How to Create a Raised Bed Garden Plan

Successful raised bed gardening starts with a plan. One of the most exciting things about a raised bed garden is that you can grow almost anything in it, given the right conditions, so ideas for what to plant in a raised bed garden are nearly endless! Let's take a look at how to create your raised bed garden plan along with a few examples for inspiration.

How to Create a Raised Bed Garden Plan

Start your raised garden layout by sketching your space on graph paper. Include your whole raised bed garden, whether you have one bed or several. You can create sections in each raised bed to show where you want to plant different things. Keep it simple by numbering sections and using a legend along the side. This will help you track your planting ideas and visualize where you may need to make adjustments before you start planting. Don't throw your sketch away when you're done planting—keep your sketches so you can track what you planted where year after year.

Once you have your sketch, investigate the plants you want to grow by doing research online or reading plant tags in your local garden center. Here's what you'll need to consider as you map out your plan:

• Light: some plants love it sunny all day while others prefer a little shade. Make note of how much sun your raised bed gets each day, and look for plants that'll thrive in those conditions. Keep in mind that as some plants grow, they may shade surrounding plants. Give them plenty of space or place them near plants that'll benefit from the shade they provide.
• Watering needs: It's best to place plants with similar watering needs in the same bed. If you try pairing a thirsty tomato with a dry soil-loving agave, for example, one of them will suffer. Some plants prefer dry soil while others need more water.
• Spacing: Some plants start small then spread out several feet as they grow. Other plants just prefer to be farther away from their neighbors. Make sure you know the mature size of the plants you want in your raised bed garden and how much room they need.
• Bed depth: The depth of soil in your raised bed also affects your plant choices. While many plants need at least 12 inches of soil to grow well, others can thrive in as little as 6 inches. Most herbs and vegetables produce the best harvests in soil that's at least 18 inches deep. 
• Plants for a 6-inch high raised bed: Arugula, leeks, lettuce, onions, radishes, spinach, strawberries, basil, chives, cilantro, dill, mint, oregano, parsley, thyme, marigolds and other annual flowers
• Plants for a 12-inch high raised bed: Beans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, collards, cucumbers, garlic, kale, summer squash, Swiss chard, turnips, lavender, rosemary, sage, borage, calendula, cosmos, lantana, nasturtiums, snapdragons, sweet alyssum (plus everything in the 6-inch list)
• Plants for a 18-inch high raised bed (or taller!): Artichokes, asparagus, eggplant, okra, parsnips, peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, watermelon, winter squash, pineapple sage (plus everything in the 6-inch and 12-inch lists)
• Planting seasons: While some plants can be planted at the first sign of spring, others need to wait until summer or even fall for the best results. Make note of the best planting time for all your plants. You can keep a raised bed empty for later plantings, or fill in blank spots with short-term annuals.
• Planting zone: Just like plants have a best time for planting, they also have a best place. This isn't about where it goes in your bed—-your area or region has unique weather conditions that are just right for some plants, okay for others, and harmful to other plants. Get to know your plant hardiness zone to help you determine which plants are right for your area. 
• Soil: Using the right soil as the foundation of your planting is key to success. Soil from an in-ground garden is too dense, but potting mixes are too light. Our organic raised bed soil, Miracle-Gro Organic™ Raised Bed & Garden Soil, is blended with aged compost and feeds plants for up to 2 months.

Taking these factors into consideration should help fill in your raised bed sketch quickly. Once you begin planting, remember to take pictures. Document your successes and note what you'd like to do differently for next year. 

Crop Rotation in a Raised Bed Garden

If this is your first year in a raised bed garden, it's okay to focus on the here and now. More seasoned growers will benefit from planning not just this year's beds, but for the next several years to come. Especially if you want a healthy vegetable garden, crop rotation should be part of your raised bed garden plan. 

Crop rotation helps you beat diseases and pests by keeping them guessing where their favorite plants will be year after year, and it's especially important to rotate your crops if you've had pest or disease problems in the past. This ancient farming practice also improves your soil. As different plants change the soil in different ways, moving them allows the soil to enjoy the positive impacts of different plants while minimizing effects such as nutrient depletion. 

Like us, plants belong to families. Plants in the same family will have the similar needs, but also attract the same pests and carry the same disease risks, so you'll want to move plant families to different spots in your raised beds from year to year. Here are some of the common vegetable families:

• Legumes: beans, peas, peanuts
• Crucifers (or cole crops): cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, rutabagas, kale, collard greens
• Cucurbits: squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, melons
• Nightshades: tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes
• Alliums: onions, garlic, leeks, shallots

If you have a small raised bed, creating sections for crop rotation will not help prevent weeds and diseases the next year. Instead, the best way to take advantage of crop rotation is to choose plants from a new family each year. If you have multiple, small raised beds, you can simply move plant families to a different bed each year.

