My girlfriend and I are trying to plan out our first garden and have pretty much no experience. The plot is 4×8 and located in Philly. How does this look for layout? Any tips would be great!
Don’t underestimate the size of some eggplant plants. They can cast a big shadow.
pangolin_of_fortune
Don’t waste bed space on lavender. It’s a perennial, stick it in a pot or in the ground.
Old_fashioned_742
The peas will need a trellis and should probably be in the back. The basil also won’t get sun behind the peppers. Maybe swap those two around.
It’s always an experiment that first year! I planted my beans around my tomatoes my first year (for the nitrogen) and my beans got no sun. So each puny bean plant grew a bean at a time. 😂
tempertempest
How are you timing these? I only ask because you’re first-time gardeners. Garlic, for example, is usually planted in the fall, overwinters, and grows in early spring for early summer harvest. Snow peas are usually a cool weather crop, and would not thrive if you planted them now.
If you haven’t planned any of this garden yet, I’d consider reallocation those spaces to more summery, heat friendly crops.
jtmy92
You can fit a lot of radishes in 2×2
Leesmn
I am assuming by ‘plot’ you mean you will not have this same space next year.
Skip the lavender – I love lavender, but it doesn’t really take off until the next year. It’s really a bush.
Tomatoes will take more room. But you can kinda co-plant them with the basil.
That could be a lot of cilantro. I would just do one square and keep adding new seeds every 3 weeks or so.
Garlic is planted in fall, so probably too late for that.
I would think about adding lettuce – always easy to grow. And more tomatoes… but I always want more tomatoes. I’d get at least 1 cherry and 1 slicer.
GumbyBClay
We prefer to separate all of our herbs in long planters along the fence where I can have quick access without bending over. Seems more often then not that I’m cutting them fresh for whatever I’m cooking that night.
tomatocrazzie
Waaaay to much stuff.
Brilliant_Step3688
Drop that lavender in whatever shitty corner outside the main bed. It’s gonna do fine. You have way too much going on. Try it and learn.
bestkittens
This is exciting!
I agree about that lavender, unless this is a community garden and you’re limited to your one bed and are interested in using it as a salve or some such. Including smaller flowers like allysum, daisies, snapdragons etc will do wonders for pollination and beauty.
Square foot gardening is so helpful in the beginning. As you grow (in all of the ways) I think you’ll find that you can use the in between spaces and underneath larger plants to sneak in things like radishes (they grow fast!) and cilantro (loves shade and will go to seed when it gets hot).
Depending where you are, it may be a bit late for the peas. Consider bush beans (no trellis required) or cucumbers (needs a trellis) instead.
Remember: plants want to grow! Give them light, water and good soil and you’ll do great. But if something fails, don’t worry it happens to all of us. Learn from it and try again!
10 Comments
Don’t underestimate the size of some eggplant plants. They can cast a big shadow.
Don’t waste bed space on lavender. It’s a perennial, stick it in a pot or in the ground.
The peas will need a trellis and should probably be in the back. The basil also won’t get sun behind the peppers. Maybe swap those two around.
It’s always an experiment that first year! I planted my beans around my tomatoes my first year (for the nitrogen) and my beans got no sun. So each puny bean plant grew a bean at a time. 😂
How are you timing these? I only ask because you’re first-time gardeners. Garlic, for example, is usually planted in the fall, overwinters, and grows in early spring for early summer harvest. Snow peas are usually a cool weather crop, and would not thrive if you planted them now.
If you haven’t planned any of this garden yet, I’d consider reallocation those spaces to more summery, heat friendly crops.
You can fit a lot of radishes in 2×2
I am assuming by ‘plot’ you mean you will not have this same space next year.
Skip the lavender – I love lavender, but it doesn’t really take off until the next year. It’s really a bush.
Tomatoes will take more room. But you can kinda co-plant them with the basil.
That could be a lot of cilantro. I would just do one square and keep adding new seeds every 3 weeks or so.
Garlic is planted in fall, so probably too late for that.
I would think about adding lettuce – always easy to grow. And more tomatoes… but I always want more tomatoes. I’d get at least 1 cherry and 1 slicer.
We prefer to separate all of our herbs in long planters along the fence where I can have quick access without bending over. Seems more often then not that I’m cutting them fresh for whatever I’m cooking that night.
Waaaay to much stuff.
Drop that lavender in whatever shitty corner outside the main bed. It’s gonna do fine. You have way too much going on. Try it and learn.
This is exciting!
I agree about that lavender, unless this is a community garden and you’re limited to your one bed and are interested in using it as a salve or some such. Including smaller flowers like allysum, daisies, snapdragons etc will do wonders for pollination and beauty.
Square foot gardening is so helpful in the beginning. As you grow (in all of the ways) I think you’ll find that you can use the in between spaces and underneath larger plants to sneak in things like radishes (they grow fast!) and cilantro (loves shade and will go to seed when it gets hot).
Depending where you are, it may be a bit late for the peas. Consider bush beans (no trellis required) or cucumbers (needs a trellis) instead.
Remember: plants want to grow! Give them light, water and good soil and you’ll do great. But if something fails, don’t worry it happens to all of us. Learn from it and try again!