consider: 50/100 = 0,5 weave.
• Tomatoes need 50 kg. Productivity is 60-70 kg. Calculation: 50/60 = 0,8 weave.
• We plan to get 50 kg of cucumbers. The yield is 400 kg, we get 50/400 = 0,125 weave.

In the same way, we consider for all the plants that we want to grow in the garden. We add up the obtained numbers and compare the result with the area that we can allocate for the garden, make adjustments.

This is if you do it “according to science.” If a garden is more of a pleasure for you, then take a plot plan on a scale, make patterns of beds of different shapes and sizes on the same scale. Move the beds around the site until you get a picture that you like. Then just distribute the vegetables in the beds. But, even in this case, it is necessary to take into account the illumination.

The location of the beds

If we talk about orientation to the cardinal points, then the most optimal placement of beds is from north to south. In this case, the landing will be illuminated all day, the shading will be minimal. But this is true for regions with cool summers. In the southern regions, the problem is different. Not how to achieve better lighting, but how to prevent the sun from burning plants. The task is the opposite, but it is by no means easier. Here the plus is that the orientation of the beds is not so important.

Northern regions

The choice of a place for vegetable crops is also influenced by the location of the region, the presence / depth of groundwater. Recommendations for the northern regions:

• Arrange the beds from north to south.
• We guess that the shadow of the house or trees on the garden falls the least.
• At a high water level, we try to take the highest fates under the garden or make ditches around the perimeter to drain water.
• We arrange high or raised beds.

These are general principles and rules. See for yourself what suits you and what doesn’t. As for the high beds, it is worth saying that they require more time and money for the device. But they justify themselves. Firstly, they warm up earlier, and secondly, soil waters and substances dissolved in them have a minimal effect on plants. Thirdly, the garden season can be extended, since it is easy to make something like a greenhouse by making arcs on which to stretch the covering material. This will also protect the crop from sudden frosts.

Garden in the south

For the southern regions, the layout of the garden is subject to other principles. It is necessary to protect the plants from the scorching sun and ensure normal watering. Here’s what you can do:

• Under direct sun, we plant plants that tolerate heat well. These are sweet peppers, eggplants, tomatoes.
• We plant plants with more delicate foliage in partial shade or alternating with tall crops that will shade them. For example, cucumbers can be alternated with corn. Two or three rows of cucumbers, one of corn. And along the edges of the planting, too, corn.
  

• Watering is more efficient and economical drip.

High beds in the south are also applicable, but really high and with light walls (whitewashed). Reasons are different. In the southern regions with dark soil, it heats up so that it is impossible to walk barefoot – it feels like in a frying pan. With high beds, lift the plants above the hot ground. Well, a limited amount of soil is easier to shed. In addition, you can also put up arches and pull on a covering material or shading net to protect from the scorching sun.

Method of cultivation and width of beds and row spacing

Not all gardeners divide their plots into beds. Many simply plant plants in rows, not even always separating one crop from another. Sometimes the separation is a wider “pedestrian” aisle. In principle, this is possible, but dividing into beds makes it easier to care for, makes the garden more attractive. When properly processed, it increases yield.

How to plan a vegetable garden

There are several systems for dividing into beds. They determine the width, the length of the landing, and some also the row spacing.

• Narrow beds. The width of the beds is 45 cm, the distance between them is 90 cm. Why is that? In a regular bed, the edge plants are usually taller and stronger because they get more light. For this reason, they make a bed 45 cm wide, planting only two rows of plants. Thus, high yields can be achieved, even sun-loving varieties ripen in the middle lane. But there is also a significant minus: wide aisles reduce the “working” area, and they are also overgrown with grass that you have to fight.
  

• Normal beds or regular width – from 50 cm to 90 cm or even up to 1 meter. Row spacing – from 40 cm to 60 cm. They can be level with the ground or raised. Raised – this is without walls, but the seedbed is higher than the level of row spacing. The height difference is formed due to the brought soil or the site added from other places.
• High beds. Walls are made from boards, slate or other similar material, humus, a layer of earth are poured inside the box. Such beds are not flooded by floods or rains, they warm up better. They are more comfortable – easier to handle, no need to bend too low. But the cost and time for the device require more.
  

• Warm beds. Differ from high “stuffing”. Inside the box of boards or slate, branches, foliage, humus, a layer of soil are laid in layers, in which plants are already planted. Width – up to 1 meter. The good thing is that rotting foliage warms up the soil, which allows you to plant plants earlier. This is important for the northern regions, for the southern regions it is not so important, but it is also practical due to the higher results that the prepared soil gives.

You can use any of the methods of growing plants in the beds. You can also choose any width of the beds. Optimally – no more than one meter. Maybe less. We select it individually: it is important that you can easily reach the middle without much difficulty. And not only to reach – you will have to handle the middle of the landing, while it should not be too uncomfortable.

Forms of beds

The traditional shape of the beds is a rectangle. Its width, as you understand, is from 45 cm to 100 cm and depends only on your desire and the chosen method of growing. The length of the beds – again, it depends on your desire or on the layout of the site. Why choose a rectangle more often? Because this is the most rational use of the garden area.

