Plans — updated 2026-07

Garden Layout Plans

6 complete bed plans, each with spacing worked out at square-foot density, every neighbouring pair checked against the companion records, planting dates derived from frost data, and a soil and supply list. Start from one rather than from an empty bed.

Tomato
Tomato
Pepper (sweet/bell)
Pepper (sweet/bell)
Basil
Basil
French Marigold
French Marigold
Tomato
Tomato
Pepper (sweet/bell)
Pepper (sweet/bell)
Basil
Basil
French Marigold
French Marigold
Bush bean
Bush bean
Carrot
Carrot
Lettuce
Lettuce
Radish
Radish
Bush bean
Bush bean
Carrot
Carrot
Lettuce
Lettuce
Radish
Radish

The standard first raised bed: eight crops that are hard to kill, spaced properly, with nothing planted next to something it fights with.

8 crops · 32 cu ft of soil · full sun · Easy

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Lettuce
Lettuce
Arugula
Arugula
Lettuce
Lettuce
Arugula
Spinach
Spinach
Spinach
Radish
Radish
Carrot
Carrot
Chives
Cilantro / Coriander

A 4×4 bed of fast greens and roots that you harvest continuously rather than all at once. Ready in six weeks, productive for months.

7 crops · 16 cu ft of soil · partial sun · Easy

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Three Sisters

4 × 4 ft
Sweet corn
Sweet corn
Sweet corn
Sweet corn
Sweet corn
Pole bean
Pole bean
Sweet corn
Summer squash / zucchini
Pole bean
Pole bean
Summer squash / zucchini
Summer squash / zucchini
Summer squash / zucchini
Summer squash / zucchini
Summer squash / zucchini

Corn, beans and squash grown together — the one traditional polyculture with measured evidence that it out-produces the same area grown separately.

3 crops · 16 cu ft of soil · full sun · Moderate

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The Salsa Bed

6 × 4 ft
Tomato
Tomato
Tomato
Tomato
Pepper (sweet/bell)
Pepper (sweet/bell)
Tomato
Tomato
Tomato
Tomato
Pepper (sweet/bell)
Pepper (sweet/bell)
Onion
Onion
Cilantro / Coriander
Cilantro / Coriander
Pepper (sweet/bell)
Pepper (sweet/bell)
Onion
Onion
Cilantro / Coriander
Cilantro / Coriander
French Marigold
French Marigold

Everything for a bowl of salsa in one 4×6 bed: tomatoes, peppers, onions and cilantro, timed so they are ready together.

5 crops · 24 cu ft of soil · full sun · Moderate

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Sweet Alyssum
Sweet Alyssum
Borage
Borage
Sweet Alyssum
Sweet Alyssum
Sweet Alyssum
Calendula / Pot Marigold
Borage
Borage
Calendula / Pot Marigold
Sweet Alyssum
Dill
Calendula / Pot Marigold
Sunflower
Sunflower
Calendula / Pot Marigold
Dill
Dill
Nasturtium
Sunflower
Sunflower
Nasturtium
Dill

A 4×6 border of flowering plants chosen for the evidence behind them — sweet alyssum for hoverflies, borage for pollination, calendula and dill for predatory wasps.

6 crops · 24 cu ft of soil · full sun · Easy

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Lettuce
Lettuce
Spinach
Spinach
Lettuce
Swiss Chard
Swiss Chard
Spinach
Arugula
Swiss Chard
Swiss Chard
Kale
Arugula
Parsley
Spearmint
Kale

For the bed that only gets three to five hours of sun. Leafy crops and roots that genuinely prefer it, rather than fruiting crops that will merely survive.

7 crops · 16 cu ft of soil · partial sun · Easy

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Or build your own

The garden planner starts from an empty bed of any size and checks your arrangement square by square as you build it — the same check these plans passed.

Common questions

What is the best layout for a vegetable garden?
For a first bed, 4 ft × 8 ft in full sun: four feet wide lets you reach the centre from either side without compacting the soil, and eight feet matches standard lumber. Put the tallest crops along the north edge so they don't shade everything else, and the crops you pick most often nearest the path.
How wide should a raised bed be?
No more than four feet if you can reach it from both sides, and no more than two and a half feet if it sits against a wall or fence. The constraint is arm's reach — the entire point of a raised bed is that you never step on the soil inside it.
Which direction should garden rows run?
North to south is the usual advice, so both sides of a row get even light through the day. It matters far less than what most people worry about — getting tall crops out of the way of short ones matters much more than row orientation.
Can I use these plans in a different sized bed?
Yes. Open any plan in the garden planner, change the dimensions, and rearrange it — the planner checks each square against the same records these layouts were built from.