How to Plant a Small Garden With Tomatoes, Onions and Peppers

Prepare soil by tilling plenty of compost about 6 to 12 inches into the soil before planting. Test soil to ensure the pH is around 5.5 to 7.5, and amend the soil as indicated by the test, per package instructions. Add about 6 lbs. per 100 square feet of manure, digging it into the garden with the tiller to give extra growing power.

Plant tomato and pepper transplants as soon as there's no longer any danger of frost. They take about 80 days from planting to harvest. Onions grown to maturity take 40 days, or harvest them as green onions in 30 days. Use small onion bulbs called "sets" instead of seed to speed up harvest time.

Plant tomatoes in the back of the garden so they will not shade the other plants. Place them in a hole twice as wide as the roots and 2 inches deeper than the plant sat in the container. Space them 4 feet apart, and insert stakes since they take less room than tomato cages. Tie plants to the stakes with tomato ties once they grow tall enough.

Plant peppers about 3 to 4 feet away from tomatoes to avoid shading. Plant peppers in a hole twice as wide as the roots and the same depth as the plant was in the container. Space plants 12 inches apart.

Plant onion sets 2 inches deep into the ground about 1 to 2 feet away from the peppers. Space plants 3 inches apart if growing to full maturity, or 2 inches apart for green onions.

Keep tomatoes tied to the stakes and prune them with sharp pruning shears to keep them from overcrowding the other plants.

Provide 1 inch water per week, watering deeply if there is not enough rain.