Sixteen square feet does not sound like much. But a single four-by-four raised bed, planted thoughtfully and maintained consistently, can produce a remarkable amount of food. Enough lettuce for daily salads. Enough tomatoes for weeks of fresh eating and a batch or two of sauce. Enough herbs to transform your cooking. Enough radishes, beans, and peppers to fill the gaps and keep the harvests coming from spring through autumn.
This is a complete, ready-to-follow plan for your first vegetable garden. It tells you exactly what to plant, where to plant it within the bed, when to plant and harvest each crop, what supplies you need, and what to expect from your 16 square feet of growing space. No guessing, no overwhelm — just a proven plan that works.
Why a 4x4 Raised Bed
A four-by-four raised bed is the ideal starter garden for several reasons. It is large enough to grow a meaningful variety of crops but small enough to maintain in fifteen to twenty minutes per day. You can reach the centre from any side without stepping into the bed, which prevents soil compaction. A raised bed gives you complete control over soil quality — you fill it with exactly the right mix rather than fighting whatever your native soil happens to be.
The sixteen square feet divides neatly into a grid of sixteen one-foot squares, which is the basis of the square foot gardening method. Each square is planted with a specific number of plants based on their spacing needs. This eliminates the guesswork about how many plants to grow and where to put them.
For detailed guidance on planning any garden layout — including considerations beyond the basic 4x4 — the garden layout planning guide covers site selection, orientation, and design principles that scale to any size.
What You Need
Here is the complete supply list for this project. Total cost varies by region, but expect to spend between fifty and one hundred dollars for the bed, soil, seeds, and basic supplies — a one-time investment that will produce food for months. The budget gardening guide has additional strategies for reducing startup costs.
The bed itself: A four-by-four raised bed frame, at least ten to twelve inches deep. Cedar and Douglas fir are naturally rot-resistant and last five to ten years without treatment. Pine is cheaper but deteriorates faster. You can also build from cinder blocks, galvanised steel, or recycled composite boards. The material matters less than the depth — deeper beds hold more soil, retain moisture better, and give roots more room to grow.
Soil mix: Fill the bed with a blend of roughly sixty percent topsoil or garden soil, thirty percent compost, and ten percent perlite or coarse sand for drainage. For a four-by-four bed that is twelve inches deep, you need approximately sixteen cubic feet of soil mix — about twelve bags of the standard 1.5 cubic foot bags sold at garden centres. Do not use pure potting mix, which is too lightweight and dries out quickly in a raised bed. Do not use pure native soil, which is often too heavy and poorly drained.
Seeds and transplants: The planting plan below specifies what to buy. For this plan, you need seed packets for lettuce, radishes, bush beans, and basil, plus transplants for tomatoes and peppers. Total seed and transplant cost is typically fifteen to twenty-five dollars.
Mulch: Straw is ideal for a vegetable bed. One small bale is more than enough. About five to eight dollars.
Basic tools: A hand trowel, a watering can or hose with a gentle nozzle, and a pair of scissors or garden snips for harvesting. You likely already own most of these.
The Planting Plan: 16 Squares
Think of your four-by-four bed as a grid of sixteen one-foot squares, four rows by four columns. Here is how to plant each one. The plan is designed so that tall plants do not shade shorter ones, compatible plants are grouped together, and the bed produces from spring through autumn.
Orientation: Position the bed so that the long sides face east and west if possible. This ensures the tallest plants — the tomato — are on the north side where they will not shade the shorter crops to the south.
North Row (Back Row) — Tall Crops
Square 1 (north-west): One cherry tomato plant, staked or caged. Cherry tomatoes are more productive and forgiving than large-fruited varieties. One plant produces hundreds of fruits over the season. Choose a determinate variety if you want a compact plant, or an indeterminate variety if you do not mind a taller, sprawling plant that produces longer.
Square 2: One cherry tomato plant (same or different variety). Two tomato plants in a four-by-four bed is plenty. They will fill the back two squares and then some.
Square 3: One bell pepper or sweet pepper plant. Peppers are compact, productive, and easy to grow. They need less water and less support than tomatoes.
