In this video I take you out to my daughter’s place in New Jersey and show you how I plant three must-grow cool weather crops first—potatoes, onions, and peas—in a single 4x8 raised bed. The goal is simple: maximize space and production without making it complicated. I walk you through the layout based on where the sun comes from, so you don’t shade out smaller crops. That’s why I put the onions on the south side, potatoes on the north side, and then run a row of peas right down the middle. I also cover the cheapest way to fill raised beds: order garden soil and compost from a local landscape company instead of buying bags. You’re not trying to create perfect soil on day one—just make sure the top 6 inches are good enough for seeds and roots, and then you improve it over time with amendments, mulch, and feeding. Since potatoes are heavy feeders, I mix in an organic granular fertilizer and later, when the green growth breaks through, I switch to water-soluble fertilizer. I show my spacing (I plant a bit closer than “standard”), planting depths for each crop, and why determinant potatoes don’t need mounding like some people think.