A vegetable garden plan for your space, your climate and what you eat
You have a few raised beds or a sunny patch and a list of vegetables you'd love to grow, but no idea what goes where or when to sow. This prompt has your todo.is agent check your growing zone and frost dates, lay out your beds, write a month-by-month planting calendar and remind you when it's time to sow, plant out and harvest.
The prompt
- Make me a vegetable garden plan. Location: [CITY OR GROWING ZONE]. Space: [BEDS AND SIZE]. Sun: [HOURS OF SUN]. Vegetables we eat most: [VEGETABLES]. My experience: [EXPERIENCE LEVEL]. Look up my average last and first frost dates, draw a simple bed layout with spacing and companion plants, and give me a month-by-month calendar for sowing indoors, direct sowing, planting out and harvest. Add succession sowing so we harvest all season. Send it as a PDF with a layout image, and message me on Telegram the week each task is due.
What to change
- [CITY OR GROWING ZONE]: E.g. "Leeds, UK" or "USDA zone 6b, Ohio". The agent looks up frost dates from this.
- [BEDS AND SIZE]: E.g. "3 raised beds 1.2 m x 2.4 m" or "4 x 8 ft plot plus 5 pots on a patio".
- [HOURS OF SUN]: Direct sun in summer, e.g. "6 to 8 hours" or "shade after 2 pm".
- [VEGETABLES]: What you'd really cook with, e.g. "tomatoes, salad, courgettes, beans, herbs".
- [EXPERIENCE LEVEL]: E.g. "first garden" or "grew tomatoes before".
Example result
- Vegetable garden plan: 3 raised beds, 1.2 x 2.4 m
- Leeds, UK · 6 to 8 hours of sun · first garden · loves tomatoes, salad, courgettes, beans, herbs
- Average last frost: around mid-May · first frost: around late October (check a local source each year)
- Bed layout
- • Bed 1, north side (tall): 2 climbing bean wigwams, 4 cordon tomatoes against canes. Basil and French marigolds between the tomatoes.
- • Bed 2, middle: 2 courgette plants at one end (they get big, about 90 cm each). Beetroot and carrots in rows 30 cm apart at the other end.
- • Bed 3, south side (low): salad leaves in 4 short rows for succession, spring onions, radishes, parsley and chives along the edge, nasturtiums in a corner.
- • Tall crops on the north side so they don't shade the low ones.
- Month by month
- • March: sow tomatoes and basil indoors on a sunny windowsill. Sow first salad under cover.
- • April: direct sow radishes, beetroot, carrots and spring onions. Pot on tomato seedlings.
- • Early May: sow courgettes and beans indoors in pots. Second salad row.
- • Late May (after last frost): harden off for a week, then plant out tomatoes, courgettes and beans. Third salad row.
- • June: tie in tomatoes, pinch out side shoots. Sow more beetroot and the fourth salad row.
- • July: water deeply 2 to 3 times a week rather than a little daily. Pick courgettes small and often.
- • August: main harvest. Sow autumn salad and winter radish where early crops are done.
- • September and October: last tomatoes, ripen green ones indoors. Clear beds, add compost, sow green manure.
- Succession sowing
- • Salad every 3 weeks from March to August
- • Radishes every 2 weeks in spring
- • Beetroot twice, April and June
- Companion plants
- • Basil and marigolds with tomatoes
- • Nasturtiums to draw aphids away from beans
- • Chives near carrots
- Beginner notes
- • Start with healthy young plants for tomatoes if seed feels too much in year one
- • Mulch with compost to keep moisture in
- • Slugs love young salad and courgettes: check at dusk after rain
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and add your location, bed sizes, sun hours, the vegetables you eat and your experience.
- Paste it into todo.is or send it to your agent on Telegram. Attach a photo of your garden if you like.
- You get a PDF with a bed layout image and a month-by-month calendar, plus a reminder the week each task is due.
- Reply "swap carrots for kale" or "add a 4th bed" and the plan and reminders update.
Tips for a better result
- Grow what you actually eat. Five crops you love beat twenty you never pick.
- Frost dates are averages. Watch the 10-day forecast before planting out tender crops like tomatoes and courgettes.
- Rotate crop families each year (tomatoes, beans, roots, leaves). Ask your agent to remember this year's layout.
- Send your agent a photo of a sick leaf and it can suggest likely causes and what to check.
vegetable garden plan: FAQ
- When should I start a vegetable garden? Plan in late winter, start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost and plant tender crops out after it. Hardy crops like peas, radishes and salad can go out earlier.
- What are the easiest vegetables for beginners? Salad leaves, radishes, courgettes, bush or climbing beans, potatoes and herbs like chives and parsley are forgiving and productive.
- How much sun does a vegetable garden need? Most fruiting crops like tomatoes, peppers and squash need 6 to 8 hours of direct sun. Leafy greens and herbs cope with 3 to 4 hours.
- How far apart should I plant vegetables? It depends on the crop. Your plan lists spacing for each one, and the seed packet is a good final check.
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