whats a good size garden to start out with?
Posted by pano | Under Herb Garden Wednesday Sep 8, 2010I live in oklahoma and there are many good vegetable plants that grow well here, I have wanted a garden for a long time but was always working full time, now I’m a stay at home mom. Anyway, i want to plant, corn, bell peppers , zucchini, cauliflower, cucumbers (one row each), jalapeno, tomatoes and spinach (two rows each) strawberries (3 or 4 shorter rows), a few herbs and a row of blackberry’s (to grow on trellis). I have had potted plants and helped out many family members with they’re gardens so I have knowledge but never actually had one myself, about what size plot do i need for all of those plants?
the size of your garden will depend on what type of plants you want to grow. My Zucchini require 4 ft. around them or they crowd out the neighboring plants, Cucumber rows require 3 ft. on each side to keep from crowding out the next row. Corn is recommended that if planted in rows, 3 ft apart. Same with Tomato’s if kept in a cage or trained to a pole or fence. If allowed to grow on the ground, plan on 4 ft between rows. Things like Leaf Lettuce, Spinach, Radish, onions, rows can be cut to 18 inches apart., etc.
Read the back of the seed package to find the recommended distance between rows and plants.
If you have the room, start out with 20′ x 20′ . Be careful how many of each you plant, you’ll want to have room to walk around and it’ll be easier to weed. It’s a lot of work and starting too big may sour you on gardening.
Hi,
between 20-25ft square is more than enough to start, otherwise it will seem daunting. If a larger plot is available, share it with a friend. That way, if one of you is not around, you can water each others share. Remember it is a real commitment, especially if you have young children, although they can help., and have their own little garden area.
Sarah Cox
Depends how longs the rows are you want. If you want 10 foot rows, you would need 4 of those for corn with 2 feet in between each one. 2 rows 3 feet apart would be enough for 3 tomato plants, 3 pepper plants and a zucchini plant. 3 rows 2 feet apart for strawberries, 1 row 3 feet apart from other rows for cucumbers, 1 row 3 feet apart from other rows for blackberries, and 2 rows 3 feet apart for herbs and spinach, and 1 row for more herbs and cauliflower.
I think you need about 14-15 rows, 10 feet long with enough room in between the rows. I think your garden needs to be about 10-12 feet long by 50-60 feet wide.
The following link has lots of good info about garden planning, creating a vegetable garden from scratch, as well as detailed info about planting, watering, fertilizing and harvesting most of veggies you mentioned. Good luck!
http://www.backyard-vegetable-gardening.com/
There are many factors to take into account when planning the size of any garden. Many people go full-tilt at it heedless of the practicalities, so you are way ahead of the game already.
1. how much time are you realistically going to put into working in the garden?
2. how much money do you have to spend on soil preparation, gardening equipment and supplies.
3. how much are you realistically going to eat of any given vegetable? Do you really eat 750 ears of corn a year?
4. What method of vegetable gardening are you planning to use? You would be surprised at how little space is required and how greatly weeding and watering is reduced by using the square-foot method as opposed to traditional vegetable rows.
5. How many hours of sunlight does the garden have per day?
6. What plants do well in your region? Which don’t?
7. What is the available water supply?
Although there are people who seem to be able to grow anything, it seldom pays to grow vegetables in areas that are not suited to them. Learn what sort of weather conditions plants prefer before planning and planting. (Lettuce and peas are spring and early summer crops, for cool weather. They do not do well when temperatures rise above a certain point; tomatoes and melons love long, hot summers, to name a few examples.) The garden you mention looks to be pretty much a very warm weather garden, with the exception of the spinach.