Beginner raised bed and small-space vegetable gardening

Practical guides, copy-and-plant layouts, a free planting calendar and the few tools worth buying, written for first-year kitchen gardens in raised beds, containers and on balconies.

New here? Start with how to start a raised bed vegetable garden, then get your dates from the planting calendar.

Start here

• Raised Bed Vegetable Garden for Beginners — One bed, done right. Size, sun, soil, first crops and the beginner mistakes that cost a season.
• Seed Starting Indoors for Beginners — What to start, when, and the cheapest light setup that actually grows stocky seedlings.
• Best Raised Garden Bed Kits for Beginners — Metal modular vs cedar vs self-watering: which kit for which yard and budget.

Plan your beds

• Raised Bed Vegetable Garden Layouts to Copy — Five copy-and-plant layouts with plant counts, spacing and what goes where.
• Vegetable Planting Calendar by Frost Date — Enter your frost date, get exact sow and transplant dates for 24 crops.
• Companion Planting Chart for Raised Beds — The pairings that matter, the ones to avoid, and why. Printable chart.
• Fall Vegetable Garden for Beginners — The second season most beginners skip: greens, roots, garlic and a $20 row cover.
• When to Plant Garlic by Zone — Plant in fall, harvest next July: the easiest high-value crop for a raised bed.
• Square Foot Gardening for Beginners — The grid method that removes spacing guesswork; plants-per-square chart for 30 crops.

Soil and water

• Raised Bed Soil Mix and How Much You Need — Ratios, bag counts per bed size, and the log trick that halves the cost of a deep bed.
• Drip Irrigation for Raised Beds ($40 Setup) — Parts list, layout and timer settings. The one upgrade that stops beds dying in July.

Small spaces

• Container Vegetable Gardening for Beginners — Right pot size per crop, grow bags vs planters, and a watering routine that survives July.