In general, there can be beds of any shape: a square, a triangle, a polygon, a circle, an oval and more complex shapes. These forms may look more aesthetically pleasing, but more space “walks”. So choose the shape of the beds at your discretion. It affects the yield slightly, but the appearance of the garden is very different.

Beds on a plot with a slope

It is more difficult to plan a garden on a site with a slope. Here, the retaining walls set the direction of the beds and it is too difficult and expensive to change something. You have to use what you have to the maximum. Everything is fine on the southern slope – the illumination is ideal, and the retaining walls additionally heat the plantings – they accumulate heat, then warming up the air. Therefore, we make the paths closer to the edge of the leveled area – so that the heat from the walls gets to the plants.

On the northern slope, the retaining wall provides shade. Near the wall, she lies almost all day, while the edge receives more sun. Therefore, we make paths near the wall itself, pushing the beds to the edge of the site. In this case, it is more convenient to process landing one level higher. That way you don’t have to bend over at all.

How to break the beds on the eastern or western slope? Observe which part is illuminated more, which receives less light. Make paths where there is less light.

You can also make small beds on a slope that is not leveled with supporting walls (an example is in the photo below). Install two wide boards in parallel (or knock together a couple of boards narrower). The distance between the boards is the width of your garden. Optimal – 70-90 cm.

Lay the boards on the slope “on edge”. You can dig a little, deepening the bottom edge into the ground. On both sides of the board, hammer in the pins that will hold it in this position. From short lengths of boards, make mini-retaining walls, fill the voids with soil. Now you can plant plants.

On such beds it is convenient to grow greens, aromatic crops. Suitable for strawberries, you can plant tomatoes or bush beans. In principle, the selection of crops depends on the illumination. And one more thing: weaving or giving a lot of volume plants are not very good on such a slope. And keep in mind that the walls will hardly accumulate heat, except perhaps in the spring. Later they will be covered with greenery.

How to organize a garden in a small area

Not everyone wants to have a big garden. More and more summer residents prefer to relax in the country, and not to cultivate plantings. Nevertheless, going to the country with a full range of products is “too much” for many. Therefore, they make a couple of beds, where they plant greens and a couple of bushes of various vegetables. In principle, this is a global trend, so there are more than enough ideas for organizing beds in a small space.

Vertical beds

An interesting idea is to grow plants in vertical beds. This name hides a lot of different ways. The only thing that unites them is that the plantings / crops are located one above the other. They can be offset or exactly one under the other, but they all tend upward and occupy a minimum area.

Option one – a wall for a vegetable garden. Trays, boxes with earth are hung on an existing or specially built wall or fence, in which plants are planted / sown. This is how green crops and various herbs are grown. If you want, you can plant curly or weaving. But it makes sense to land them together, giving support in the form of a grid, a wooden lattice.

Hanging planting boxes on the wall is not for everyone. Still, you will have to water, so the wall may get wet or the finish will be damaged. In this case, you make a rack on which you place the containers. And this stand may not be near a wall or fence. She can, for example, separate the garden from the garden. Or cover some areas or buildings (in front of the toilet, shed, compost pit).

You can even use vertically or horizontally fixed plastic pipes of large diameter, in which to cut “windows” for planting. Strawberries feel best in such plantings, but greens and aromatic plants will not be offended.

Garden along the fence

Not everyone has a fence around the perimeter of the entire site. But if it does exist, beds can be made under it. An exception is corrugated fencing in warm regions. The metal heats up so that everything just burns out. In the northern ones, this is not a hindrance – it will additionally heat the plants.

The method of organizing the beds under the fence depends on the level of groundwater, soil type and rainfall. If the soil is good, the water is not standing even after heavy rain, you can simply separate the part for planting. You dig up a bed 50-60 cm wide, put a border.

If the soil is “not very good”, there is a lot of water, or you just want a more well-groomed look, we make high beds. Add partitions and get space for greens, cucumbers / tomatoes. If you do not want to “spoil” the fence, you can make a full-fledged box. In any case, it is tightened from the inside with geotextiles. To protect against moles, you can lay a fine-mesh metal mesh on the bottom.

As mentioned above, the width of such a bed is 50-60 cm. You need to reach the far edge without much effort. And stand in this position for a while – plant, weed, water. Height is entirely up to you. As well as the material of the walls.

A couple of ideas for small areas under the garden

If you have a small garden and want maximum results, give preference to those plants that grow well in your area and are guaranteed to produce a crop. It is possible to occupy squares for exotics, which probably will not survive, but if the area is large. The same goes for time. If you can allocate a minimum of time to care for the garden, you should not plant plants with complex agricultural technology. They take a lot of time, and a positive result is not guaranteed.

From small areas to the maximum: compaction

Use the principles of compact planting – this is when another is planted between plants of one species. Actual for narrow beds or for small gardens. The rules for selecting plants are as follows:

1. so that they do not suffer from the same diseases,
2. to take food from different depths,
3. “seals” ripen earlier than “basic”.

