Have you ever wondered how to more effectively and efficiently plan your backyard garden? Are you overwhelmed and need a place to start? These five simple steps can give you that starting place.
A garden journal can help you plan and implement your ideal garden. I believe that no matter where you live or how much gardening experience you have, if you want to garden…you can!
GARDEINING IS A LABOR OF LOVE
Planning, planting, daily maintenance, harvesting, preserving. Gardening is for those of us that thrive on producing and creating. Gardeners don’t shy away from hard work.
But nothing compares to biting into a ripe tomato fresh from vine. Or a handful of crisp snap peas still warm from the summer sun. The fruits of our labor are always well worth the effort.
Being able to cook delicious food with fresh herbs and homegrown ingredients that nourish our bodies is priceless.
I want to help you successfully plan the ideal garden for you. I will show you five simple steps to plan the ideal garden for you, no matter where you live or how experienced of a gardener you are.
Through these five steps, I will also show you a helpful way to organize your thoughts, ideas, important dates and information using your own customized garden journal.
Timing is everything in gardening. So start preparing for your garden this winter to help bring your dream garden to life!
It looks like the arctic where many of us live right now. In fact, it is -11 degrees out right now with a cumulative foot of snow.
Call me crazy, but I actually do love snow and all that winter offers.
There are few sights more beautiful and peaceful than a fresh blanket of snow. I love the cozy feeling of being snugged up inside on days like today. Making warming soup and homemade bread for my family. Being home together is my favorite.
Winter is also a great time to cozy up by the fire with a hot drink and a fresh new journal ready to be filled with garden dreams and ideas!
WHY SHOULD I START PLANNING MY GARDEN THIS WINTER?
- Waiting until spring could limit the selection of seeds available.
- If you are planning on starting seeds indoors, they will need to be planted between 4-12 weeks before your last frost date, depending on the plant.
- It is FUN! You still get to garden in the cold winter months!
- Making a plan helps you stay organized and accomplish more in less time. You will be able to tentatively schedule when you will complete each project and it will help you be more prepared and efficient.
ANYONE ANYWHERE CAN GARDEN
Our family loves gardening. We hope to someday have some acreage, but currently we live in a subdivision. Despite the limited land we have, we still manage to have plenty of garden space. We just have to be creative!
In our small half acre neighborhood lot ,we grow tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, kohlrabi, cucumbers, herbs, pumpkins, garlic, raspberries, strawberries, lettuce, rhubarb, carrots, beans and peas.
Creating a yearly garden journal has been something that has really helped keep me stay organized and on track for a successful year of gardening. Not to mention it is super fun!
Journaling can be not only enjoyable, but also cathartic and productive. Everyone journals differently and has their own spin on how to make it work for them.
I will walk you through how I set up my yearly garden journal and show you how I use it to plan my garden each year. Using a gardening journal is the backbone of my method of garden planning.
I will walk you through five simple steps for planning your backyard garden this winter, and show you how I use a journal as an essential part of the process.
PLANNING YOUR GARDEN
Here are five simple steps to take this winter to set up your ideal backyard garden:
- Set up a garden journal. I believe this is KEY! This journal will continue to serve as a place to record planting dates, lists, and information over the next year.
- Brainstorm your ideal garden. Think about everything you could ever want…vegetables, herbs, fruits, flowers, garden art, outdoor areas, new projects, etc.
- Sketch out a birds eye view of your garden. Roughly determine what you plan to grow and where you plan to grow it.
- Purchase your seeds.
- Schedule seed starting dates and set up indoor growing area (if you plan on starting seeds yourself).
HOW I PLAN MY GARDEN IN THE WINTER
1. SET UP GARDEN JOURNAL
I like to get a new fresh journal every winter to use for my yearly garden journal. There are journals made specifically for gardening, however I like to use a blank journal and customize it myself.
I always set up a table of contents in the front. I record the title and page number of every entry for future reference.
This has been a game changer for me. Having a table of contents really makes my journal feel organized and purposeful. It also helps when using past journals for reference when planning future gardens.
2. BRAINSTORM IDEAL GARDEN
My first journal entry is a list of everything I want for my garden this year. I mean EVERYTHING! I think big here! Of course, I’m sure I may not actually achieve every single last thing on this list, but having it all written down gives me a place to refer to when making my next gardening steps.
When brainstorm my ideal garden, I think about…
- What vegetables do I want to grow? Fruits? Herbs?
- What have I struggled with that I want to try again?
- How much time do I want to spend tending my garden?
- What have I never grown that I want to try this year?
- Will I be adding any more gardens? Raised beds?
- Do I want to add any new outdoor areas? Fencing? Landscaping?
- Are they any perennials I want to add? Pots? Window boxes?
- Will I be growing crops only in the spring and summer? Do I want to build cold frames? Or a greenhouse?
- Do I want to produce more quantity this year? How do I plan to do that?
- What fruits and vegetables does my family like to eat in the fall and winter? Am I planning on preserving any crops?
3. SKETCH GARDEN
After I brainstorm, I sketch out my garden area. I have many different garden areas around our backyard, so I sketch out a birds eye view of my entire back yard.
