[js2]

> There's something about planning, planting, and then caring for a garden that appeals to my engineer brain.

Boy you sound like someone who would really enjoy square foot gardening. I doubt I'm telling you anything you don't know, but here's a link for those unfamiliar:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_foot_gardening

[Pfhreak]

I do my own take on this in my containers. It's less rigidly defined, but it's the same basic idea.