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Planning an Organic
Vegetable Garden
Part 1:
Size, Location, and Crop Selection

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Why garden organically?
As evidence comes to light about the
dangers of chemical pesticides, more
people are choosing to grow their
own food

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Why garden organically?
For the typical home gardener,
organic methods of gardening are not
really any more difficult than
conventional methods

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Why garden organically?
Vegetables grown in your own
garden are fresher and better-
tasting than vegetables you buy at
the supermarket

5. Planning is essential
Careful planning is an important step
towards having a successful garden

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Here are some tips for planning
your organic vegetable garden

7. Decide on the size of your
garden
It’s important not to bite off more than
you can chew…

8. Decide on the size of your
garden
Those seeds and seedlings look
small, but they quickly turn into
many large plants – all demanding
care and attention

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Decide on the size of your
garden
If you’re new to gardening, start with a
small plot

10. Decide on the size of your
garden
You might be surprised at how much
you can grow in a modest 10 x 20 ft
space

11. Decide on the size of your
garden
The most common cause of new
gardener burnout is planting a garden
that is too large to tend properly

12. Decide on the size of your
garden
Even more experienced gardeners
can get a little carried away with their
plans

13. Decide on the size of your
garden
Keep your garden to a reasonable
size, tend it with care, and you will be
more than pleased with your harvest

14. Follow the sun
Most vegetables need full sun to
thrive
You should put the garden in the
sunniest part of the yard

15. Follow the sun
Don’t use a dark corner of the yard
for growing vegetables
Situate the garden away from the
shade of buildings and trees

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Follow the sun
A common mistake is to start a
garden where there isn’t enough
sunlight

17. Follow the sun
The rule of thumb is that vegetables
need at least 6 hours of full sun each
day

18. Follow the sun
New gardeners are sometimes
confused about what is considered full
sun
Full sun applies to the whole growing
season, not just the peak of summer

19. Follow the sun
Suppose the garden gets only 6 hours
of direct sun on the longest day of the
year

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Follow the sun
In that case, the garden will be getting
much less sun in the spring and fall –
and that’s not good enough

21. Follow the sun
The garden should receive at least 2/3
of the available sunlight each day

22. Follow the sun
For example, on the longest day of
the year the sun is in the sky for
around 15 hours (depending on your
latitude)

23. Follow the sun
Therefore, the garden should be in
direct sunlight for 10 of those hours

24. Follow the sun
Without enough sun, fruit-bearing
crops like tomatoes and peppers will
produce a very small harvest – or
even nothing at all

25. Follow the sun
If you don’t get enough full sun in your
yard, try growing vegetables that like
a little shade, such as lettuce and
spinach

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Follow the sun
Container gardening is another option
if your property gets a lot of shade
You can move the containers around
to catch the maximum sunlight

27. Raised beds or not?
When you’re planning your garden,
think about building raised beds for
vegetable plants

28. Raised beds or not?
Raised beds give you better control
over the growing environment:
Easier to work the soil
Easier to add compost and
amendments
Permits better drainage

29. Raised beds or not?
Raised beds are a good defense
against damaging slugs, snails, and
crawling insects

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Deciding what to grow
There are lots of things to consider
when you are deciding what to grow in
your garden

31. Deciding what to grow
What vegetables grow best in your
climate?
What vegetables do you (and your
family) like to eat?

32. Deciding what to grow
It’s best to grow at least half a dozen
different vegetables

33. Deciding what to grow
This ensures that you will get
something from your garden, even if a
few crops are not a roaring success

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Deciding what to grow
Diversity is a basic principle of organic
gardening

35. Deciding what to grow
Having a variety of plants will
encourage beneficial insects and help
reduce damage caused by harmful
pests

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Choosing varieties
Once you’ve made some decisions
about the type of vegetables you’d like
to grow, you have to decide between
the many available varieties of each
crop

37. Choosing varieties
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Look for varieties that are disease
resistant
This information will be on the seed
package or in the product description

38. Choosing varieties
Many newer varieties of vegetables
are bred to resist certain diseases and
pests

39. Choosing varieties
Starting with disease-resistant plants
is a great help for both new and
experienced organic gardeners

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Choosing varieties
Look at the “days to maturity”
If you live in a place with short
summers, choose varieties that will
mature quickly

41. Choosing varieties
Taste may be a factor in your decision
Some varieties are especially sweet;
others are strongly flavored

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Choosing varieties
You may want to grow varieties that
are a little unusual or not easily found
in the supermarket
This can include oddly colored
vegetables or “baby” vegetables

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It’s important to put some time and
thought into planning your organic
garden

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A sensible plan will:
keep you organized
prevent you from getting overwhelmed
increase the chances of your having a
productive organic vegetable garden
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