Planning Your Vegetable Garden: A Beginner's Wish List Guide
This is part of our series retelling Backyard Farming: Growing Vegetables and Herbs by Kim Pezza (ISBN: 978-1-57826-460-5).
Before you buy a single seed or touch any dirt, Pezza wants you to sit down and make a plan. And she’s right. The number one mistake new gardeners make is jumping straight into planting without thinking about what they actually want. Then they end up with thirty zucchini plants and no idea what to do with them.
Start With a Wish List
Pezza’s approach to planning is smart and simple. She tells you to make a wish list. Not a final plan. A wish list. Write down everything you’d want to grow in a perfect world. Then you’ll narrow it down based on reality.
Your wish list should answer a few key questions:
- How big is your space? A balcony and a half-acre yard are very different starting points.
- What do you want to grow? Write it all down. Tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, whatever sounds good.
- Do you want to go organic? This affects your soil, pest control, and budget choices.
- Are you interested in companion planting? Some plants grow better next to certain neighbors.
- What shape will your garden be? Rows, squares, circles, free-form. It matters more than you think.
- Do you want a section for kids? Give them their own little patch and they’ll actually care about it.
I love this approach because it takes the pressure off. A wish list isn’t a commitment. It’s a starting point. You can always cut things later once you see what actually fits.
Garden Types: Pick Your Style
The book covers four main types of gardens, and each one fits different situations.
Traditional gardens are what most people picture. Flat ground that you till up, plant in rows, and maintain throughout the season. They work great if you have the yard space and decent soil. But they also require the most physical work since you’re bending, kneeling, and digging a lot.
Raised bed gardens use wooden frames or other borders filled with soil you bring in. The big advantage here is control. You choose exactly what soil goes in, drainage is better, and they’re easier on your back since the planting surface is higher off the ground. They cost more upfront but they’re worth it for a lot of people.
Container gardens use pots, boxes, grow bags, or really anything that holds soil. This is the go-to for apartments, patios, and small spaces. You can grow a surprising amount of food in containers. Tomatoes, peppers, herbs, lettuce, and strawberries all do well in pots. The main thing to watch is watering since containers dry out faster than ground soil.
Vertical gardens grow upward using trellises, stakes, wall planters, or other supports. These are great for saving space. Cucumbers, beans, peas, and some tomatoes naturally want to climb anyway. So you’re working with the plant, not against it.
Here’s the thing. You don’t have to pick just one. Plenty of people combine types. Maybe raised beds for your main vegetables and containers on the patio for herbs. Mix and match based on what you’ve got.
Space: Apartment vs Suburban vs Rural
Pezza does a good job of addressing different living situations. If you’re in an apartment, containers and vertical setups are your friends. A sunny balcony or even a bright window can produce herbs and small vegetables.
Suburban yards give you more options. You can do traditional plots, raised beds, or a combination. Most suburban lots have enough sun and space for a solid food garden.
Rural properties obviously have the most room, but more space doesn’t automatically mean a better garden. A well-planned small garden will outperform a neglected large one every time.
She also mentions zoning. This is something a lot of people don’t think about. Some neighborhoods and municipalities have rules about what you can grow in your front yard, how tall structures can be, and whether you can keep certain plants. It’s worth checking before you build something that gets you a letter from the HOA.
The Organic Question
The book tackles organic growing honestly, which I appreciate. Growing organic basically means avoiding synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, and genetically modified seeds. It’s about working with natural processes instead of against them.
But here’s where it gets real. If you want to sell your produce as “certified organic,” that involves USDA certification. And that process is expensive and complicated. For a home garden, it’s honestly not worth the paperwork. You can grow using organic methods without the official label. Nobody is inspecting your backyard tomatoes.
Just decide your own standards. Maybe you want zero chemicals. Maybe you’re okay with some things but not others. Your garden, your rules.
Community Gardens
If you don’t have any outdoor space at all, Pezza mentions community gardens as an option. These are shared plots, usually run by a neighborhood organization or local government. You get a small section to grow whatever you want. They’re a great way to learn because you’re surrounded by other gardeners who are usually happy to share advice.
Think About Your Body
One thing I really respect about this book is that Pezza addresses physical abilities directly. Not everyone can kneel on the ground for hours. If you use a wheelchair, have bad knees, or just don’t want to bend over constantly, raised beds and container gardens at table height are real solutions. Gardening should be accessible, and planning for your body’s needs upfront saves frustration later.
Our Take
This chapter is all about being honest with yourself before you start. How much space do you really have? How much time can you actually commit? What do you genuinely want to eat? Answer those questions first and the rest of the planning gets a lot easier.
Up next, we get into the actual design. Where to put things, how to arrange them, and why layout matters more than most beginners realize.