Set the Plot

Email Page

Print Page

Robert Dolezal

Extras

Row gardens are among the most common vegetable plantings. In sites where good, rich soil is found naturally on a level site with good sun exposure and shelter from wind, your garden may be dug directly into the soil.

Vegetables benefit when they have sufficient room to grow.

If you’re preparing a vegetable garden plot in soil that was formerly used to grow turfgrass lawn or landscape plants, you’ll need to remove all of the turf and plant roots first, then loosen the soil at least 18 inches deep. (Many vegetable plants have root systems that send down shoots even deeper than that, but the majority of all beneficial soil microbes are found in the topsoil layer. Their digestion releases minerals that your vegetables need to grow and thrive, and loosening the soil greatly increases both their numbers and production.)

Take the time to lay out your beds using careful measurements. While free-form beds can be attractive, rectangular beds are neat and orderly. (To ensure the sides are equal and parallel, make sure the corner diagonals are equal.) Allow ample space between plots for access paths; temporary access can be made easier by laying planks alongside your rows, while all the permanent paths should be large enough to provide easy passage for wagons, wheelbarrows or garden carts.

What you grow depends on how you prepare your plot for planting. Some crops (like carrots) should be grown flat on the ground, while others (like vining plants) should planted in hills (or mounded areas). Prepare for planting by making the appropriate flat areas to sow scattered seed (or plant your starter plants), or raising hills or forming rows for your other crops. Use a spade, hoe and rake to create the type of planting area you need, and follow these steps shown in each pair of photographs and described in their captions.

Preparing Areas for Beds

Preparing Areas for Beds – Step 1

Plant carrots, leafy greens and radishes in flat areas. Loosen the soil with a spade, breaking any clods and removing all debris.

Preparing Areas for Beds – Step 2

Work the bed’s soil thoroughly with a hoe, then smooth and level the bed using the back of a garden rake, working at right angles to the original direction.

Preparing Hills

Preparing Hills – Step 1

Plant vine plants in hills. Loosen the soil using a spade, breaking up any clods and removing rocks and debris.

Preparing Hills – Step 2

Use a hoe to raise a hill 1 foot higher than the level of the surrounding soil and 12-14 inches wide. Surround the hill with a moat. (This will serve as a watering basin for the plants.)

Preparing Rows

Preparing Rows – Step 1

Plant vegetables like bush peas or beans in rows. Loosen the soil using a shovel or spade, breaking any clods and removing rocks and debris.

Preparing Rows – Step 2

Use a hoe to raise a row 3-4 inches higher than the surrounding soil and 4-6 inches wide, then dig parallel watering furrows on both sides of the row.

Facts

Before setting your plot for planting, your soil should be thoroughly loosened, with all amendments and fertilizers already added.
Leaving room between plants, rows and beds has several advantages. First, air circulation allows foliage to dry quickly. Second, allowing space between plantings helps prevent pests and diseases from establishing and spreading. Third, maintenance and care is easier.

Tips

Pave paths with nonskid materials such as wood chips, bark or pea gravel.
When it’s time for planting, use stakes and string to mark neat, even rows in your plots. As the sprouts emerge, they’ll line up in even ranks like soldiers, making it easy to distinguish your vegetables from any weed sprouts.

Tools

Galvanized wire mesh barriers buried beneath the soil, along the perimeter of your vegetable garden, can help prevent burrowing animals from eating your plants if they’re common in your region.

Page 1 of 1

Next Steps

Courses | View All

Getting Green
Gardening adds value to your property and is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Let our Garden Guide walk you through Getting Green so the garden of your dreams becomes the garden at your home.

Articles

Fencing off the Pests
The most serious concern for a vegetable garden is usually pest damage. Keep your young vegetables growing – and the animal pests out – with a simple wire mesh barrier.
Support Your Veggies!
Vining and heavy vegetables need a good support system to grow well. Learn the basics about providing such necessary structures for your plants, as well as easy step-by-step instructions for installing your own simple supports.
Row, Row, Row Your Bed Gently Into Greens
The classic row garden can bring veggie gardeners a healthy, bountiful harvest along with that traditional vegetable garden look. Learn more about the advantages to growing a row garden, then decide if one is right for you.

RATE THIS PAGE

On average this item has been rated a 4 out of 5.