Garden planning guides for home gardeners
In-depth guides on planting calendars by zone, raised bed layouts, companion planting, garden journaling, and the timing rules that determine whether a first-year garden succeeds or fails. Practical reference material for beginners and experienced gardeners alike.
- Guide
When to Plant Tomatoes by USDA Zone: A Complete 2026 Calendar
Find your exact tomato planting date by USDA hardiness zone. Indoor seed-start dates, transplant dates, and harvest windows for zones 3-10.
Read guide → - Guide
What to Plant in a 4×4 Raised Bed: Realistic Yields and Spacing
Exact plant counts, spacing, and harvest expectations for a 4×4 raised bed. Three full-season layouts plus what NOT to plant in 16 sq ft.
Read guide → - Guide
What to Plant in May: A Zone-by-Zone Late Spring Garden Guide
Exactly what vegetables to plant in May for zones 3-10. Catch-up crops if you started late, and warm-season picks if your last frost is past.
Read guide → - Guide
Beginner Vegetable Garden Planning Checklist: From Empty Bed to First Harvest
A 12-step checklist for first-time vegetable gardeners. Site selection, sun mapping, soil prep, crop choice, planting calendar, weekly tasks.
Read guide → - Guide
Companion Planting Guide: Which Vegetables Grow Well Together
A practical companion planting guide for home gardens. Which vegetables help each other, which compete, and which combinations are myths vs. real.
Read guide → - Guide
Did I Miss My Planting Window? What to Do When You're Late to the Garden
Honest answer about whether it's too late to plant. Specific catch-up crops by zone, plus a salvage strategy for crops you started too late.
Read guide → - Guide
Garden Journal: 7 Things Worth Tracking (and Why It Saves Future You)
What to actually log in your garden journal — harvests, expenses, pests, milestones — and the questions a journal answers that memory can't.
Read guide → - Guide
Frost Dates Explained: First and Last Frost by Zone
What frost dates are, why they matter for vegetable gardening, and how to find your exact last spring frost and first fall frost date.
Read guide → - Guide
Small Garden Layout Ideas: 4×4, 4×8, and Container Layouts That Actually Produce
Realistic small vegetable garden layouts for raised beds and containers. Specific plant counts, vertical strategies, and what NOT to try in tight space.
Read guide → - Guide
8 Vegetables That Almost Always Succeed for First-Time Gardeners
Eight beginner-proof vegetables that produce a real harvest your first year, with realistic yields, common pitfalls, and a starter planting plan.
Read guide →