When you’re ready to plan your kitchen garden, it’s tempting to start laying out beds and tossing in seeds. But one of the best lessons I’ve learned over time is this: you need to know what you want to grow before you even begin planning the layout.
Plants have personalities. Some thrive together, others compete for nutrients or attract shared pests—and some need distance, even from their own family. By planning your crops in advance, you’ll not only avoid common pitfalls, but also end up with a healthier, more productive garden.
Start With Your Growing List
What do you want to eat? That’s where it all begins. Your garden should reflect what your household actually enjoys—there’s no point growing turnips if nobody eats them.
Write a simple list of your must-grow crops. Then consider:
- What grows well in your climate zone?
- How big will each plant get?
- Are they cool or warm season crops?
- Do any have known companions—or plants they dislike?
This will help shape your garden layout in a way that actually works.
Brassicas: A Cautionary Tale
Broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts all belong to the brassica family—but that doesn’t mean they get along in tight quarters.
Early on, I tried growing them all in one bed, thinking it made sense to group them. But what I quickly learned is that brassicas don’t thrive when they’re overcrowded or grown too close to their cousins. They compete for nutrients, and pests like cabbage moths can devastate the whole lot when they’re grouped together.
Here’s what works better:
- Give each brassica its own dedicated patch or bed, spaced out around the garden.
- Avoid planting them too close together, even in the same season.
- If rotating crops each year, keep a record of where each one was grown to avoid depleting soil.
While they may share similar soil preferences (firm, fertile, and rich in nitrogen), they need space from each other to reduce the spread of disease and to keep pest pressure manageable.
Companion Planting (and Avoiding Enemies)
Your garden will do better if your plants are planted in combinations that help—not hinder—each other.
Great companions:
- Tomatoes + basil – repel pests and improve flavour
- Carrots + onions – the onion smell confuses carrot fly
- Lettuce + spring onions + marigolds – productive and pest-repelling
Plants that shouldn’t mix:
- Brassicas dislike strawberries and tomatoes.
- Onions and garlic compete with peas and beans
- Carrots and dill can cross-compete and stunt growth
Knowing this helps you plan who grows where—and which beds need to stay apart.
Plan Your Garden in Zones
Rather than thinking in one big block, break your garden into logical growing areas:
- Leafy greens bed – spinach, lettuce, rocket, chard
- Root bed – carrots, beetroot, parsnips, radish
- Brassica zones – spaced around the garden, one crop per bed
- Warm season area – tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, capsicums
- Legumes – peas and beans, which also improve soil nitrogen
This makes crop rotation easier in the seasons to come and helps you tailor your soil preparation to each crop’s needs.
A Few Planning Tips
- Sketch your garden before planting—just a simple pencil plan with plant groupings
- Leave room between brassicas to avoid shared pest problems
- Record crop locations to help with next year’s rotation
- Grow vertically if you’re short on space (trellised peas, beans, or cucumbers)
In Summary
Your garden is a living system. Knowing what you want to grow before you start building beds or sowing seeds helps you create a more intentional, successful layout. From companion planting to keeping brassicas at arm’s length, a thoughtful plan saves time, resources, and disappointment down the track.
– Mrs E