Regardless of your bed size, crop rotation requires careful planning (remember those sketches!) and understanding what plants deplete which nutrients to build an effective strategy. Another strategy? Starting with a great soil every year (like that Miracle-Gro Organic™ Raised Bed & Garden Soil we mentioned above), using plant foods to replenish nutrients (try Miracle-Gro Organic™ Plant Food, our organic liquid plant food, or Miracle-Gro Organic™ All Purpose Plant Food if you prefer a granular plant food), and practicing daily maintenance on your garden to watch out for signs of pests and diseases.

Detailed Raised Bed Garden Layouts

If it's your first season or you're still growing your confidence, try one of our detailed raised garden bed plans below. Each plan is made for a 4 x 8 ft. raised bed that is 18 inches deep. You will need about 48 cu. ft. of soil, which is 32 bags of Miracle-Gro Organic™ Raised Bed & Garden Soil in the 1.5 cu. ft. size.



The Basics Garden Plan

If you're a gardener who wants to try a little bit of everything, this garden plan is for you! With plenty of vegetables and herbs to add to your favorite salads, sauces, and even baked dishes, you'll be enjoying the harvest this garden provides. You can swap out the peppers for ones with heat or flavor palettes that better match your tastes (like a jalapeno or banana pepper). Don’t like cherry tomatoes? Substitute another slicing tomato, beefsteak or roma.

Plants Needed:

• 36 Bush (Green) Beans
• 1 Green Bell Pepper
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Basil
• 1 Zucchini
• 1 Cherry Tomato
• 1 Slicing/Globe Tomato (ex: Better Boy, Early Girl, Celebrity, etc.)

Just for Butterflies Garden Plan

This garden features a blend of annuals, perennials, and herbs that mature butterflies adore. Those marked with * are there to feed butterfly caterpillars.

Plants Needed:

• 1 Passionflower Vine* on a teepee trellis
• 1 Swamp Milkweed*
• 1 Butterfly Bush
• 2 Tithonia
• 8 Parsley*
• 1 Caryopteris
• 2 Verbena
• 2 Common Yarrow (orange or red)
• 2 Dill*
• 2 Coneflower
• 3 Zinnias

Sauce & Salsa Garden Plan

Get everything you need to create your own salsa or tomato sauce at home with the sauce and salsa bed plan. Feel free to swap out the peppers for ones with heat or flavor palettes that match your tastes.

This one is a bit more advanced with both cool-season and warm-season plants. You'll want to plant cool season crops in early to mid-spring or during fall; they can tolerate a light frost and prefer cooler temperatures. Warm-season vegetable and herb plants grow best in warm, sunny weather, so plant them in late spring or early summer. 

Plants Needed:

Cool-season planting: 

• 16 Onions
• 2 Cilantro
• 2 Parsely

Warm-season planting:

• 2 Basil
• 1 Oregano
• 2 Green Bell Peppers
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Habenero Pepper
• 2 Jalapeno Peppers
• 1 Roma Tomato
• 1 Slicing/Globe Tomato (ex. Better Boy, Early girl, Celebrity, etc.)

Raised Bed Garden Plan Inspiration

If you're a seasoned grower, we've got a couple of raised bed garden themes for inspiration. The great thing about gardening is there's always something new to try!

Sunny Pizza Garden: A sunny spot is an excellent place to grow the ingredients you need to turn Pizza Night super-fresh! Plant tomatoes, onions, peppers, oregano, basil, and Italian parsley. If you like the taste of anise in your red sauce, grow fennel, too, and use the seeds for seasoning.

Water-Smart Garden: Cut down on your watering chores with a grouping of succulents, such as golden acre sedum, Matrona sedum, variegated agave, and hen-and-chicks. Then add a few drought-tolerant herbs for spice and color, such as rosemary, lavender, and thyme.

Salad Garden: For crisp, light meals straight from the garden, plant a mix of colorful red and green leaf lettuces, arugula, spinach, and Lacinato kale. Tuck in a clump of chives for zing, a snow pea vine on a trellis for crunch, and a strawberry plant or two for a sweet bite. For an unexpected culinary splash, plant edible flowers, such as French marigolds and nasturtiums, around the edges.

Perennial Breakfast Blend: Wake up to fresh berries and flowers by planting dwarf raspberry or blueberry bushes (perfect for cereal and waffles) surrounded by cutting flowers to brighten up your breakfast nook. Consider peonies, coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, and Shasta daisies. 

Feeling inspired? All that's left is to make your raised bed garden plan, buy your plants and then get out to the garden and start planting!