You also need to consider the landing site. For example, lettuces and cabbage are best planted in the aisle. The remaining cultures are in the same row as the main species. List of what can be compacted:

• beets – dill, lettuce;
• potatoes – garlic, beans, radishes;
• cabbage – with salads, dill, spinach;
• carrots – spinach, radish;
• zucchini, squash – beans, beans, dill, corn on the cob (remove young).

These are the most common co-growing schemes. As you can see, dill, radishes and salads do not need to be allocated a separate place at all. They are perfectly combined with various garden crops. Just don’t plant them all at once. Optimally – with an interval of a week or 10 days, otherwise everything will reach maturity at the same time, you will not know where to put it.

Pre-sowing and post-sowing

Another way to optimize your garden is to use pre-seeding or post-seeding. Post-sowing is when new plants are planted in place of mature plants. If late-planted species are sown in early spring with fast-maturing species, this is called pre-sowing (pre-sowing). Radishes, lettuce, greens, onions on a feather, watercress are suitable for previous or subsequent sowing.

Crop rotation principles

To have a harvest every year, change the area under planting plants of the same species. For example, don’t plant tomatoes in the same place every year. Pests and diseases of a particular type accumulate in the soil. By changing plants, planting disinfectant plants, you destroy pests.

Tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes are all nightshade and have some pests.

So when choosing plants, it is also worth looking at the classification of species. To make it easier to navigate, we present a table of order / compatibility of cultures.

How to “change” vegetables in the beds

If you change the places for planting plants according to the table above, it is most convenient to break the garden into 4 parts. For the first time, plant plants that have the same requirements for soils, fertilizers in a certain area. For example:

1. Reacting to the introduction of organics: pumpkin, cucumbers, squash, cabbage.
2. Less demanding soil qualities: tomatoes, peppers, eggplants.
3. Root crops (carrots, beets, turnips, turnips, rutabaga).
4. Potatoes.

We’re moving everything next year. Since autumn, we add humus to the area where the potatoes were. We plant plants of the first group there. Plants from the second group move to 1 plot, etc. Schematically, the first crop rotation option for the garden is shown in the left figure below.

Sometimes potatoes and tomatoes occupy half the area. In this case, we divide the second half into three sections, where we place the plants of the remaining groups. Every year potatoes / tomatoes move from one half to another, and vegetables in the second half also alternate with each other. Schematically, such a crop rotation is shown in the right figure.

Ciderates

The gardener has two global tasks: to maintain or improve soil fertility and to fight weeds. There is one method that will solve both problems at once – the use of green manure. These are plants that grow quickly, form dense greenery that suppresses the development of weeds. They are sown after or before the main sowing / planting, then the greens are cut off, leaving the roots to rot in the ground. Rotting, they enrich the soil, and also make it looser. And some of the green manure also kill diseases. So this agricultural technique is really very important.

Application rules

A few basic techniques for using green manure. They are sown immediately after harvesting with a solid carpet (lupine, rapeseed, phacelia). Or in early spring before planting the main crops. Scatter the seeds over the surface, then close up with a rake. Green manure is mowed two to three weeks before planting the main plants. Greens can be used for mulching. You need to cut it before the seeds appear, otherwise you will get a new type of weed.

When planting seedlings, green manure can not be mowed. We just make the hole bigger, plant the seedlings, and mulch the soil. If green manure covers the sun, they can be cut, but in general, they even out temperature fluctuations. When the seedlings have taken root, you can cut off the green manure, mulch the soil with foliage.

What are green manure plants and their choice

Many plants are suitable for improving the condition of the soil. When choosing a green manure, take into account what you will plant after it.

• Enriched with nitrogen almost like manure application: alfalfa, clover, sweet clover, chin, lentils, peas, beans, etc. They also kill the nematode.
• General improvement of the condition of the upper layers of the soil and the fight against the nematode: winter rye and wheat, spring oats and barley, Sudanese grass, millet, fescue. Dense greens don’t rot very well, but make an excellent mulch. Suitable for all types of soil, including acidic ones.

• Soil enrichment (not suitable for acidified): rapeseed, mustard, colza, radish. The greenery is soft, rots well, but it is necessary to mow it to the pasture of the “arrows”. After green manure of this group, you can not plant cruciferous – cabbage, radish, radish, spinach, arugula.
• Phacelia, mallow, amaranth, flax, calendula, tagetes (marigolds) are also good for improving soil fertility. It is necessary to mow before the appearance of buds.

To suppress weeds, green manure can be sown not only in spring or autumn – aisles can also be sown in summer. Just remember to mow on time. Greens will go to the mulch. For regions with a hot climate, green manure can be planted after the main plants have taken root. In this case, dense greenery will keep the soil from overheating.

Planting oats/barley and legumes, or flax and calendula between potato rows will result in fewer Colorado potato beetles and hookworms. And phacelia and mustard will help get rid of the wireworm. Plant sweet clover and lupine between tomato bushes – they will prevent horse rot and late blight from developing.