Garden Planning: 6 Things You Need To Plan to Have a Great Year!
Excited for the new growing season? But feeling overwhelmed? Learn what you need to do to get your garden planning done early enough so you’ll have success.
The start of the new year is an exciting time. Resolutions are being made, new habits are being formed and you’re likely recovering from a busy holiday season with lots of food, socializing and rushing around.
The new year is also when your thoughts might be turning to your garden. Right now in winter its either covered in snow or is wet and soggy from too much rain.
You likely are not doing much in the garden right now.
When the weather is nasty outside you can cozy up on the couch with a hot beverage, a notepad and pen or laptop or tablet. And start planning away!
However you might feel a bit overwhelmed, especially if this is the first time you’re planning your garden or homestead. There’s a lot to think about!
But if you break it down into manageable categories and plan out the entire year, you’ll know what to do and feel confident that everything will work out.
Make Your Vegetable Garden Plan
Usually I get my seed catalogue/guide from West Coast Seeds in the mail around Christmas break. Here is what I do to plan out my vegetable garden:
- choose what vegetables I want to grow next spring, summer and fall – I use the growing guides in my catalogue to checkmark beside those veggies I will grow
- check what seeds I still have and if they are still viable (seed packets should have a date showing the age of the seeds) – I add a $ beside those veggies in the growing guide I need to purchase
- choose the varieties from the catalogue I want to purchase if I need more seeds
- either order them online or visit my local nursery to purchase them. Tip: go early as nurseries often have limited stock which gets bought up quickly once spring arrives
- review the spacing requirements for each vegetable
- look at last year’s garden plan and rotate crops according to it
- mark down what will be planted where
- review the growing guides in the seed catalogue/guide, especially for the important dates
- make notes in a spare wall calendar, day planner or online calendar app of when to seed in the greenhouse, direct seed in the garden and transplant so I don’t miss any crucial dates
For more in depth info see how I plan my vegetable garden.
Plan Out Any Hardscaping Additions and Improvements
At the beginning of 2017 I bit the bullet and started building a new compost bin. That then led to building new raised vegetable beds.
Then in summer I renewed the roof of my greenhouse to deal with rainwater leaking issues.
These all were improvements that I spent a bit of time in winter planning out.
So what are you going to build once the weather improves and you can start work again in the garden? It could be a brand new addition to the garden or just restoring/improving what is already there.
- compost bins
- raised vegetable garden beds
- new planting beds to replace lawn
- walkways for access
- pergolas, arbours and trellises for climbing plants
- fences to keep out deer if these are a problem in your area
- greenhouse
- walls
- stairs
- ponds and other water features
- rainwater harvesting
And many more!
This type of garden planning will involve getting some inspiration online or in books or magazines. A great way to spend an afternoon with a cup of coffee or tea inside where it is warm and dry!
If you’re doing-it-yourself, spend some time sketching ideas out on paper or in a 3D drawing program such as Sketchup or TinkerCad. You want to figure out dimensions and other criteria so that you get the design right before you start building anything.
And make sure the rest of the family agrees – you might have to do some selling of your idea to them!
If you’re not going to do the work yourself, start asking around to find someone that you can hire. Landscape designers are usually not as busy in winter but get booked up quickly in early spring. You’ll still need to have an idea on paper of what you want to show the professional, so make sure you’re prepared.
You might also consider buying kits for greenhouses, compost bins and raised beds. These are great if you don’t want to design them yourself but don’t mind putting them together.
Again do some research into what is available and then purchase it before the spring. In spring some vendors run out of a product and you’ll have to wait, which is tough if you’re raring to go on the first warm day.
Need a garden planning worksheet to plan out your garden?
Just one of the many cheatsheets, worksheets, checklists and guides in the Homegrown Resources Library.