PlotPlan

Vegetable garden layout ideas

Six plans for raised beds and in-ground plots, each drawn square foot by square foot with the reasoning behind it. Open any of them in the planner and make it yours.

Raised bed · To Tomato · Ba Basil · Mg Marigold · Pe Pepper · On Onion · Ga Garlic · Ci Cilantro · Py Parsley · Lt Lettuce

The salsa & sauce bed

One 4×8 ft raised bed

Tomatoes along the north edge, peppers and onions in the middle, basil and cilantro where you can reach them.

  • Tall, caged tomatoes sit on the north side so they never shade the shorter crops.
  • Basil and marigolds are traditional tomato companions and fill the gaps between cages.
  • Cilantro bolts in summer heat, so it gets a front square you can resow in fall.
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Salad square · Lt Lettuce · Sp Spinach · Ar Arugula · Ra Radish · Ca Carrot · Sc Swiss chard · Ch Chives · Be Beet · Ci Cilantro

The cut-and-come-again salad square

One 4×4 ft bed

Sixteen squares of fast greens and roots, sown in waves every two weeks so something is always ready.

  • Radishes are ready in about four weeks and free up their square for the next sowing.
  • Carrots and radishes are sown together; radishes mark the slow-germinating carrot row.
  • Nothing here is taller than knee height, so the bed can sit in front of a fence or other beds.
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Bed A · warm season · To Tomato · Ba Basil · Mg Marigold · Pe Pepper · Eg Eggplant · Cu Cucumber · Na Nasturtium · Di Dill · Zu Zucchini · Bb Bush bean · Py Parsley
Bed B · cool season · Pb Pole bean · Pa Pea · Ca Carrot · Ra Radish · Lt Lettuce · Sp Spinach · Br Broccoli · Ka Kale · On Onion · Be Beet · Ch Chives · Sc Swiss chard

Two-bed family garden

Two 4×8 ft raised beds

A warm-season bed and a cool-season bed that swap next year, the simplest possible crop rotation.

  • Keeping nightshades and cucurbits in one bed and brassicas, roots and legumes in the other makes rotation a simple swap each year.
  • Pole beans on a trellis at the north end of bed B add nitrogen and use vertical space.
  • Zucchini gets two squares at a corner so it can spill over the edge instead of smothering neighbours.
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In-ground patch · Co Sweet corn · Pb Pole bean · Ws Winter squash

Three sisters block

One 6×6 ft in-ground patch

The Indigenous corn–bean–squash polyculture: corn as the pole, beans climbing it, squash shading the soil.

  • Corn is planted in a block so wind can pollinate every ear.
  • Pole beans climb the cornstalks; sow them once the corn is about 6 inches tall.
  • Winter squash vines run along the ground and shade out weeds between the hills.
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Herb bed · Ro Rosemary · Sa Sage · Ch Chives · Py Parsley · Ba Basil · Ci Cilantro · Di Dill · Na Nasturtium · Mg Marigold

Kitchen-door herb bed

One 2×6 ft bed

A narrow bed by the back door for the herbs you snip most, with the woody perennials grouped at one end.

  • Rosemary and sage are perennials that like lean, dry soil, so they share the end that you water least.
  • Basil sits well away from sage; the two want different watering.
  • At two feet wide, every square is reachable from one side against a wall.
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Row plot · Co Sweet corn · Pb Pole bean · To Tomato · Cu Cucumber · Ba Basil · Mg Marigold · Di Dill · Na Nasturtium · Pe Pepper · Zu Zucchini · Bb Bush bean · Ca Carrot · Be Beet · On Onion · Lt Lettuce · Sp Spinach · Ra Radish · Cb Cabbage · Br Broccoli · Ka Kale · Sc Swiss chard · Po Potato · St Strawberry

In-ground row garden

One 10×12 ft plot in rows

A traditional row plot: tall crops at the north end, a central path, and short crops towards the south.

  • Rows run east–west with the tallest crops at the north so the sun reaches every row.
  • A 2 ft path down the middle means you never step on growing beds.
  • Potatoes and tomatoes are kept at opposite ends because they share blight.
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Rules that make any layout work

  • 4 ft maximum bed width, or 2–3 ft against a wall or fence, so every square is in arm's reach.
  • North for tall, south for short. The top row in every plan here is the north edge.
  • Group by water and season. Thirsty summer crops together, quick cool-season crops together, so one bed can be replanted while the other is still producing.
  • Leave a way in. 18 in paths are the minimum; 24–30 in fits a wheelbarrow.
  • Plan for next year. Keep crop families together so the whole group can move in your rotation.

For plant counts in each square, see the square foot spacing chart; for who likes whom, the companion planting chart.

Questions gardeners ask

What is the best layout for a vegetable garden?

For most home gardens: beds no wider than 4 ft so you never step on the soil, paths at least 18–24 in wide, rows or beds running east–west, and the tallest crops on the north side so they don't shade the rest.

How big should my first vegetable garden be?

Start with one or two 4×8 ft raised beds, 32–64 square feet. That grows a meaningful amount of salad, tomatoes and herbs without becoming a weekend-eating chore. Expand once you know how much time you have.

Which direction should raised beds face?

Run the long side east–west where you can, with tall crops at the north end; the whole bed then gets sun as it moves across the southern sky. In a narrow yard, north–south beds are fine too; just keep tall crops at the north end.

How much sun does a vegetable garden need?

Fruiting crops like tomatoes, peppers and squash need at least 6–8 hours of direct sun. Leafy greens, herbs and many roots manage with 4–6 hours.

Can I change these layouts?

Yes. Each "Open in planner" button loads the layout into the free PlotPlan planner, where you can resize the bed, swap crops and see planting dates for your zone.