I have a pretty decent amount of land to put my garden on, but i'm thinking about 20' x 20' split into four cross sections. I am considering 4x 4'x4' areas so I can separate plants that do not do well together, like tomatoes from other nightshades and cucumbers. I also am planning on planting marigolds and a few raspberry/blackberry bushes (if I can get some pre-grown shrubs) between the planter areas to attract ladybugs and praying mantises to help me with my pest control.
My current idea is one region with tomatoes, hungarian and green peppers, and snow peas. One area with cucumbers and cabbages for fermenting. One for sweet potatoes and melons, then one for onions, garlic, turmeric and herbs.
Between each area should be probably a total of 5 raspberry/blackberry bushes evenly distributed with one in the very center. Marigolds and other flowers will be in between and help distinguish pathes between the planter regions.
Sound reasonable?
Thoughts?
Do your soil tests first. If things seem okay, do a test plot. Don't sink a lot of money into it your first go around. Sometimes the soil might test right, the sunlight is right, etc. etc. but things just won't grow. There's nothing quite like sinking two or three hundred into a garden that just dies.
Start with the easy things: tomatoes, cucumbers, and other things you can find at Walmart/Lowes.
If things pan out well enough, plant like you want next year.
Also, keep your bushes out of the garden. Unless you're going to be extremely aggressive pruning them, they will take over. Same thing with some types of herbs (mint comes to mind). Both types will have runners along the ground to sprout new plants and that can be a pain to control.
Marigolds are good for pest control. Dill is better. If you can grow it, it will attract real ladybugs which consume aphids and attract preying mantises as well. My garden always attracts all the dragonflies, mantises, and many other beneficial bugs. It's pretty cool to go around and see the baby mantises swarming your garden. Just be sure to snip the dill flowers off before they bloom or your dill will die.
Also, if you have the space and want to try, corn next to cucumbers. It's freaking magic. The cucumbers climb the corn plants and you don't have to bend over to pick them. You'll need to do at least four rows of corn though since they wind pollinate.
And try to keep the cucumbers away from the tomatoes. They're both vine plants though we tend to want tomato plants to grow upright. All the same, they'll fight and choke each other out.
Source: I have a 1600 square foot garden.
Edit: at some point, you'll get tired of tilling and weeding. Mulch is your friend. It's expensive to make friends with it initially because of the cost but it will enrich the soil and keep it warm. All you'll need to do at that point is hand till wherever you plant things instead of the whole plot.