Choosing a site is an important step in planning a vegetable garden. Much of your decision is based on common sense. You definitely want to locate your garden close to a water source, and if you plan to bring in truckloads of fertilizer, you want to put the garden where you can reach it by vehicle. You (and maybe your family) will spend more time in your garden if you can get to it easily. A bit of science is also involved in choosing the right spot. You need to be aware of your weather, climate, and microclimates, which we explain in detail if you click here The following list offers some general considerations for deciding where to place your garden:

• Location: Locate your vegetable garden visibly and conveniently so that you can easily water, weed, feed, and harvest. (If your garden’s out of sight, it’s probably out of mind.) Take advantage of warm or cool spots in your yard to extend your harvest, and plant enough to feed your family.
• Size: Start small. The average vegetable garden is about 600 square feet (about 20 x 30 feet / 6 x 9 m). Consider the size of crop you want as well as how much time you have to devote to upkeep. If you’re a first-timer, 600 square feet is plenty big enough. If you’re a busy person, you may want a smaller garden that’s approximately 200 square feet or even a small bed near your house that’s 50 or 100 square feet. If your soil is in good condition (refer to Chapter 3 in Book I for more on soil), a novice gardener can keep up with a 400-square-foot garden by devoting about half an hour to it each day at the beginning of the season. In late spring through summer, half an hour of work every two to three days should keep the garden productive and looking good.
  
  If space is limited, you can create a small-space block garden. Often called the “square-foot garden,” this 3 x 3-foot square bed is divided into nine 1-foot (0.3 m) squares, each planted with a different vegetable. Space-saving vegetable varieties for smaller vegetables, such as lettuce and carrots work best. Containerized vegetable gardens are a good idea if all you have is a small patio or roof top. (Click here to look at container gardening more closely)
• Sun and shade: Gardens do best if they get full sun — most vegetable plants (especially peppers, tomatoes, and beans) need a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight daily for optimum growth. Some crops, however — especially leafy ones, such as lettuce — produce reasonably well in a partially shaded location where the sun shines directly on the plants for four hours. Root crops, such as carrots and beets, need more light than leafy vegetables, but they may do well in a garden that gets only morning sun for four to six hours.
  
  You don’t have to plant all your vegetables in one plot. If your only sunny spot is in the front yard, plant a border of peppers and tomatoes along the front walk and set lettuce plants in a shadier spot out back. Or garden in one spot in summer and another in early spring or fall. If shade in your garden comes from nearby trees and shrubs, your vegetable plants will compete for water and nutrients as well as for light. Tree roots extend slightly beyond the drip line, the outer foliage reach of the tree.  ....read more