I sketch it out in my journal and also on butcher paper to keep taped up on the wall in the gardening area of my pole barn. Just get down a rough sketch. This doesn’t need to be fancy!
I number each garden area and on the next page in my journal I write what I plan on growing in each area. Remember to check the sun in each area as you determine what to plant in each garden. You will want to make sure each plant is receiving the right about of sunlight.
4. PURCHASE SEEDS
I order my seeds as early as possible. Typically in January/February. By this point I have started to receive the seed catalogs in the mail and have had a chance to peruse a bit.
However, try not to get lost in the rabbit hole of seeds! There are so many beautiful varieties! The beautiful images and the descriptions will make you want them ALL! I have a tendency to look at a seed catalog and want to buy all the things! So, I suggest looking back at the list in your journal when purchasing so you don’t overdo it!
Choosing seeds can be a bit overwhelming. Here are three things to keep in mind when purchasing your seeds:
There are three categories of seeds:
Heirloom – Heirloom seeds are a variety of seeds that have been around for 50+ years. These seeds often have interesting historical stories of origin. Heirloom seeds are open pollinated, which means that plants have only been exposed to natural pollination. Also, if you save seeds from your plants, you will want to choose heirloom seeds as they will produce seeds true to their type the following year. I typically choose to purchase heirloom seeds.
Hybrid – Hybrid seeds are not to be confused with GMO seeds. They are crossed on purpose for a better variety by crossing plants with desirable qualities. Seeds from a hybrid plant can not be saved.
GMO (Genetically Modified)– GMO seeds are created in a lab. Since we do not know a lot about GMO, and some data suggests there could be some health disadvantages to them. I do not use GMO seeds.
(source Old Fashioned on Purpose podcast episode S3 E3)
Choose plants that grow well in your zone.
- When looking at seed catalogs or online seed stores, check the plant variety to see if they grow in your zone.
- Click here to find your zone. I live in mid-Michigan, so I am in growing zone 6.
Check the planting dates
- Make sure you have time to start seeds if needed. Depending on the plant, you may need to start seeds indoors if your zone does not have a long enough growing season.
- Some plants need between 4-12 weeks to be started indoors, depending on the variety.
- You will need your last frost date to determine the dates that you need to start the seeds. You can also find your last frost date here. My last frost date falls around May 20 . I typically plant on Memorial Day weekend each year just to play it safe.
- Tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are just a few plants that typically need to be started indoors due to the length of their growing season.
- If you are not interest in starting from seed, you can always purchase seedlings at your local garden store.
I order my seeds mostly from burpee.com and trueleafmarket.com (I am not an affiliate of either, I just like their product). Both companies also have a wealth of information about each plant on their website that will really help with seed starting, planting, and maintenance.
PLAN SEED STARTING DATES
After I purchase and receive all my seeds, I sort the packets into two piles: Start Indoors and Direct Sow.
1. Start Indoors – The plants that I need to start indoors, I then sort into piles based on when they need to be started. Every packet has a range of weeks in which they should be started indoors based on the last frost date for your area.
Example: The tomato seed packet says they should be started indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost date. My zone’s last frost date is around May 9. To ensure my seedlings don’t get nipped by frost, I tend to wait a few more weeks until Memorial Day weekend. So, I count back 6-8 week from when I plan to plant my garden and schedule the date to start my seeds indoors.
This is a Google Doc I created for organizing seed starting dates this year.
I also write this information into my journal to keep all information in one place. Just to ensure I started each seed on time, I added each of these dates to my personal calendar.
2. Direct Sow – The seeds that I will directly sow into the ground will be put aside until the end of May when we plant our garden.
Blog post on the process of starting seeds indoors coming soon….
USING YOUR JOURNAL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
After the winter planning process, I have a good start in my journal. I will continue to write in my journal daily or weekly, depending on the season and what is going on in the garden.
Current Table of Contents:
pgs. 1-2 Dream Garden Brainstorm
pgs. 3-4 Garden Sketch
pg. 5 Garden Planting Plan
Pgs. 6-8 2021 Seed Starting Dates
Throughout the year I write about:
- information on different plants with the seed start/direct sow dates
- mistakes and solutions to try next time
- plans for projects
- notes about planting and maintaining different crops
- notes from gardening books or podcasts
- information on new gardening methods
- tips and tricks I’ve tried or learned
- gardening quotes and inspiration
I hope this post has inspired you to dream about your ideal garden and get a plan in place to help you have a successful year!
Audrey Hepburn said that planting a garden is believing in tomorrow. After the year we have all had, nothing rings more true.
Homegrown food nourishes the body. Growing your own food nourishes the soul. Let’s believe in tomorrow and enjoy today. Happy planning and planting!
Additional Resources:
- Old Fashioned on Purpose – Blog and Podcasts by Jill Winger
- Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardeners Handbook – by Kujawski and Kujawski
- Grow Your Self – Podcast by Nicole Burke
- Pioneering Today – Podcast by Melissa K. Norris
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