Nancy, I think your question is the PERFECT question for someone who wants to put in a first-time vegetable garden. But, you've actually answered your own question in the post.. The answer (to me) would be "something that will be manageable and not overwhelming". I would suggest that the answer is not a one-size-fits-all answer. Each individual will have differing amounts of time and energy to contribute to keeping up with the garden. However, from what I would hear and/or venture to guess, I'd say somewhere between 100 and 300 square feet is probably where most 1st timers wind up. (Additional feedback to this post would provide more data and would probably be helpful.)

In the end it's going to be a guess. However, if you err on the side of too large you can always downsize. If you err on the side of to small then you can always expand.

And given all the prep work that goes into the first time making - tilling, building the sides, amending, sod stripping, etc., why not make it bigger than you think you might want and then just use however much space you want to plant in this first year. In other words you don't have to plant the whole thing, let some of it sit idle and mature and then switch ends next year for even greater success.

It takes on a life of it's own and we always want more of a garden than what we have. ;)

Dave

Thank you both! I guess what I'm really saying is I don't understand vegetables as well as I do perennials so I'm not sure where to begin. I have no problem going bigger - so I'd rather err on that end. I'm a seasoned perennial and water gardener so I don't mind maintaining a garden. But I don't have a clue about the size. I was thinking of starting with a 4 foot x 8 foot bed. I have a feeling that will give me more than enough assorted veggies for the season. Am I close?

4 foot by 8 foot is a good starting size...you will find out in your first year whether it is big enough or not. I cannot imagine that it would be too big...if you are a gardner you will find every inch of space as an opportunity to grow something..Enjoy

I'm doing 4 4'x4' raised beds this year. I'm doing it as a Square Foot Garden for simplicity, with the special soil mix and 1 sq. ft. spacing with a grid. I am probably going to scrap the rigidity of the grid system next year though.

Setting this up was much less work than my old traditional in-ground vegetable patch. It's my first year, so I do not have any real verdict to share at this point, but so far I like the raised beds a whole lot more than my old garden.

I think that 4'x8' (or 2 4'x4' areas) would be a very nice start. You can always expand, or if you find that it is too much produce, you can plant flowers / herbs in the extra space around your veggies.

nancyd

I think you're starting at the wrong end of the problem!

What do you want MOST to grow? 2 tomato plants? A lot of lettuce? A few onions? Squash? (They take lots of spread room.)

When you've decided what to include in your first vegetable garden, you can keep it small by not planting a lot of what you want, but enough to give you an idea of what your space needs will be next year. Do some research on needed spacing for plants, graph it, and you'll get a rough idea of the space you'll need.

Hmmm...I started with 1600 sq ft and expanded to 3200 this year. It all depends on how much space you have and how well you want to care for it. I'll probably expand to 4800 sq ft next year just because I've worked out a formula to keep the work down to minimum to keep good yields. For me, it's all about spacing, automated irrigation, and pest/fungus control. I like to keep good spacing (3 ft for tomatoes for example), drip irrigation, and a regular schedule for spraying. We have plenty for us and a couple friends and neighbors but there is always the possibility of new crops.

I agree with Anney. Decide which veggies you most enjoy eating fresh. Or do you want to grow ALL your summer vegetables? Or do you want to grow enough to store stuff for the winter?

I get lots of pleasure from going to the basement in the winter to get potatoes, onions, garlic, and pumpkins that I grew. They last until March and make your winter meals more special. Other veggies are good for storage too. Garlic and onions don't take up much garden space, can be planted around other things and fill up odd spots and edges, and are easy to grow and store. Potatoes are a great home crop because they're easy to grow, fun to dig up, have a big range of flavors, and taste MUCH better than most store bought ones.

In one bed, 2.5' x 20', I grow enough spinach for 4 people for the month it's in season. Some plants take little space (most leafy greens, root vegetables) while others (corn) take a lot for what they produce.

I think 4x8 is small, unless you want to start on a small scale and only grow a few vegetables the first year. Then again, you can augment that space with a few potted tomatoes or something that take more room.

