DIY - Create a reusable garden plan in 6 easy steps that will last for years

Gardening
Written By Heidi

Have you ever started planting your spring garden only to realize you don’t have enough space for all the things you want to plant? The gardener’s dilemma: what plants to sow and where to put them? Getting plants to live and produce fruit can be a daunting task if you’re just starting out. Even if you’re an experienced green thumb, having a garden plan can increase your chances of a successful harvest tenfold!

Over-planting any type of garden space can lead to weak plants, disease, poor pollination, and even pests thriving in the crowded space. Instead of throwing seeds willy nilly into your garden plot to see what will grow, take 30 minutes and create an easy & reusable garden plan that will last for years.

A successful garden starts with a good garden plan.

If you believe you can simply throw seeds in the soil any old way and you’ll be successful, you’re kidding yourself! Not only that, but it’s a surefire way to frustrate your efforts of harvest before you even begin planting. That’s why I start planning my garden long before I ever put a seed in the soil.

I look outside now and see piles of snow covering my garden plot in almost single digit temperatures. I wonder if I should be focused elsewhere and not on the snow covered garden. The helpful truth is that preparing your mind and garden far in advance during wintertime will ensure you’ll be ready and successful when it comes time to sow seeds. The good news is that it’s very easy to create a garden plan.

Items you will need for this project:

Step 1: Measurements

Garden measurements are the first thing you’ll need before you start planning. To start, grab a notepad, pencil, and a measuring tape (I use this measuring tape for small areas and this open reel measuring tape for large outdoor spaces). Go outside and measure the perimeter of your garden area. Two people can make this job easy. Your notes do not need to look pretty! Don’t spend too much time on your rough layout, just get those measurements down to reference later.

Remember to measure pathways too! Don’t worry about being absolute in your measurements. If the pathway is 3 feet 4 inches, I’ll draw it as 3’ 6” on my plan. The point of this exercise is to give you a basic map of your garden to help you plan where you will plant seeds or put out plant starts. It’s not rocket science, it will be ok if you’re not exact with your measurements.

Note: If your garden is covered in snow, wait until you can clearly define the boundaries of your space to get accurate measurements.

Step 2: Map your garden

Map your measurements on graph paper (I like to use this graph paper and this metal ruler for accurate lines). I use the easy to remember scale of one 1/4” square = 1 foot in real length. For example, if your raised garden bed is 4ft wide x 16ft long, on graph paper your garden bed would be 4 squares wide x 16 squares long.

Lay out your garden measurements on graph paper by counting squares and drawing it with pencil & a ruler. Be sure to include your pathways.

Step 3: Draw permanent lines

Draw your lines in permanent maker, (I use these Sharpie Fine Point markers). Also take this step to draw in any permanent plants you may have. In my example I showed the width of the edges of my raised garden beds and drew in my raspberry plants to give my plan some dimension.

Step 4: Make it fun

Make it yours - Step 4 is optional, but encouraged! This is a long term garden plan that can be used for years (based on how well you treat it). You’ve gone this far, make it fun and personalized! This is where a landscape stencil can come in handy.

Once my plan is laid out like I want with marker, I use some cheap watercolors (these watercolors work great) to give it some depth and color. I mix up some colors and do a very light wash on the non-changing parts of my plan. Some areas of your plan that you might watercolor are gravel, pathways, perennials, bushes such as raspberries or blackberries, grass, box edges & shadows; in other words, things that will not be moved year after year.

Tip: Graph paper is thin and is not a typical paper used for watercolors. Avoid excess water in your brush to prevent paper buckling or tearing. Some puckering and waviness in the paper is expected and will be fixed in the laminating step.

To paint gravel I cut out the shape of my garden boxes on a separate sheet of graph paper. In my example I cut out 4 rectangles that are 4x16 squares. I used masking tape to tack down the rectangles on top of the drawn rectangle on my plan so I can easily remove it later. I also cover any other parts of my plan that I don’t want the speckles to get on with scrap pieces of paper. Using browns, blacks, and grays, I dilute my colors with water and fill the brush (not too full or you’ll get big drips). Then holding my loaded brush in my left hand and a pencil in my right hand, I tap them together over the top of my plan to create random specks of paint that look like gravel of different sizes.

Once I’m satisfied with the look I remove the taped down rectangles from the garden boxes and any other parts that were covered to prevent speckles of paint on the plan. The areas of your garden plan that will have seeds/plants will be clean graph paper, which makes it is easy to read your plan year after year.

Have fun with it! In my example I painted in my raspberry bushes, lawn edge and the edge of my grow boxes, since none of those will be moving year after year.

Step 5: Laminate

Use a thermal laminator and laminate your plan. I use the Scotch brand thermal laminator but you can use the basic Amazon brand laminator with the same results. Put your ready-to-go plan inside a 3 mil. thermal laminating sheet and send it through your laminator. Note: FedEx Kinkos and most local print shops have laminating services available if you don’t want to purchase a laminator.

Step 6: Start planning your garden layout!

Lay out your plants in permanent fine point marker. Since my scale of 1/4” (or one square) = 1 foot, I can now lay out my plants based on their sizes. If I know that a single kohlrabi plant needs 12-18 inches of space I would make a mark every 1.5-2 squares.

Try not to overcrowd your plants on your plan to allow for wiggle room when you are actually planting seeds/starts.

If you make a mistake, simply use a bit of rubbing alcohol on a paper towel, cotton ball or q-tip to erase the permanent marker and try again.

Your plan will stay intact and you can make a new garden layout every year! Tip: Make multiple layouts for your plants. Take a photo once you create a plan, then erase and create something new. Compare the photos of your plans and choose your favorite layout and redraw for spring planting!

In conclusion:

Once you have mastered creating a small garden plan, you can start thinking about expanding your plan if needed. Since my laminator is only capable of laminating a standard sheet size of 8.5” x 11”, I split my master garden plan into 4 parts and taped them together on the back. It folds up when I need it to and I can lay it out and see my entire garden plan at a moment’s notice. I have also used this DIY to create a small greenhouse plan with removable laminated pieces of paper to signify hanging pots and different bed layouts. The possibilities are endless! You can use this garden plan DIY trick for any garden plot, large or small.

If you use this DIY, tag us on instagram with #paradisehomesteader so we can see what you came up with!

Note: Be sure to take into account your irrigation when planning your garden. You can even draw it on your plan in a different color of marker.

Happy garden planning!

Heidi

A free spirited artist, gardener, and homesteader who loves God and the simplicities of life.