This vegetable garden planner maps a whole garden plot, paths included, and gives every crop a planting date. Enter the garden’s length and width in feet and your average last spring frost date, then paint paths and crops onto the grid. The summary shows the area planted, the area taken by paths, roughly how many plants of each crop fit, and when to start or sow each one based on your frost date. It is the planner to use for an in-ground garden or a whole yard of beds, rather than a single raised bed.
How to use the vegetable garden planner
- Enter the garden size in feet, up to 30 by 20. Each square on the grid is one square foot.
- Enter your average last spring frost date. The frost date tool explains where to find it.
- Paint the paths first. Choose “Path” and mark walkways between beds or rows.
- Paint the crops. Choose a crop and tap or drag across squares to place it.
- Read the summary. Each crop shows its area, an approximate plant count and its planting window.
- Print the plan to use in the garden, or to keep with your notes for next year’s rotation.
Planning paths
Paths shape how a garden works day to day. Mark them first, then fill the growing space around them.
- Bed width: keep planting areas about 4 feet wide if you can reach in from both sides, or 2 to 3 feet if you can reach from only one.
- Path width: 18 to 24 inches for walking and kneeling. In the planner, a 2-square path is a comfortable 2 feet.
- One wide path: include at least one path about 3 feet wide if you will use a wheelbarrow or garden cart.
- Access to water: make sure paths lead to the hose or faucet, so watering is easy.
In a typical garden, paths take a quarter to a third of the total area. The garden size calculator shows how much growing space is left after paths.
Arranging crops in the garden
Sun and height
Put tall crops, such as corn, pole beans, staked tomatoes and trellised cucumbers, on the north side of the garden so they do not shade everything else. If the top of the grid faces north, use the top rows for tall crops. Low crops such as lettuce, carrots and herbs go on the south side.
Block planting for corn
Sweet corn is pollinated by wind, so plant it in a block of several short rows rather than one long row. In the planner, give corn a square or rectangular block, at least four rows deep.
Room for sprawling crops
Winter squash, pumpkins, melons and zucchini spread widely. Place them at the edge of the garden where their vines can run onto a path or lawn without smothering other crops.
Perennials in their own space
Asparagus, rhubarb, strawberries and perennial herbs stay in the same spot for years. Give them a dedicated area at one edge, so they are not disturbed when you dig or replant annual beds.
Water-thirsty crops together
Group tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and corn, which need steady moisture, and run a drip line or soaker hose along them. Keep drought-tolerant herbs in a separate, drier area.
How plant counts are estimated
The planner estimates plants from each crop’s square foot spacing, as listed in our plant database. That assumes intensive, bed-style planting. If you plant in traditional rows with wide paths between them, you will fit fewer plants than the planner shows; mark the paths between rows on the grid to get a closer count, or use the garden row calculator for row layouts.
Planting dates in the plan
Each crop in the summary shows its planting window, based on your last frost date:
- Crops started indoors, such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, onions, broccoli and cabbage, show when to start seeds indoors and when to plant them out.
- Direct-sown crops, such as peas, carrots, beans, corn and squash, show when to sow outdoors.
- Garlic is noted for fall planting.
Use these dates together with the weather. In a cold spring, wait for warmer soil before sowing beans, corn and squash. For a full spring and fall schedule, see the planting calendar.
Planning for the whole season
A garden plan does not have to be one crop per square for the whole year. Plan successions:
- Spring to summer: peas, spinach and radishes finish by early summer and can be followed by beans, squash or a second planting of carrots.
- Summer to fall: after early potatoes or garlic, sow fall carrots, beets, kale or lettuce.
- Interplanting: sow radishes or lettuce between young broccoli or tomatoes, and harvest them before the larger plants fill the space.
A simple approach is to make one plan for spring and early summer, print it, then repaint the squares that change for a midsummer and fall plan.
Crop rotation
Rotating crop families to different parts of the garden each year helps prevent soil-borne pests and diseases from building up. A common four-part rotation moves through:
- Fruiting crops: tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, cucumbers.
- Legumes: beans and peas, which add nitrogen to the soil.
- Leafy crops and brassicas: lettuce, spinach, kale, cabbage, broccoli.
- Root crops: carrots, beets, onions, potatoes.
Print each year’s plan and keep it, so you can see what grew where and shift families next season. Avoid planting tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and potatoes in the same spot in consecutive years, because they share many diseases.
A sample 20 by 10 garden
A 20-by-10-foot plot can be laid out as two 4-foot-wide beds running the length of the garden, with a 2-foot path down the middle. That gives 160 square feet of growing space and 40 square feet of path. Along the north bed, plant tomatoes, trellised cucumbers and pole beans, with peppers and basil in front. In the south bed, plant lettuce, carrots, beets, bush beans, kale and herbs, with a corner of flowers such as calendula and sweet alyssum to attract beneficial insects. Leave a few squares free for succession sowings of lettuce and beans.
