Once your garden soil is prepared, you are ready to plant! Choosing from the huge array of vegetables and herbs can be overwhelming, but there are many resources available to help you choose.

First, decide what you would most like to grow in your garden presumably, your favorites.

Second, plan how to best use the space available. For example, if only one family member likes tomatoes, one plant will suffice; but if sugar snap peas are everyone’s favorite, plan to grow numerous vines on a trellis or other support.

Third, reference recommended planting dates for your area, and plan crop succession for instance, spring peas followed by a midsummer planting of broccoli in one space.

We share here two garden designs on the next page that are based on a planting grid of one foot spaces; these designs are available online and can be adjusted to contain your favorite vegetables. For a list of gardening resources, see the boxes on page 69.

The grid represents a 3′ — 6′ raised bed garden. Each square is equal to 1 sq. ft. When you place a vegetable in the map you’ll see how many plants can be grown in that space.

For specific instructions on each vegetable or other vegetable grid examples, refer to gardeners.com or your actual seed packet.