The Gardening Everyday

Note:This is part two in a multi part series aimed at helping gardeners start a new vegetable garden. Look for links at the bottom of the article to the other segments of this report.

Garden Size Considerations

Before we move on to site preparation, you should consider how big you want your garden to be.  If you are limited in regards to space, this section may not be of much concern to you.  You already know how big your garden can be.  If you have plenty of room then now is the time to think about the size of your vegetable garden.  I have a couple of tips below to help you decide.

The amount of produce you wish to grow is the first big factor.  If you are only growing tomatoes, for example, and you know you want to have enough tomatoes to eat some fresh and put some in the freezer for the winter there is a way to correlate that desire with garden size.

Each tomato plant should be given 18 square feet for optimum growth.  This translates to plants spaced three feet apart in rows that are six feet apart.  Given average growth potential, each plant should produce at least 5 to 10 pounds of tomatoes as a general guide.  Let’s assume that you want to eat maybe 10 pounds of tomatoes fresh (that’s about 20 to 25 tomatoes depending on the variety) and you want to freeze another 20 pounds for a total of 30 pounds, you would need to plant 3 to 6 plants.  From the spacing requirements above, you would need a garden size of only 54 to 108 square feet.  That’s for one person.  You can multiply the number of square feet by the number of people you wish to provide tomatoes for.  So, for a family of four, you would need a garden size of 216 to 432 square feet to provide approximately 30 pounds of tomatoes per person.

As a side note, I have produced a special report entitled “How To Produce 15-25 Pounds Of Ripe Juicy Tomatoes PER PLANT” that you can download for free when you sign up for my newsletter using the form on the side of this page.  The information in this report can save you lots of garden space and increase your production way beyond that of the typical gardener.

You can also look at spacing requirements found on the back of seed packets and plant labels to determine the amount of space needed for your other vegetables.

For my family, we have a vegetable garden of approximately 800 square feet.  In previous years our garden space was only 550 square feet and we always tend to produce more than we need.  The main point here is to remember that you can have as big or as small of a garden as you want and that your usable space will allow.  I’m always amazed at just how much produce we are able to harvest from our garden and you will likely be too!

The second tip I can give you when it comes to determining your vegetable garden’s size involves work.  Here I am referring to the amount of work needed to maintain a garden.  Digging, tilling, and adding amendments are all preparation considerations.  Plus after your garden is in place, you’ll be faced with weeding, watering, fertilizing, and training chores.  Don’t go overboard on size if this is your first vegetable garden.  You may decide it’s too much work and suffer ‘burn out’ the first year.  Remember, there’s no shame in starting small.  You can always expand where space allows.

Part 1 – Choosing A Site

Part 2 – Garden Size Considerations

Part 3 – Site Preparation

Related posts:

1. How To Start A Vegetable Garden From Bare (or not so bare!) Ground – Site preparation
2. How To Start A Vegetable Garden From Bare (or not so bare!) Ground – Choosing a site
3. How To Make Money With Your Vegetable Garden – My Experience

Tags: Garden Prep, garden size, garden soil, vegetable garden