Lay out a first vegetable garden in beds you can reach across

The best layout for a first vegetable garden is a few narrow beds you can reach across without stepping on the soil. Make them about 1.2 m (4 ft) wide, with paths between them, and start with fewer than you think you need.

Narrow beds mean the soil never gets compacted by feet, so you dig less, crops grow better, and weeding takes minutes instead of an afternoon.

Beds and paths

• Bed width: about 1.2 m (4 ft), or 90 cm (3 ft) if you have short arms or the bed is against a fence.
• Bed length: whatever fits, but 2.4 to 3 m (8 to 10 ft) is a good size. Longer beds tempt you to step across.
• Paths: at least 45 cm (18 in) wide, and 60 cm (2 ft) or more where you’ll push a wheelbarrow.
• Path surface: grass looks nice but needs mowing and creeps into beds. Bark, woodchip or slabs are easier.

Finding the right spot

Most vegetables need at least six hours of direct sun a day, and fruiting crops like tomatoes, beans and courgettes want eight or more. Before you dig, watch where the sun falls through a day.

Also think about:

• Water. Put the beds near a tap or water butt. You’ll carry a lot of water in summer.
• Shelter. Wind dries and damages crops. A hedge or fence a few metres away helps, but not so close it shades the beds.
• Frost pockets. Low spots where cold air collects stay frosty later in spring.
• Access. The closer to the house, the more often you’ll visit, and the better the garden will be.

What goes where

• Tall crops on the north side. Climbing beans, peas, sweetcorn and tomatoes cast shade, so put them where they won’t block the sun from shorter crops.
• Perennials in their own space. Rhubarb, asparagus, fruit bushes and herbs like rosemary stay for years. Give them a bed or a border at the edge so they don’t get in the way of digging.
• Quick crops near the house. Salad, herbs and spring onions get picked most often.
• Compost at the far end. A compost bin or heap in a shady corner, close enough to fill easily.

A simple four-bed plan

Four beds of about 1.2 by 2.4 m (4 by 8 ft) make a good beginner’s garden, and fit a basic crop rotation:

1. Beans and peas, plus sweetcorn on the north end.
2. Brassicas: kale, cabbage, broccoli, plus a row of salad.
3. Roots and onions: carrots, beetroot, parsnips, onions and garlic.
4. Potatoes, tomatoes and courgettes.

Each year, move each group one bed along, so no group grows in the same soil two years running. That keeps pests and diseases from building up.

Starting small

The most common beginner’s mistake is too much space. Weeds grow faster than a new gardener can pull them, and a garden that gets away from you in June is discouraging. Start with two or three beds. Add more once you know how much time you have.

For packing more into each bed, see square foot gardening, and for planning a single bed in detail, how to plan a raised bed.