Garden Preparation

• 1). Locate the vegetable bed in a sunny area.
  
  
• 2). Dig the soil and add soil amendments (materials added to soil to improve it), along with slow-release fertilizer.
  
  
• 3). Remove any rocks, sticks or debris and rake the soil flat.
  
  

Mounds

• 1). Mound the soil up to 8 inches high and 18 inches wide. Place the mounds 3 feet apart. Plant three seeds of squash, cucumbers or pumpkins per mound. Plant the seeds 1/2 inch deep and equidistant from one another.
  
  
• 2). Thin to the strongest two plants after the seedlings are 6 inches high.
  
  
• 3). Plant potato seeds. Dig a hole that's 12 inches deep. Place 6 inches of compost at the bottom of the hole. Put the seed potato on top of the compost and cover it with 1 inch of soil. When the potato has sprouted and is 6 inches above the top of the hole, fill the hole with soil.
  
  
• 4). Build a mound of soil around the potato plant as it grows until the mound is 12 to 18 inches high.
  
  

Patches

• 1). Plant corn 1 inch deep and 6 inches apart. Thin plants when they're 1 foot tall so that they're spaced 3 feet apart.
  
  
• 2). Broadcast small seeds such as carrots, lettuce and leafy greens over an area that's 3 feet by 3 feet. Cover lightly with 1/8 inch of soil.
  
  
• 3). Thin plants to several inches apart as they grow.
  
  

Rows

• 1). Dig a trench that's 2 inches deep.
  
  
• 2). Plant beans and peas 2 inches apart. Cover the seeds with 1 inch of soil.
  
  
• 3). Thin to 6 inches apart when plants are 6 inches tall.