I’m planting my first vegetable garden this summer, and I’m wondering what size it should be?
One of the hardest decisions about vegetable gardening is deciding what size garden to plant. If it’s too small, you may be disappointed in the yield; but if it’s too big, you’ll be overwhelmed with work, and your neighbors will dread seeing you coming with more bags of squash! Here are some tips for planning the garden that’s right for you.
The Right Garden for the Right Purpose
Deciding how big a vegetable garden to plant really depends on how many people you’re feeding and whether you’re planning for summer meals or year-round food storage. Crop yields vary widely, as do opinions about how much produce is needed to feed the average family.
Here are some general vegetable garden guidelines based on a layout of traditional garden rows and following the spacing recommendations for each plant:
Beginners: If you’re new to vegetable gardening, a 10’ x 10’ garden (100 square feet) is a great place to start. Pick 3-5 of your favorite veggies, and buy 3-5 plants of each one. This will give you a modest harvest for summer suppers, and it’ll be easy to manage.
Intermediate: Once you’re comfortable with vegetable gardening, increase the size to 300-500 square feet. This should easily feed a family of four during the summer with a little extra left over to share. A general guideline for a summer vegetable garden is to plan on about 100 square feet per person.
Advanced: If you’re more ambitious and want year-round groceries, plan on about 200 square feet per person. Freeze or can at least half of the harvest for winter use. For very large gardens, check out these vegetable yield charts from Virginia Cooperative Extension and Ed Hume Seeds.
Small Spaces: If your space is limited, you can significantly increase your yield per square foot by using alternative layout techniques such as square foot gardening.
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Danny Lipford is a home improvement expert and television personality who started his remodeling business, Lipford Construction, at the age of 21 in Mobile, Alabama. He gained national recognition as the host of the nationally syndicated television show, Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford, which started as a small cable show in Mobile. Danny's expertise in home improvement has also led him to be a contributor to popular magazines and websites and the go-to source for advice on everything related to the home. He has made over 200 national television appearances and served as the home improvement expert for CBS's The Early Show and The Weather Channel for over a decade. Danny is also the founder of 3 Echoes Content Studio, TodaysHomeowner.com, and Checking In With Chelsea, a décor and lifestyle blog.
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FAQs
It's important to note if you want to save money growing food, you need a lot of space. It's just the way of it. Around 100 square feet per person for fresh summer produce should be enough. But if you're looking to store and preserve veggies for year-round use, you'll need about 300-400 square feet per person.
What is a good size for a home vegetable garden? ›
For an average family of four, plan for an 800 square-foot garden—a plot that's 20 feet by 40 feet in size should do the trick. If your family is larger (or smaller), scale up or down as needed. Also, keep in mind that some crops take up more space than others.
What size garden do I need to be self sufficient? ›
The general rule of thumb when it comes to growing a garden is to have 100 square feet of gardening space (traditional row gardens) per person for fresh eating only. To preserve food and put it up for the non-growing season, you're looking at 200 square feet of gardening space per person.
What is the most efficient vegetable garden layout? ›
Square foot gardening is an efficient and space-saving technique that involves dividing your garden into small, manageable squares. Each square is typically one foot by one foot and is planted with a specific number of plants depending on their size.
How do I choose a garden size? ›
A general guideline for a summer vegetable garden is to plan on about 100 square feet per person. Advanced: If you're more ambitious and want year-round groceries, plan on about 200 square feet per person. Freeze or can at least half of the harvest for winter use.
How to plan a vegetable garden layout? ›
As a general rule, put tall veggies toward the back of the bed, mid-sized ones in the middle, and smaller plants in the front or as a border. Consider adding pollinator plants to attract beneficial insects that can not only help you get a better harvest, but will also prey on garden pests.
What is the best size vegetable garden for a beginner? ›
Size of Garden
If planting in the ground, a 10' x 10' garden (100 square feet) is a manageable size. Pick 3 to 5 of your favorite vegetables and buy 3 to 5 plants of each one. If planting in a raised bed, a 4' x 4' or 4' x 8' is a good beginner size.
What size garden will feed a family of 4? ›
For a family of four, the Morning Chores calculator recommends a garden 40-feet-by-20-feet. “That would allow you to grow an adequate amount of vegetables to feed that family of four,” Lindley said.
How big of a garden do you need to sustain a family of 4? ›
So, for an average family of four, plan for an 800 square-foot garden—a plot that is 20 feet by 40 feet in size. It can depend on what you plant, of course; some crops take up more room than others.
What is the most basic garden layout? ›
Traditional In-Ground Row Garden Layout
In general, a vegetable garden design runs from south to north, to make the most of sun exposure and air circulation. This very basic vegetable garden design is meant to make cultivation easier, as well as for convenience when weeding and harvesting.
Optimum Size for Raised Beds
Raised beds are best kept to a maximum of four feet (1.2m) wide. This makes it easy to reach the middle of the beds without stepping on the soil. Beds against a wall or fence should be about 2-3 feet (60-90cm) wide, as you'll only have access from one side.
How wide should a vegetable bed be? ›
It should be possible to reach the centre of each bed without overstretching. Aim for a bed width of three to four feet (90-120cm), dependent on your reach.
Is 10 inches deep enough for vegetable garden? ›
They should have at least 8 inches of soil depth to accommodate the root systems of plants, because the majority of plant roots require 6 – 8 inches of soil for healthy root growth. A depth of 8 – 12 inches will suffice for most gardening situations.
What size is an average garden? ›
The research by Quickmove Properties also revealed there are 6.4 billion square metres of residential garden space in England, shared between an estimated total of 25.2 million dwellings. This means the nation's average garden size comes in at 255 square metres, roughly the size of a tennis court.