Tips for a successful plan
- Start smaller than you think. A tended small garden outproduces an untended large one.
- Plant what you eat. Give the most space to the crops your household uses most.
- Leave room for flowers. A few squares of small-flowered plants help pollination and pest control.
- Plan water access before planting, so drip lines and hoses reach every bed.
- Keep the plan updated as you replant, so it doubles as a garden record.
Odd shapes and slopes
Not every garden is a neat rectangle. For L-shaped plots, plan each part separately, or use the full rectangle and mark the unused corner as path. On a slope, run beds and rows across the slope, following the contour, rather than up and down it. Beds across a slope slow runoff and keep soil from washing downhill. On steeper ground, terraced beds held by boards or stones make planting and watering much easier.
Planning water
Decide how you will water before you finalize the plan. A hose needs to reach every bed comfortably. Drip lines or soaker hoses run best along straight beds or rows of similar crops. Group the thirstiest crops, such as tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and corn, so a single line can serve them. The garden watering calculator estimates weekly water needs, and the drip irrigation calculator sizes a system for your layout.
Planning for fresh eating or preserving
How much space each crop gets depends on how you use it. For fresh eating, small amounts of many crops, planted in successions, keep variety on the table all season. For canning, freezing or storage, plan larger blocks of a few crops, such as tomatoes for sauce, beans for freezing, or winter squash and onions for storage, timed so they ripen together. Many gardens combine both: a mixed bed near the house for daily picking, and larger blocks farther out for preserving.
Common garden planning mistakes
- No paths, or paths too narrow, which leads to stepping on beds and compacting soil.
- Squash in the middle of the garden, where its vines smother everything nearby.
- One long row of corn, which pollinates poorly.
- The same crop in the same place every year, which builds up pests and diseases.
- Forgetting the timing, so beds sit empty between crops.
Making the most of a small plot
If your plot is small, a few planning choices stretch it further. Grow vertically: a trellis on the north side for cucumbers, pole beans and peas uses very little ground. Interplant quick crops such as radishes and lettuce between slower ones. Choose compact varieties of tomatoes, squash and cucumbers. Replace crops promptly as they finish, so no square sits empty for long. And favor crops that produce for a long time from a small space, such as cherry tomatoes, chard, kale, herbs and pole beans, over crops that take a lot of room for a single harvest, such as sweet corn and winter squash.
The square foot gardening calculator shows how many of each crop fit per square, which helps you decide where small amounts of space give the biggest return.
Frequently asked questions
How do I plan a vegetable garden layout?
Measure your plot, mark paths first, then place tall crops on the north side, sprawling crops at the edges, and low crops in front. Group crops with similar water needs and plan when each will be planted.
How much space should paths take in a garden?
Usually a quarter to a third of the total area, with paths of 18 to 24 inches and at least one wider path for a wheelbarrow.
Where should tall plants go in a vegetable garden?
On the north side of the garden or bed, so they do not shade shorter plants as the sun moves across the sky.
Why are the plant counts higher than in my row garden?
The planner uses intensive bed spacing. Row gardens with wide paths fit fewer plants. Mark paths between rows on the grid, or use the garden row calculator.
How do I rotate crops in my garden?
Move each crop family to a different area each year, such as fruiting crops, legumes, leafy crops and roots in a four-part rotation. Keeping a printed plan each year makes this easy.
Can I plan a fall garden with this tool?
Yes. Repaint the squares that change after spring crops finish, and use the planting calendar’s fall view for sowing dates.
How big should a family vegetable garden be?
It depends on how much you want to grow, but many families start with 100 to 200 square feet of growing space and expand once they know how much time the garden takes.
What is the best shape for a vegetable garden?
A rectangle divided into beds about 4 feet wide with paths between them is the easiest to plan, plant and water. On slopes, run beds across the slope.
How do I mark paths in the planner?
Choose Path from the paint list and tap or drag across the squares you want to keep as walkways. Paths are excluded from the growing area and shown separately in the summary.
Does the planner save my frost date?
Yes. The frost date is saved with your plan in this browser, so the planting windows stay the same when you return.
Can I plan a garden larger than 30 by 20 feet?
The planner covers plots up to 30 by 20 feet. For larger gardens, plan each section separately and print the sections together.
How does the planner estimate the number of plants?
It multiplies each crop’s area by its square foot spacing from our plant database, such as 4 lettuces or 1 pepper per square foot. That assumes intensive bed planting.
Can I print my vegetable garden plan?
Yes. Click Print plan to print the grid and the crop summary with planting dates, without the rest of the page.