Planning your garden is seriously one of the best parts of growing your own produce. Well…watching everything come up and mature is pretty fun too. Now that I think about it, harvesting and eating something you have grown from seed is AMAZING! Ok…you get the picture, I love it all, but planning is an important part that you want to spend a little time on.

Two years ago, after we moved my raised beds to a better/sunnier location, I grabbed a pretty red notebook I had here and sketched out a plan. Sometimes I plan it all in advance, but usually it’s a bit of a plan as I go type method. I know what sort of things I want to plant and grow and start from there. I started my garden journal really as a way to keep track of dates when I planted and what did well…and what didn’t.

If you are just starting out, or even an experienced gardener, unless you have a steel trap memory, writing things down is never a bad idea. 😉 I am sure I am not the only gardener who get a bit “carried away” shall we call it, when it comes to things like buying seeds and transplants? I can’t tell you how many times I have come home with transplants and NO idea where I am going to put them, or if they will even fit in my garden! It’s like I lose all sense of reality…there must be a name for this…Gardener’s Fog? It’s not practical and often a waste of money, so putting a little time into planning..and sticking with it…is a really good idea. 🙂

Some things to think about when planning your garden…

1. Space Obviously you are going to have to work with whatever space you have. Wether you have a large back 40, a few raised beds, or plans to do some container gardening, each of us only have so much space and need to work with it. Pay attention to the seed packets or information with the transplants on how much space they need. Overcrowding can become a big issue and may slow down some growth and production. After you have planted a garden once, you will also quickly see how much food even a small space can produce and will want to plan accordingly.

2. What you Like to Eat This is another big one. I typically only grow things that I know my family likes and we will eat. It pains me to have to throw things out and it’s a waste of space in your garden if you’re growing something you don’t really care for. I’d like to try to grow radishes some year, but we don’t really eat them, so I don’t want to take the space to just experiment. My family loves and eats a lot of lettuce, spinach, peas, beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, kale, etc. That is what I grow. Plus, if you’re trying to get your kids interested in gardening, plant things they like and make sure they are part of the process, especially the picking and eating.

3. Succession Planting This is honestly another advantage to keeping a garden journal, keeping track of when you plant your seeds, so that you can plant another row or two a few weeks later. I do this with lettuce, spinach, peas and beans. It keeps you in produce throughout the summer, rather than just having a crop all come at once and be done. Plus, crops like peas are early producers, so after they are past their prime and I’m done picking, I pull them out and plant another crop.

4. Placement There are a few things to consider when planning what to plant where in your garden. I like planting my succession crops like lettuce and peas along the edges of my beds so it’s easy to reach and replant. You also want to consider what crops may grow tall and where you should put those so they don’t block the sun from other plants.

A few other things to think about when planning your garden…

* Sun. Most gardens need 6-8 hours of full sun to do well. I have lots of experience in trying to grow vegetables in a shady section of my yard. It didn’t go well. Vegetable gardens need the sun.

* Soil. Make sure your soil is good and add compost each year. You can check back and read getting your soil ready as it really is the most important thing you can do for your garden.

*Buy your seeds and transplants from a reputable green house/market/dealer. If you’re going to go to all the work in planning and planting a garden, you want it to be successful. Buying from a local greenhouse and knowing where your plants come from and that your seeds come from certified seed growers is important. The support they can also provide with advice and answering questions is also invaluable.

So use your garden journal to keep track of what you planted where, and your seed variety, so you’ll know what worked for you and what you liked. Elspeth also mentioned the other night on our Facebook Live to keep track of the weather in your garden journal. Last year we had a drought and while I remember it now, looking back on my journal in a few years it will be good to have weather related notes for reflection and possible understanding.

Do a rough sketch like I do, or get technical and specific with graph paper or even a spreadsheet or app, but keeping track will help you to learn and be successful as a gardener. Plus, it’s fun! 😉

*Grow with Me and Wile’s Lake Farm Market series is sponsored by Wile’s Lake Farm Market where they carry seeds from Halifax Seed, Yonder Hill Farm, Suttons and more and their knowledgeable staff are happy to answer any questions you might have around planning your garden.