This Spring-Harvest Vegetable Garden Plan Is Perfect for a Small Raised Bed

2015-06-09
This Spring-Harvest Vegetable Garden Plan Is Perfect for a Small Raised Bed

What better way to celebrate spring than whipping up a salad with just-picked radishes, spinach, or lettuce? You can enjoy the freshest flavors of the season with this simple spring-harvest vegetable garden plan. Designed for a four-foot-square raised bed, it nestles in 10 different cool-season crops that do their best growing in lower temperatures and can even take a light frost. Make sure to situate this garden in full sun and stay on top of weeding for the most bountiful harvests.

As you pick and eat your spring vegetables, fill in the empty spots in your raised bed with vegetables that thrive in summer heat, such as peppers, squash, beans, and tomatoes.

Plants for Creating the Spring Vegetable Garden Plan

Each of these crops comes in all sorts of varieties. Feel free to choose your favorites, or experiment with new-to-you cultivars.

Get the Free Spring Vegetable Garden Plan

This garden design includes an illustrated version of the planted garden, a detailed layout diagram, a list of plants for the garden as shown, and complete instructions for installing the garden.

In the plan, a small area of the planting space is left intentionally blank. Use the space to make succession plantings of lettuce, spinach, or radishes as the season progresses if you'd like to increase your harvests.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How deep should you make a raised garden bed for vegetables?

    A raised garden bed should be at least 12 to 18 inches deep. That should give the plant roots enough room to grow.

  • What should you place at the bottom of raised beds?

    If your bed is shallow, only add soil to the bed. If it's a bit deeper, you can place a layer of organic material at the bottom of the bed. This will eventually break down and enrich the soil, helping the veggies grow.

  • What should you avoid planting in raised vegetable gardens?

    If you want to make the most out of your raised bed, you should avoid planting anything that takes up a lot of space, like rhubarb. If your plants are too crowded they won't grow as well.

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