This document provides ideas and guidelines for different vegetable garden designs including traditional in-ground rows, food forests, raised beds, hugelkultur, straw bale gardens, square foot designs, keyhole designs, plant pyramids, step gardens, curved beds, container gardening, hanging gardens, vertical gardens, teepee trellises, hydroponics, planting by color, and mixing designs. It also outlines factors to consider when planning a garden such as plant selection, sunlight, water access, companion planting, ease of maintenance, and materials.

1. Vegetable Garden Design Ideas

2. Looking for the best garden layout to suit your
needs? Check out these garden design ideas to
inspire your next vegetable garden.

3. Traditional In-Ground Row Garden:
Cheaper to create, Less start-up work (especially
when your soil is ready for gardening), Requires
less watering.
Option: No-Work garden made popular by Ruth
Stout where you would create a thick layer of
mulch around your plants.

4. Food Forest:
Growing a garden Mother Nature’s way, food
forests are made up of several levels of edible
trees, shrubs and edible perennials and annuals.
A key concept in permaculture, food forests
mimic the natural beneficial relationships
between plants and animals.

5. Raised Bed
-around 4-6 inches tall and 2-4 feet wide,
-ability to control the soil,
-needs watered more frequently,
-no foot traffic,
-Better pest control.

6. Hugelkultur
-No-dig raised beds built by putting dirt over
logs, leaves, straw or compost.
-Slow decay of the logs allow for a steady stream
of nutrients.
-Compost keeps ground warm meaning a longer
growing season.

7. Straw Bale Gardens
-Great for areas with bad soil, straw bales act as
a container for your plants.
-It can be difficult to condition the bales
correctly.
:
http://www.saferbrand.com/blog/beginners-
guide-to-straw-bale-gardening/

8. Square Foot Design
-Mel Bartholomew’s method called Square Foot
Gardening is a popular raised bed garden design
since it requires little weeding and a large
harvest.
-Raised beds about 6 inches deep are topped
with Mel’s Mix, which consists of 1 part
compost, one part peat moss and one part
vermiculite.
-Raised bed is split into 1 foot squares.

9. Keyhole Design
-Created to help third world countries grow
food, the keyhole garden is filled with wood,
cardboard and other compostable materials
before topping with dirt and planting. At the
center is an active compost pile to continually
add nutrients to the garden.
-Best option for locations with poor soil and not
ideal garden weather.
-Easy to water and add compost to.

10. Triolife Plant Pyramid
-Perfect for a rooftop or deck, this vertical
garden allows you to plant a lot of veggies even
when you don’t have a lot of space.
-Preferable for growing smaller plants like
strawberries, herbs or a salad garden.
-Use wood or cinder blocks to create a pyramid
garden

11. Step Garden
-Layered garden steps add an aesthetic appeal
to your yard
-Difficult for deer to eat
-Takes more work to build and maintain

12. Curved Beds
-Keeping a curved edge to your raised bed
makes mowing easier
-Curved beds give your landscape a more
relaxing feel

13. Container Gardening
-If you live in an apartment or townhome, consider
planting your veggies in pots or buckets.
-Easy vegetables to grow in a container: broccoli,
carrots, cucumbers, radishes, and lettuce.
Learn more about the easiest vegetables to grow at
http://www.saferbrand.com/blog/easiest-
vegetables-to-grow/

14. Hanging Gardens
-Right-side up or upside down, hanging gardens
in bags, containers or bottles are a great way to
add flair and save space in your backyard.
-Tomatoes grow best in upside down containers.
-Lettuce, herbs, and some types of peppers
grow well in right-side up hanging gardens.

15. Vertical Vegetable Garden
-Often underused, the vertical space against
your home or fence can be the perfect space to
plant a garden.
-Upcycle an old window frame or pallet to grow
herbs, zucchini, beans and other small plants.

16. Teepee Trellis
-Use a teepee trellis to easily grow beans, peas,
tomatoes, and other vine crops.
-Ads a more formal yet fun style to your garden
layout.

17. Hydroponics
-Grow plants without traditional dirt.
-Perfect for small indoor spaces.
-Usually more expensive to get started than a
traditional garden.
-Less pest issues.

18. Planting by Color
-A unique approach to vegetable gardening is
planting a rainbow-colored garden.
Red: tomatoes, red chard, red bell peppers
Orange: pumpkins, orange bell peppers,
butternut squash
Yellow: yellow squash, tomatoes, yellow bell
peppers
Blue and Purple: eggplants, red-leaf lettuce,
purple beans, beets, radicchio
White: cauliflower, white scalloped squash

19. Mix n Match
Most likely, your garden will be a mix of these
designs. Incorporating your vegetable garden
with your landscaping can create a rewarding
experience for both your mind and body.
Here’s a few of our favorite vegetable garden
design mash-ups.

27. Things to consider when planning your vegetable garden:
-Number of plants
--10’x10’ (100 square feet) 9-15 plants
--100 square feet per person you want to feed
-Which areas get the most sun or shade
-Water accessibility
--drip irrigation, hose, sprinkler irrigation, furrow irrigation
-Companion planting
-Ease of harvesting and weeding
-Materials
--rot-resistant woods like cedar or redwood are great for
creating raised beds. You can also use composite or bricks.

28. Get creative and enjoy planning your vegetable
garden layout! Visit our blog
Saferbrand.com/blog for more great tips on
growing your vegetable garden!