Kitchen Garden Bed Ideas by Cuisine
- Lisa
- Nov 17
- 2 min read
You don’t need a passport to cook like a local—you need a plan and a raised bed. In this guide, we’ll map four kitchen garden layouts by cuisine (Italian, Asian, Latin American, Polish), so your beds grow into weeknight dinners. Use our smart companion planting guide and zone-specific sowing dates for better yields.
Kitchen Garden Bed Helpers
Raised-Bed Basics (4′×8′)
Sun: 6–8+ hrs/day.
Fill: 40% compost, 40% quality topsoil, 20% aeration (pine fines/perlite).
North-side trellis: for peas, beans, or tomatoes.
Water: deep 1–2× weekly; drip makes it easy.
Fertilizer: light, frequent (fish/seaweed).
Companions: tall in back, leafy in middle, roots in front.
Italian Kitchen Garden Bed (4′×8′)
Plant list: Plum tomatoes, basil, fava beans, Romano beans, broccoli raab, radicchio, arugula, fennel.
Layout:
North trellis: Plum tomatoes with Romano beans on outside strings.
Mid row: Fava beans (spring) → succession to broccoli raab.
Front: Arugula + radicchio checkerboard; basil near tomatoes; one fennel in a sunny corner (give it a little space).
Tips: Pinch basil; stake tomatoes; harvest raab young.
Asian Kitchen Garden Bed (4′×8′)
Plant list: Soybeans (edamame), Chinese cabbage, snow peas, pak choi, bunching onions, daikon radish.
Layout:
North trellis: Snow peas (spring), later swap to a heat crop if desired.
Mid: Chinese cabbage + pak choi in alternating blocks; stagger plantings.
Front border: Bunching onions; daikon in pockets (helps aerate soil).
Tips: Use row cover for flea beetles; harvest pak choi at baby size.
Latin American Kitchen Garden Bed (4′×8′)
Plant list: Tomatoes, black beans, chili peppers, sweet peppers, cilantro.
Layout:
North trellis: Indeterminate tomatoes on Florida weave.
Mid: Chili + sweet peppers in groups for airflow.
Front: Succession cilantro every 2–3 weeks.
Corner: Black beans on a short teepee; inoculate seed.
Tips: Mulch peppers; reseed cilantro often.
Polish Kitchen Garden Bed (4′×8′)
Plant list: Horseradish, cabbage, potatoes, onions, peppers.
Layout:
Back: Cabbage heads (space well).
Middle band: Potatoes—hill as they grow.
Front: Onions in double rows; peppers along warm front edge.
Contain: Horseradish in a sunken bottomless pot.
Tips: Rotate nightshades; net cabbage if moths are active.
Timing & Sowing (Zones 4–8)
Use our Seed-Starting Calendars (Zones 4–8) for exact indoor/ outdoor dates. Cool crops (arugula, pak choi, peas, cilantro) go earlier and more often; warm crops (tomatoes, peppers) start indoors and transplant after your last frost.
Weekly Care (simple & realistic)
Irrigate: Deep, not daily sips.
Feed: Light, steady.
Harvest: Cut-and-come-again for arugula, cilantro, pak choi, basil.
Prune: Tomatoes to 1–2 leaders; remove lower leaves for airflow.
Pests: Row cover on brassicas; evening hornworm patrol (free chicken snacks).
Tools & Supplies
Comments