#Kitchen Garden Plans - Vegetable Garden Ideas

Feast your eyes upon the potager of our dreams, designed by Jon Carloftis and overflowing with amazing edible plants handpicked by the nation's best chefs.

Download our Ultimate Kitchen Garden plan and the entire plant list

Other moves that sync with Carloftis's pretty-is-as-pretty-does strategy included birch tepees and a handsome poplar arbor, to support climbers, such as beans, peas, and cucumbers. Barn-wood boxes and recycled bourbon barrels supplied the necessary depth for root crops like sweet potatoes and carrots. And a fence of tobacco sticks, draped with sturdy netting, deterred (most) critters, beautifully. "Structure adds style," Carloftis declares, "and that's what separates us from Neanderthals."

But, woe, the best-laid plans. Remarkably persistent rabbits, contaminated compost, heavily compacted soil and what turned out to be Kentucky's second-wettest spring on record all conspired to wreak havoc. "It was," says Bale in her matter-of-fact way, "the perfect storm for failure." And yet, come July, when we bit into that first 'Early Girl' tomato, infinitely juicy and still warm from the sun, all was forgotten.

Convinced? Check out these 13 tips for creating a kitchen garden. and soon you'll experience the sweetest satisfaction of knowing I grew this .

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