Garden Planning 101 - Size & Shape

The size of your garden will depend on several things:

• How many mouths you're feeding
• How much time you have to spend in it
• How enthusiastic you are about gardening

Keep in mind that you shouldn't be too ambitious, especially if you're new to vegetable gardening. A garden that's too big quickly become a chore rather than a fun hobby.

Most average gardens range from 200 to 500 square feet.

Unless your yard requires it, it's best to avoid flowing, unusual shapes. Stick with squares or rectangle as they allow for more efficient use of space. Plus, they tend to make it easier to reach everything in the garden for maintenance and harvesting once your vegetables get larger.