4 important things to consider when designing a vegetable garden
When I was little, my parents sectioned off a tiny patch in the garden for me to grow a few vegetables and flowers.
I can still remember the thrill of eating radishes straight from the ground and nibbling nasturtium flowers so peppery they made my nostrils burn. But they were mine and I had, like a magician, conjured them from the soil.
The pleasure of vegetable gardening has not dimmed. If anything, I get more excited every year, poring over seed packets and imagining the garden filled with glistening produce. One of the greatest thrills, however, comes at this time of year.
As the vegetable garden slips into its quiet autumn decline, I can take a breath and start planning again. The garden is an ever-changing, evolving creature – every year, I move things around, build new beds, weave new structures and experiment. Some are a triumph, some aren’t. But that’s gardening for you.
Think about what you enjoy eating
As organic as the process is, however, there is an underlying logic to planning a vegetable garden. The first question to ask is: what do I like eating? Only grow what you or your family enjoy or, at least, grow with those tastes in mind. I’m the only person in our house who loves rocket, for example, so I grow a small square just for me. Also think about what you can realistically preserve, bottle, dry or freeze.
Save yourself money
In a similar vein, choose vegetables and herbs with cost in mind. Leeks are more expensive than onions, for example.
Fresh herbs, tomatoes, petit pois, green beans, unusual salad leaves, aubergines and peppers are more expensive than, say, main crop potatoes or brassicas. If space is limited, concentrate on the stars of the how. I also grow produce that is at its best straight from the soil – no shop can ever compare with just-podded baby broad beans.
Be clever with space
Whatever size your garden, plan out where your produce will go. Vegetable gardening is like an orchestra, each instrument showing off its virtuosity at a different time. Plotting both a plant’s location and its harvest time will help you work out whether you can sneak in a second or third crop or underplant. Squashes, for example, tend to grow and ripen late in the year.
Think cleverly about what you can grow up vertical plant structures so they don’t take up as much room – courgettes, squashes, cucumbers, peas, beans, tomatoes, even sweet potatoes can be persuaded skywards.
Do the maths
To create a fairly accurate plan, do a rough sketch. Using a tape measure or surveyor’s tape (for a big garden), jot measurements on your drawing, noting hedges, fences and sheds. Then draw up an accurate scale plan. I often tape together sheets of A4 card to make a larger but foldable sheet – and draw using the scale 1:100, so 1cm on my paper equals 100cm or 1m in the garden. It’s a workable scale that isn’t too tricky to calculate. If you want more detail, use a 1:50 scale.
This accurate plan is now your blueprint. Use tracing paper layers to plot out what will go where. Think about the practicalities of the garden. Where is shaded or in full sun? How far does the hose reach? Which plants can act as companion plants?
I often grow sweet peas, for example, near runner beans to attract pollinators. Plant the most-often-used vegetables and herbs nearest the house.
I like to imagine how the garden will look as I walk around it, too. I make cardboard models of things, such as the greenhouse, fruit cages and wigwams, to get a sense of the space. This is useful if you’re planning to erect a new structure such as a raised bed or shed. Will it overshadow another bed? Can you get a wheelbarrow through?
Finally, don’t forget colour. There are some dazzling varieties of vegetables to throw into the mix – soon you’ll be conjuring up your very own horticultural magic.
Author and seasoned smallholder Sally Coulthard shares her Yorkshire plot with sheep, horses, hens, ducks, geese, an orchard, a vegetable garden and a pond and regularly contributes to our The New Good Life series.
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