Square 4 (north-east): One basil plant plus one more pepper or a hot pepper variety. Basil and tomatoes are classic companions — the basil benefits from the light shade provided by the tomato canopy during the hottest part of the day, and the aromatic oils may help deter aphids.
Middle Rows — Medium Crops
Squares 5 and 6: Bush beans, nine plants per square (three-by-three grid within each square, spaced four inches apart). Bush beans are one of the most reliable and productive crops for beginners. They germinate quickly, produce heavily, and fix nitrogen in the soil. Plant after your last frost date when soil is warm.
Squares 7 and 8: Bush beans continuing. Four squares of bush beans gives you a generous harvest. You can also succession plant — when the first round finishes producing, pull the plants and sow a second round for a late-season crop.
South Row (Front Row) — Short and Fast Crops
Squares 9 and 10: Lettuce, sixteen plants per square (four-by-four grid, spaced three inches apart). Use a loose-leaf or cut-and-come-again variety so you can harvest outer leaves repeatedly without pulling the whole plant. Sow every three weeks for continuous production. Lettuce tolerates the light shade cast by the taller plants to the north, which actually helps prevent bolting in warm weather.
Squares 11 and 12: More lettuce or a mix of salad greens — arugula, spinach, and mesclun mix. Variety keeps salads interesting and spreads the harvest window since different greens mature at different rates.
Squares 13 and 14: Radishes, sixteen per square (four-by-four grid, spaced three inches apart). Radishes are the fastest crop in the garden — ready in 25 to 35 days. Plant a round immediately, harvest, and replant the squares with a second round. You can get three or four radish crops from the same squares in one season.
Squares 15 and 16: Mixed herbs — one or two more basil plants, plus parsley and chives. Fresh herbs from the garden transform everyday cooking. Harvest regularly to encourage bushy, continued growth.
Month-by-Month Timeline
This timeline assumes a last frost date in mid-April and a first frost date in mid-October — a roughly six-month growing season typical of USDA zones 5 through 7. Adjust earlier or later based on your local frost dates.
March
Build or set up your raised bed. Fill with soil mix. If starting tomato and pepper seeds indoors, sow them now under grow lights — six to eight weeks before your last frost date. Alternatively, plan to buy transplants in May. Order or purchase seed packets for lettuce, radishes, beans, basil, parsley, and chives.
April
Once night temperatures consistently stay above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, direct-sow lettuce and radish seeds in the south row squares. These cool-season crops handle light frost and actually prefer cooler temperatures. Water gently with a fine spray to avoid displacing seeds.
May
After your last frost date and once soil temperatures reach 60 degrees Fahrenheit, plant tomato and pepper transplants in the north row. Direct-sow bush bean seeds in the middle rows. Sow basil and herb seeds or transplants in the designated squares. Apply two to three inches of straw mulch around all plants, keeping mulch a few inches away from stems.
June
Begin harvesting lettuce — pick outer leaves for cut-and-come-again harvests. Harvest first round of radishes and replant squares immediately with more radish seed. Bush beans begin producing. Pick beans every two to three days when pods are firm and snap cleanly. Water deeply every three to four days or when the top inch of soil feels dry.
July
Peak production month. Cherry tomatoes ripen and produce heavily — harvest every day or two. Peppers start ripening. Continue harvesting beans, lettuce, and herbs. Sow a second round of lettuce if the first planting has bolted in the heat — the tomato shade helps keep new lettuce cool. Second or third round of radishes goes in.
August
Tomatoes continue producing. Pull spent bean plants and sow a fall round of lettuce, spinach, or radishes in the freed squares. Side-dress tomatoes and peppers with a handful of compost if growth seems to be slowing. Continue regular watering — August heat dries soil fast.
September
Harvest the last of the tomatoes and peppers before the first frost. Fall lettuce, spinach, and radishes thrive in the cooling temperatures. Basil will be killed by the first frost, so make a big harvest and preserve by freezing or drying.
