My “To-Do” list this week includes Planning my garden.
In years past I did not plan this early and certainly had lots of produce. At that time I planted twice in a season: cool season varieties and warm season varieties. Generally-speaking, cool season varieties go in during late spring before the average last frost date. The warm season varieties go in following the average last frost date. That’s a good plan for beginners.
Now, I squeeze in as many plantings as I can. I have produce extra early and extra late, and lots in between to freeze. My garden plan allows for the following 5 planting seasons (plus container gardening)
- extra-early
- early
- main season
- fall
- winter
My extra-early beds will finish producing in early July, and I will then sow seeds for fall harvest. My early beds will finish by Aug/Sept, and I will plant winter/overwintering veggies there. My plan helps me make sure I have enough space for everything when and where I want to plant it.
A garden plan also helps me keep a handle on seed expenditures. I am sure you know the delirium that takes over when standing in front of the seed packets at the store or when browsing the seed catalogs……it’s easy to buy way too much. My plan tells me exactly what I will need. I also know to buy larger quantities of things like spinach and kale, which are planted on the extra-early, early, fall and winter dates.
Now that I have my plan finalized, it’s time to make my seed list! That information is coming soon!
