As has been suggested you can get a lot more into raised beds than what you've listed. I have 3 beds, 4x12 each (20" tall) and get a LOT out of them (I do 15-20 'maters in separate containers). As an example, half of one bed is dedicated to herbs (which are permanent residents due to being perennial here except basil) and the other half to peppers (this summer...it was broccoli/cauliflower/collards last fall/winter)... in this bed we have a 1x4 area of oregano, 2 rosemary, 2 sage, 3 thyme, and 4 basil (which is more than enough herbs for us and to give away)...then I've got 12 peppers in the other end of the bed, all spaced about 15" apart in a grid...and there's still a 2' wide gap in the middle where I had a couple of row of garlic. In another bed, I've got 5 squash/zucchini in half a bed and suspect they'll take up all that room plus some more if the SVB don't get 'em...the ohter half of this bed had about 175-200 garlic until June 1, now it's empty and awaiting fall crops. Check out the square foot gardening book (Mel Bartholomew) for some ideas...or just do like I did and experiment for a couple of years until you get it figured out. And like nc-crn mentioned, the closer you plant, the more vigilent you'll have to be re: pests/disease.

Carolyn - I'm seriously going to use upside down tomato cages for my squash next year. Also, i'll probably add more rings to the cage - by welding some galvanized wire to it. That'll make them work better for me...I just have to remember to drink my milk after the welding is done. Please tell me the secret to the black beauty variety...I must have missed something.. EG

I planning a redo on my garden space. I'm leaving 2' between most beds, but I am leaving a 3' path through the center so that I can get a wheel barrel in. The most important thing is that it is comfortable to you. My beds are only 3' wide because 4' is a bit of a stretch for me and 3' is much more comfortable. Good gardening, Mary

Nothing stops wild morning glories. Cardboard and decomposed granite is on my list for the paths. Protecting against horned rats wearing tiaras sporting an entitlement complex (deer) is Number one priority here. Wild boars are becoming a nuisance and let us not leave the coons off that list.. Thankyou for the compliments. The design was determined by the free materials and site. I am still not done. No doors and I need to raise the fence level(deer height) with some left over conduit that I have. I squished it between 2 trees to the west and East. I would like it bigger now. If I would do it over. I would do the beds a bit over 4 feet, useing a bent PVC pipe and frost cover as the determining factor . Where the Configuration looks good Then That is the size of the bed. I would also like a garden where the beds are simple rows. I maxed out the growing square footage and I came up with a complex bed shape. That made for a complex frost cloth system. A lot of irregular flopping cloth in the wind. Having gone through the process now from start to finnish, I would veer for the simple over the cramped. I would have picked a different spot for a larger plot. I have acreage, so picking a different spot was possible. I picked this spot because it was close to the water supply, close to a road for dirt deliveries and close to the kitchen. The road, trees and rock garden kept the size to about 22 X 20. OH it is not square because of the constraints. The things that make it visually appealing are also its defects. I am a furniture designer/builder/restorer so I have a tendency to design things and sometimes over build, never quite finishing if it is for me.