The first step in planning a backyard garden is deciding where to put it. Pick a spot that gets mid-day sun and remember to consider shade from surrounding trees.

Instead of the conventional plot, think of your garden as a series of rectangular beds with walkways or paths between them. Make them narrow enough so you can reach the center from either side. Make them long enough to support a few vegetables each. Try to keep the path areas free from weeds with mulch or stones. You may even want grass between them in the beginning. That will help you keep weeds down in what was the un-planted areas of conventional gardens.

Anyway, the rectangular beds will allow you to use wide row planting techniques. And you can focus activities on the beds where the vegetables reside, not the rows and paths between rows you would've had.

Once you know where it'll be and how it'll be done, laying it out isn't really that complicated. I plan to get to raised beds some day and used rectangular beds 4ft by10ft. I didn't double dig those rectangles either. My wife and I agreed not to spend too much time or money in the garden for the first year and besides, I have a back that's particularly sensitive to shoveling dirt.

Most books and articles I read talked about double digging so I feared there was no way out. Well, I found one reference to a simple grass conversion technique and I quickly became a supporter of the idea. They suggested using black plastic mulch on lawn or grass areas for the first year and cited yield studies that substantiated the quality of this type of bed. While I didn't want to spring for the plastic, I liked their concept.

My approach was fairly simple. Once I knew where the garden would be, in early Spring, I marked the two rectangles with stakes. Then I collected mulch from around the yard where I had put it for protection during the previous Winter. I put that mulch (chopped leaves) into the rectangles right on top of the grass. Then each time I cut the lawn, I'd dump the grass clippings right into the beds as well. After two or three lawn cuttings, the grass under the mulch and clippings died and my beds were established. No tilling, no double digging, no time, and no back injury.

When I transplanted seedlings or planted new seeds, I simply cut out a plug in the bed and inserted them with some compost right into the hole. They did fine. And, except the rare blade of grass that stuck through, I had no weeds all season.

The paths between the beds were still covered with grass and the whole thing was quite enjoyable. I'd go out with my four year old to harvest and we'd sit in the grass, reach into the bed and pick beans. Just like that.

While double digging is recommended later, I plan to continue with the mulch, grass, compost approach and postpone the double digging for some time. If I end up with raised beds, it'll be mulch, grass and compost that gives them the lift.

I heard there's an organic farmer somewhere in CT with a reputation for never digging his land. I haven't met him yet but I know he and I would be close friends.