October
Final harvests of fall greens and radishes. Once the bed is empty, top it with two to three inches of compost and a layer of straw mulch. This feeds the soil over winter and prevents erosion. Next spring, simply pull back the mulch, rake the bed smooth, and start planting again.
Expected Harvest from 16 Square Feet
A well-maintained four-by-four bed following this plan can realistically produce the following over one growing season:
- Cherry tomatoes: 10 to 20 pounds (200-400 individual fruits) from two plants
- Peppers: 5 to 10 pounds (15-30 peppers) from one to two plants
- Bush beans: 5 to 8 pounds from four squares, more with succession planting
- Lettuce and salad greens: Enough for daily salads for two to three months
- Radishes: 50 to 100+ radishes across multiple plantings
- Herbs: Continuous fresh basil, parsley, and chives from May through September
These numbers are conservative estimates for a first-year garden. As your soil improves, your skills develop, and you dial in the timing for your specific microclimate, yields increase. Second and third-year gardens routinely outproduce first-year gardens by a significant margin because the soil is better and the gardener is more experienced.
Tips for Success
Water consistently. Raised beds dry out faster than in-ground gardens because they are exposed to air on all sides. Check soil moisture daily during warm weather. Deep watering every two to three days is better than shallow daily sprinkling.
Harvest regularly. Picking beans, tomatoes, lettuce, and herbs frequently encourages the plants to keep producing. Letting fruit sit overripe on the plant signals it to slow down production. Pick early and often.
Watch for pests but do not panic. A few aphids on a tomato plant are not an emergency. Healthy plants in good soil can handle minor pest pressure. Handpick larger pests like caterpillars. Encourage beneficial insects — ladybugs, lacewings, parasitic wasps — by planting a few marigolds and allowing some herbs to flower.
Keep a simple journal. Note what you planted, when you planted it, when it produced, and any problems you encountered. This information is invaluable for planning next year's garden. First-year observations become second-year wisdom.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I follow this plan in containers instead of a raised bed?
Yes, with some modifications. Each tomato plant needs at least a five-gallon container, preferably larger. Peppers need three to five-gallon pots. Beans, lettuce, radishes, and herbs can grow in any container at least six to eight inches deep. Use a quality potting mix rather than garden soil in containers, and expect to water more frequently since containers dry out faster than raised beds. The overall plan and plant choices translate well to containers, but you will need more individual pots to replicate the sixteen-square-foot growing area.
What if my bed gets less than six hours of direct sun?
Shift the plan toward shade-tolerant crops. Replace the tomatoes and peppers with additional lettuce, spinach, kale, and herbs like parsley, chives, and cilantro. Keep the radishes and beans — both tolerate part shade reasonably well. You will sacrifice the fruiting crops but can still produce an impressive amount of salad greens and cooking herbs from a partially shaded bed.
How much does the whole setup cost for the first year?
A basic four-by-four cedar raised bed costs thirty to sixty dollars to build from lumber or seventy to one hundred fifty dollars for a pre-made kit. Soil to fill it runs twenty to forty dollars. Seeds and a few transplants cost fifteen to twenty-five dollars. Straw for mulch is five to ten dollars. Basic tools, if you do not already own them, add ten to twenty dollars. Total first-year cost is typically seventy-five to one hundred fifty dollars, most of which is the one-time cost of the bed and soil. Second-year costs drop to just seeds and compost — often under thirty dollars.
When should I start planning for next year's garden?
Start thinking about it in autumn while this year's results are fresh in your mind. Note what worked, what did not, and what you wish you had planted. Order seed catalogues in December and January. Make your plan in February. Start seeds indoors in March if applicable. The planning process gets easier and more enjoyable each year as you build on what you learned the previous season.
Is it worth expanding beyond 4x4 after the first year?
If you enjoyed the process and maintained the bed well, absolutely. A common second-year expansion is adding a second four-by-four bed, giving you thirty-two square feet. This is enough space to grow a much wider variety of crops, experiment with new vegetables, and start succession planting more aggressively. Grow at a pace that keeps gardening enjoyable rather than overwhelming — one new bed per year is a sustainable rate of expansion for most people.