by Nancy Heide
Vegetable gardens are a cash saver for many families. Imagine the produce that you wouldn’t have to buy, and the convenience of going to your garden to get it. Every vegetable garden should receive plenty of sunlight and have good drainage.
At the time of writing, my vegetable garden is 150 feet long by 50 feet wide. I leave ten feet between each row to accommodate my 6-foot wide garden tiller. Of course, this would neither be feasible nor practical in a small lot. You can have a vegetable garden on as little space as you have; even containers can accommodate a variety of vegetables.
Arrange your garden in such a manner that root crops are grouped together, brassicas are together, and legumes are together. The reason for this is that each plant’s fertilizer needs are different; grouping them allows you to set sections that will dictate how you fertilize. Legumes are valuable to grow in your garden because they make their own nitrogen. Fertilizing them just requires some compost or aged manure. Root crops will need some nitrogen applied, and brassicas need nitrogen, compost, and lime to stay healthy and vigorous.
Within each row, follow the directions on your seed packets to determine how to space each plant. Here’s a general description of my vegetable garden plan this year. All my rows are 50 feet long and ten feet apart.
1 double row (6 inches apart) of Oregon Sugar II Peas (1 inch apart)
1 double row (6 inches apart) of Green Arrow Peas (1 inch apart)
1 row of Tema Green Bean (2 inches apart)
½ row of Homemade Pickles Cucumber; remaining ½ row of Sweet Slice Cucumber (plant both in groupings of 3 – 4 seeds, 4 feet apart)
1 row of Tomatoes Bush Beefsteak (2 feet apart)
½ row of T & T’s Lettuce-Plus Mix; remaining ½ row Romaine Lettuce (both 8 inches apart)
½ row of Easter Egg Radishes (½ inch apart); remaining ½ row Spinach Catalina (2 inches apart)
1 row of
Superstar Sweet Onions (6 inches apart)
1 row of Carrot Sweetness (thin to 1 ½ inches apart)
4 rows of Sweet Corn Peaches and Cream Hybrid (4 inches apart)
4 rows of Fingerling Potatoes (1 foot apart)
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