How to Grow a Plant & Stagger a Garden

Locate a spot for your vegetable garden four to six weeks ahead of the last frost date in your area, when the soil begins to dry and warm. This timing gives you time to amend soil for early spring, pre-frost plantings. Set aside 25 to 30 square feet of level space that gets full sunshine for six to eight hours a day, quick drainage and good air movement. This gives you plenty of space for planting, but won't overwhelm you with too much maintenance.

Amend the soil throughout the new garden. Dig into the top 10 to 12 inches and break it up. Remove any weeds or rocks. Turn 5 to 6 inches of organic compost into the natural soil to give it better nutrition, drainage and moisture retention for the vegetable plants. Add starter or 10-10-10 fertilizer, per manufacturer directions, to encourage quick establishment.

Plant early-spring, frost-hardy vegetables several weeks before the last frost. Include vegetables like asparagus, carrots, beets, radishes, onions, peas, rhubarb, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery and potatoes. Plant one row or two to three plants of each variety to maintain space for other plantings in the garden.

Water the garden with 2 to 3 inches of water, and put it on a schedule of 2 inches of water every week. Put 2 inches of organic mulch around and between the plantings to keep the soil moist and free of weeds.

Plant sensitive crops in mid- to late-spring, after the last frost. Include vegetables like corn, cucumbers, peppers, beans, squash, pumpkins, melons and tomatoes. Mulch these vegetables as well, and put them on the garden's watering schedule.

Replant quick, repeat summertime crops like radishes, carrots, beets, cucumbers, squash, onions, cauliflower and celery again every two to three weeks until mid- to late-summer to keep your garden productive. Discontinue your plantings two months ahead of the first fall frost. Summertime plants need time to mature and bear their harvest before the first frost arrives.