When planning the layout of a garden, there are so many factors to consider: shaded areas, companion plants, square foot efficiency, southern light exposure, plant height, root depth, etc. The list is exhaustless. Last year I didn't give much thought to where the vegetables were put into the soil, or the soil itself for that matter. The more I research, the more I realize how lucky I am that anything grew at all!
I am using a great resource this year: A digital garden planner. There are many of them out there online but my favorite one is GrowVeg.com. GrowVeg is super user friendly and free for a one month trial. Since I have about 5 different email addresses, it was easy for me to make the most of my time with screen shots and changing my email associated with the account. (I eventually did subscribe however, once I determined I liked it). I like it because I can set my growing zone and garden size. They have a very long list of different vegetables listed on their site, and when I choose them it automatically blocks out how much room that plant needs in the garden. Lastly, once I have tailored my garden a million times, it gives me a list of all the plants I selected as well as important information such as their planting date, growing period and expected harvest.