I'd take a trip to a good bookstore and peruse their garden selection. There'll be books with different philosophies and techniques, and hopefully you'll get excited by at least one. That'll inspire you! This site is also great, and look at some you might not already have, like organic gardening, composting, soil building, etc.

Happy gardening!

One of my neighbors started with a single 4x10' bed last spring, thinking it would be enough. By July, she was already building a second bed the same size so she would be ready to start early the next spring. And maybe plant some fall sugar snap peas. And a few heads of lettuce. And some spinach. And she discovered mache...

Somehow, I think she will be making more beds this year.

Do what feels right to you, and then, like the others said, you can cut back or increase as you see the need.

Sue

Maybe this was mentioned already, but another factor is how much TIME you have. I know I could conceivably grow three lettuce crops in one season (in the same space) by sowing early, harvesting, reseeding (or setting out seedlings), etc. Or I've even sown lettuce, beets and green beans between tomato plants, harvesting them before the tomatoes get too big. If one has the time and inclination (and a bit of creativity), one can grow a LOT of stuff in a very small space!

I'm starting with 2 4'x8' raised beds and found that it's ok for my standard annual summer veggies, although I don't yet know about my yeilds. However,now I have the bug and want to plant some perennial or longer season crops like asparagus, onions, garlic, strawberries, artichokes etc. I am already planning on building 2 more 4'x8' beds in the early fall.

I actually did decide on the types of veggies I wanted so I'll start there. We decided to utilize an old flower bed on the side of our house, probably 4 x 10 or 12. I think that'll be plenty for our needs this year. I plan to keep the tomatoes in separate containers because I know how huge they can get. I'll be sure to take notes for next year. Thanks for all the great advice.

Nancy

Ah---how big you ask?
I started last year with one 4X12 raised bed and found it was not enough. By fall I had started to grow on the perimeters of the raised bed.
If you want to grow a variety of things and any of the space users like squash, tomatoes, corn, melons or cucumbers untrellised, you need some space. I have continually expanded my garden. This year I have one 4X12 raised bed and two 4x5 raised beds plus about a 25 foot row with five tomato plants and some pole beans. I also have about another 20-foot row of space around the northwest perimeter of my raised beds.
So, my suggestion is to either go small with a couple raised beds to get an idea of your needs and the amount of time and effort you want to commit or just go larger, like 50 by 100 feet, with an in-ground garden.
This fall I am adding probably 5 more 4X12 raised beds if I can afford it. If not, I'll just plant some more in-ground. I wish I had more space though. You can really utilize space by trellising cucumbers and planting pole beans.

Pete

I don't know how I did it, but we moved to our house with a one-year old and managed to hand dig up the lawn, with tree stumps, roots, huge rocks, a 1000 square foot garden and plant it that year.

I enlarged it twice over the years until it's about doubled in size (45'x45') and all of a sudden my heart sank: it's too big!!! But I figured out how to work with it and now I love it. But I'm wondering what people with bigger gardens grow in it, unless they're into preserving food for the whole year.

**But I'm wondering what people with bigger gardens grow**

Corn!!

It takes me less time to prepare the soil in my 100 x 100 garden than it did my 10 x 20 gardens. A tractor makes a big difference:)

I need to grow enough produce to swap for the avocados, tangerines and blueberries that I don't yet produce. I also give away /swap vegies for any reason. And tomato sauce makes a great Christmas gift for family members.

Sweet corn for eating, field corn for meal, indian corn to decorate in the fall along with all kinds of pumpkins for eating, pies and decorating. LOTS of peppers for salads every night and for *The Sauce*. Many types of zucchini, yellow squash, scallop squash. A half dozen different kinds of beans. I do some trellising but you can get away with bush beans and letting tomatoes sprawl.

I just started making my own pesto so I guess I'll have to find room for a lot of basil.

Carrots, onions, eggplant, lettuce...LOTS of peas and LOTS of sunflowers!

And of course home canning. I prefer eating pesticide free food.

Did I say tomatoes and MORE TOMATOES!! I have never had trouble giving away tomatoes. Eat them fresh, make sauce and make a lot of PIZZA!!!

Zeuspaul