5 Steps to Get Ready to Garden! {Green in 365: Spring}

 

This is Day 60 of the Green in 365 series!

I have to say that I am very happy that March is here! February is the shortest month of the year, but for some reason it just seems to drag on and on. My kids are stir-crazy and tell me every day they can’t wait until it’s summer and the weather is nice!

And I couldn’t agree more. I’m tired of the cold weather, snow and cloudy days. I can’t wait to be able to send them outside to play! And I can’t wait to get started on my garden this year!

The past few years that I’ve had a garden, I’ve procrastinated on my planning, thinking that I had all the time in the world to plan and get ready because here in Northern Indiana, our frost-free date isn’t until mid-May. But May always sneaks up on me, and every year I wish that I had started my gardening planning earlier.  In fact, some people started planning their gardens back in January!

But, I was not one of those people, and if you weren’t either, don’t despair, I know that you can still have an abundant garden this season! But now is a great time to begin planning!  Here’s a checklist for getting started with planning your garden this year.

Click here to print this checklist

5 Steps to Plan Your Garden for the Beginning Gardener

• Make a list of which vegetables and herbs you would like to grow. Choose vegetables that you know your family likes and will eat a lot of, you may be surprised at how much even a small garden can produce!

• Consider your space, whether it’s raised beds or a garden plot, and make a rough plan of where you can plant everything that you would like to grow. You can refer to this list for help with companion planting.

• Check your seed stash from last year, if you have any left over, to see what seeds you have to use again this year, and make a lits of seeds you will need to buy.  Check out this great resource from Keeper of the Home on how to choose which seeds for your garden.

• With your list in hand, start checking seed catalogs and online sites, and decide what you are going to buy. If you don’t feel ready to buy everything right away, remember that some seeds need to be started and planted earlier, while others can wait until later in the summer, so place your order for early spring plants now, and you can always place another order for summer plants later.

Now is definitely the time to do this, because it can take a few weeks to get your seeds in the mail!  You can also check for seeds locally, and this is what I have done in the past, buying seeds from the farmer’s market. This year I’m getting my seeds from Baker’s Creek Heirloom Seeds, on the recommendation of so many others.

• If you’re planning to start your seeds indoors, get your supplies together so when your seeds arrive you will be all ready to start! And remember, not all seeds need to be started indoors. I have planted my seeds straight into the ground outside the last few years, and besides last year’s failed crop, I’ve had good success and will probably continue to do it that way. Diana at Spain in Iowa has a great post about starting seeds indoors (and check out her whole gardening series!)

More more great, basic information on gardening, my favorite book is The Backyard Homestead. It includes more than just vegetable and herb gardening, but I love how it gives basic information about growing different plants, offers layout ideas for small and raised bed gardens, and much more!

Have you started planning your garden this year? What are your favorite gardening resources?  

Find all the Green in 365 posts.

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