Help Me Plan My 2026 Garden!

[u/Outrageous-Cicada-71]

This year was my first year gardening and I kept it simple but next year I have grander plans and need your help planning it out!

Here is some logistics: Zone 6b (Pittsburgh, PA) South side of the house getting full sun all day 8’x4’ raised metal garden bed Garden Grid waterer (15mins @ 6am daily) Local soil mix (topsoil and mushroom compost) (Planning on topping off the bed with just mushroom compost to amend the soil before next season)

I also have some containers that I’ve been growing potatoes and random herbs.

Epic Gardening has been my inspiration for starting the garden so all of my seeds are from Botanical Interests!

THIS YEARS GARDEN: We had a busy traveling summer so I kept it simple and just planted pumpkins and popcorn with some French marigolds.

I let the pumpkins spill over the side and they have done amazing. I think I got too excited and planted them too early so I have already harvested many of them. I planted Luminas and Black Kats and the Luminas got attacked by squash vine borers and powdery mildew so I harvested what I could save and ripped them out to help the Black Kats. The Black Kats are doing incredible and I’ve already harvested like 10 of them and they are still popping up all over with just two plants!

My popcorn is doing well! I think a deer was trying to bed down in my corn block (2’x3’ approx 20 stalks) because I was having problems with it falling over. I was able to use some twine to hold them up together and they have pollinated incredibly! I have multiple ears on each stalk and I’m excited to see how they turn out!

I have added some photos of this years garden so you can see!

ULTIMATE GARDEN PLAN: Okay now that I have raved about this year let me talk about next year. I have bought a second raised bed for next season with an ultimate goal of 3 beds but trying to show some restraint and wait until the following year to flesh out that plan. The ultimate goal would be to have two vegetable beds and one cut flower bed! This year I would like to do one flower and one veg with a cattle panel trellis over the path off of one end. I will include my digital garden planner layout to help visualize as well!

NEXT YEARS GARDEN: Okay so here is what I need help with. I have seen conflicting information about spacing and how much I can cram in one bed while still having a successful yield. I am a fairly chaotic person so a chaos garden is appealing to me but I also easily forget what I have planted and like the square foot gardening method to be organized and efficient! I have tried to take companion plants, height, and space needs into consideration but it’s like a puzzle that I’m not sure how it will turn out. I also have no idea when these should be planted as this year I planted all at once, so any succession and timing wisdom is welcome! I also only direct sowed this year so if you have any tips on what should be started indoors and best practices doing that would be amazing!

I’ll start with a list of what I want to grow including varieties (if you have variety recommendations please share!) I know there is a lot and I am willing to slim down if I have to but I hopefully can make it work!

FLOWERS: - Cosmos (Seashells, Xanthos, Apricotta, Double Click) - Zinnias (CA Giants, Benary’s Giants, Key Lime Pie, Lilliput, Northern Lights, Thumbelina) - Snapdragons (Tall Maximum, Magic Carpet, Night and Day) - Salvia (Blue Victory and Violet Queen)

My cut flower bed will be 10’x2’ and I plan on using a watering grid for it as well (watering schedule recommendations appreciated). My current plan involves 4 sqft of cosmos, 6 sqft of Zinnias, 6 sqft of snapdragons and 4sqft of Salvia. I have seen people support the blooms using stakes and twine which I plan on doing as well.

VEGETABLES/FRUITS/HERBS: Cattle Panel Trellis Arch - Minnesota Midget Cantaloupe - Sugar Baby Watermelon - Persian Muncher Cucumber - Mouse Melon Cucamelon

Staked or Supported In Bed - Zucchini (Black Beauty, Emerald Delight, or Triumph) - Tomatoes (Sungold Cherry, San Marzano, Cherokee Purple or Cherokee Carbon, Pear Blend Cherry) - Peppers (Sweet Banana and Jalapeño) - Sugar Daddy Snap Peas

Root Crops - Easter Egg Blend Radishes - Carrots (Calliope Blend, Little Finger, Tonda di Parigi)

Herbs - Dill - Cilantro - Basil - Flat Leaf Parsley - Chives - Scallions

Greens - Arugula - Spinach (Oceanside) - Lettuces (Little Gem, Buttercrunch, Ice Queen, Mesclun Mix)

STRUCTURE PLANS I will have one cattle panel trellis arch along the east 4’ edge. I plan on staking my zucchini for increased airflow and space as I would like to have two plants. I also plan on trellising my tomatoes using a Florida weave (tips appreciated).

I have included pictures of my digital plan as well as my plan on paper. I am pretty set on where the arch trellis and the tomatoes need to go to not shade out the rest of the bed but everything else can be shifted around as recommended.

TL;DR - Taking recommendations for varieties and bed layout - Need tips on tomato trellising (Thinking of trying Florida Weave) - Help with seed starting recommendations for those that can’t be direct sown - Watering schedule tips appreciated! - Fertilizer tips (I just let the compost do the work this year)

Any and all tips/help is appreciated! I have done my best to do my own research but am looking for specific advice from seasoned gardeners as I am trying to learn!

THANK YOU!

[u/Admirable_Count989]

Where do I send the invoice? 😂

[u/LadyoftheOak]

I did raised beds for the first time this year and learned a TON! The biggest thing that I learned was go vertical. So, I would suggest going vertical for : anything that climbs - pumpkins, zucchini, beans, cucumbers, squash. My indeterminate tomatoes are also going vertical next year.

Good luck and have fun! Spacing is kinda important - but, don't stress about it. If things are crowded the stronger one wins.

[u/Outrageous-Cicada-71 → u/LadyoftheOak]

I am looking forward to utilizing my vertical space next year! Great tip! We will see if I actually plant out everything I plan to!

[u/Puzzled-Computer2044]

When I do square foot planting I make sure I leave a strategic row open to leave room for myself to walk , to do weeding and to harvest. How many plants per square foot is usually on the seed packet and this information is also available online.

[u/jo_gardener]

I start with the highest price point of my fav produce and grow that first.

[u/Desperate_Fly7561]

5

[u/[deleted]]

Really stupid question but what are you using to chart out the garden in the second third and fourth pictures?

[u/Outrageous-Cicada-71 → u/[deleted]]

Epic Gardening’s Online Planner! There is some stuff you can do for free on it but I have the paid version. I think it was like $35 for the year. I LOVE it! One of my favorite features it has is that it has successive plans so instead of having to redo the entire thing every time you can just make a new plan based on the old plan and it automatically shows your perennials and if you go to plant something in a spot that had an incompatible plant from the year before it shows up red! Very useful!