How You Can Create My Signature Raised Bed Planting Plans
Example of my planting plan: Main Crop (cauliflower) + Herb (leeks) + Flower (marigold) + Underplanting (with lettuce).
The secret to creating a magazine worthy garden that’s beautiful and productive is in growing the right plant combinations together. Here’s how I do it:
STEP 1 - CATEGORIZE PLANTS BY SEASON: Start by making a list of everything you want to grow and categorize them by season. Cool season crops will include plants that grow best in spring and fall and will include lettuce, kale, spinach, arugula, carrots, beetroot, radishes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, onions, leeks, calendula, marigolds, pansies, violas, cilantro, parsley and dill (just to name a few). Warm season crops (that you plant in summer on or after your last frost date) will be things like tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, eggplant, peppers, beans, corn, squash, basil, zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, rosemary, oregano, sage and thyme.
STEP 2 - GROUP INTO TRIOS: Next create a trio of plants that includes a main crop + an herb + a flower. For example in cool season my plant trio could be cabbage + onions + marigolds (as seen in the photo above). Another example could be peas + cilantro + calendula or kale + chives + chamomile. In the warm season you could pair tomatoes + basil + marigolds or cucumber + oregano + nasturtiums or eggplant + rosemary + cosmos. Planting this way helps to deter pests with the smell of herbs and attract pollinators and beneficial insects thanks to the flowers.
STEP 3 - UNDERPLANTING: If you wish to pack in the plants even more, then add in a fourth crop that is short in height AND can grow in partial shade. This will grow in the shade or canopy of the taller or bigger plant. I love underplanting with lettuce, cilantro, arugula and herbs like thyme, trailing rosemary, oregano with larger crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli and cabbages.
Hope you’ll give my planting method a try to create a garden that’s packed & thriving.
Basil growing in the shade or canopy of Swiss chard and sugar snap peas.
