Winter is for Planning
The farm doesn't stop in the winter. We have animals to care for, projects to prepare us for the next season, and let's face it, does anyone with a Black Lab ever get a lazy day indoors?
We’re excited to add a new garden area next Spring. Stick season slows us down enough to give us time to dream about what we want to grow. Depending on your growing zone, planting season can sneak up quick. Dedicating time in December and early January to plan ensures you'll have plenty of time to buy seeds and prep for sowing indoors.
If you're a novice gardener or looking for new garden planning tips, hopefully there's something helpful for you in this blog.
The tools we use to plan
Graph paper and colored pencils: There are free and paid garden planner apps out there, but we prefer keeping it simple and old school. Graph paper creates a natural grid that can be used as 1 foot increments. Since most US seed planting instructions use inches and feet, it's easier to determine the number and types of plants you can fit in each plot. The variety of colors helps you keep a legend and reduce cluttered writing.
Companion planting resources: We practice companion planting where it makes sense for us. Whether it's to keep a pest away, maximize growing space, or avoid plants who hate each other, referencing companion planting recommendations helps us decide which plant friends to plant together.
Last year's garden plans and success: It's important to consider what was planted in each area last year for crop rotation and to move certain things that didn't do well. Potatoes for example shouldn't be planted in the same spot, but tomatoes should be if they did well.
Seed packet instructions: You need to know the spacing between plants and rows for each plant to decide how many you can fit. Other things to consider are the amount of water and sun needed, allowing you to group plants
Tips for planning the garden
Deciding what to plant where is a bit like solving a puzzle or playing Tetris. We like to use all of the info to group plants together, sort of a rough draft. Then, you start coloring in your plots. Here are some things to consider:
Where is your hottest spot? Put your heat loving plants where they'll get the peak of your sun and even help shade more delicate plants.
Can you add vertical space? Whether it is planting corn to create a pole to climb for beans or adding trellis and planting shade loving plants underneath, consider combining plants that grow in ways that support the other.
What do you want to look at? We're adding a new garden right outside our kitchen window this year. The flowers and herbs are positioned right outside the window to give us the best view.
Who are plant friends? Focus the most on companions that really help each other thrive and avoid enemies. For example, plant potatoes with marigolds and plant your tomatoes many rows away.
Will you want to add a second season crop? We have a decent growing season here in West Virginia, plenty of time to have two rounds of cold crops. If you're so lucky, think about the growth time for everything and what you can squeeze in-between your two crops.
Why not experiment? What works for one gardener may not work for you, or similar what doesn't may work for you. If you have the space, experiment a bit every year. Sow a few extra seeds, mix a pair they say don't dare…it's your garden, your rules.
Speaking of experimenting, the new garden plot we are putting in is near two massive black walnut trees. According to the Internet, they'll kill everything. Stay tuned for a future blog post about why we decided to experiment and picked this spot anyways.
Happy Planning!