The library · Beds

Six beds to start with.

A bed is a small world. Here's how to lay one out so every plant earns its place.

Interactive

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Place plants on a grid, check spacing and companion pairings, then save your layout to come back to later.

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First-year friendly · 48″ × 48″

The first-year garden

“Four plants that are almost impossible to fail with in year one.”

A small bed for a first-time gardener. Every plant here is forgiving — they tolerate some neglect, germinate reliably, and produce enough to teach you what a real harvest feels like without asking for perfect conditions in return.

Zucchini + Green Bean
When to start
Transplant zucchini and basil a week after your last frost. Direct-sow beans and lettuce at the same time.
Through the season
Zucchini starts fast and keeps going. Beans come in waves through summer. Lettuce feeds the early weeks; basil keeps you in pesto until frost.
13 plants · 4 varieties
48″ × 48″
Some experience helpful · 48″ × 48″

The salsa bed

“Four plants that become lunch together.”

Everything you need for a bowl of fresh salsa in one 4×4 bed. The tomatoes and peppers carry the summer; the basil and cilantro are the fresh-herb punctuation. Plant it, tend it, and by August the whole bed is lunch.

Tomato + PepperTomato + BasilTomato + CilantroPepper + BasilPepper + Cilantro
When to start
Start tomato and pepper seeds indoors 6–8 weeks before your last frost. Transplant 1–2 weeks after the last frost. Direct-sow cilantro the same week; it likes the cool end of spring.
Through the season
Tomatoes and peppers peak in August. Succession-sow cilantro every three weeks so you always have fresh leaves when the tomatoes come in.
11 plants · 4 varieties
48″ × 48″
First-year friendly · 48″ × 48″

The salad patch

“A 4×4 bed that feeds a salad bowl most of spring.”

Cool-season crops that go in early, grow fast, and come out before the heat of summer makes them bitter. This is the bed you plant first and harvest first — perfect succession material if you pull and replant as things finish.

Lettuce + CarrotLettuce + PeaSpinach + PeaCarrot + Pea
When to start
Direct-sow everything 4–6 weeks before your last frost. Peas along the back edge should be trellised.
Through the season
Peas and lettuce peak first. Carrots come last and can stay in the ground into summer if you mulch them heavily.
32 plants · 4 varieties
48″ × 48″
Rewards patience · 48″ × 48″

The three sisters

“An ancient polyculture — tall stalks, climbing beans, shading squash.”

The classic Indigenous American intercrop: a tall stalk for beans to climb, nitrogen-fixing beans to feed the stalk, and a squash below to shade the soil and slow weeds. We swap sunflower for corn here — same role, and a better home-garden choice in small beds.

Sunflower + Green BeanSunflower + ZucchiniGreen Bean + Zucchini
When to start
Direct-sow sunflower and zucchini after your last frost. Wait one more week for beans — they rot in cold soil.
Through the season
Beans first, starting in July. Zucchini overlaps from midsummer on. Sunflower heads come last — cut them in September.
12 plants · 3 varieties
48″ × 48″
First-year friendly · 48″ × 48″

The cool-season patch

“For gardeners who want to start before spring is ready.”

Five plants that want cold soil and cool air. This bed goes in weeks before the last frost and is nearly finished before the warm-season garden even starts. Re-plant the same bed in late summer for a fall harvest.

Spinach + CilantroSpinach + PeaLettuce + Pea
When to start
Direct-sow everything 4–6 weeks before your last frost. Start kale from transplant for a cleaner stand.
Through the season
Spinach, lettuce, and cilantro finish before the heat. Kale keeps going — it sweetens after the first fall frost and can hold through light snow.
22 plants · 5 varieties
48″ × 48″
Some experience helpful · 48″ × 48″

The heat lovers

“A bed that only makes sense once the soil is warm.”

Five plants that want summer — and will sulk if you rush them into cold ground. Wait until two weeks after your last frost before you plant this bed. The extra patience pays back all season.

Tomato + PepperTomato + BasilPepper + Basil
When to start
Start tomato and pepper indoors 6–8 weeks before your last frost. Transplant everything 1–2 weeks after your last frost, once the soil is above 60°F.
Through the season
Cucumbers first in July. Tomatoes and peppers build all summer and peak in August. Basil keeps pace with the tomatoes — pinch flowers to keep it productive.
9 plants · 4 varieties
48″ × 48″
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