How to Plan Out Your Garden for the YEAR!
Here we are in the middle of August, and I find this is a great opportunity to plan out my garden for THE WHOLE YEAR. It is ridiculously hot here in the south, and many things have wilted in the summer heat, so this is a good time to really start from scratch. But regardless of wherever it is you live, you can pick any point in the year and make that your start and end to your yearly garden. You can plan fall to fall, spring to spring, spring to fall and take winter off… whatever you want! Let me give you some tips and guidance on how to go about this process, and you will be so grateful to have everything planned out and ready to implement!
Be sure to watch my YouTube videos that go into a lot more detail on this process. I will have Part 1 up on the first week and Part 2 up the following week.
Step 1: Get your materials together and set aside a chunk of time.
When I am planning my yearly garden, there are several items I like to have on hand. I keep a list of all of my seeds in a spreadsheet, so I use that to help decide what I will be growing. I tend to buy seeds or plants throughout the year, and so I know come August what I am interested in growing the next year. Also nearby are my favorite gardening books and guides, my planner from last year and my new one for this year, some scratch paper to makes notes on, and a whiteboard and markers. See my YouTube video here showcasing my favorite gardening books and resources.
Also realize that this process can take a bit of time. Now that I have a system in place, it will take me about an hour to plan everything out. However, if this is your first time doing this, it make take a lot longer. Find a good chunk of time during the day that you can sit down and knock this out, and you will thank yourself later.
Step 2: Figure out your gardening goals. What you are hoping to accomplish?
What are you hoping to do with your garden? Are you trying to grow food for your family? What about selling food to restaurants or at a farmer’s market? Are you wanting to grow cut flowers for decorating your home, or to sell to local florists? Are you hoping to attract beneficial insects or local wildlife? Maybe you want to grow plants to use for making homemade products like soaps, oils, etc? Do you just want your garden space to look pretty? There are so many reasons to garden, so you want to really think about YOUR WHY.
Step 3: Make a master list of plants you will be utilizing and growing.
Maybe you have plants or seeds already, or you are starting from scratch, but you want to make a master list of everything you are interested in growing throughout the year. This should include annuals like vegetables and herbs, perennials like flowers and fruit, and everything in-between. Once you have a master list, separate everything into your growing seasons: fall, winter, spring, summer. It is important that you know your growing zone and how long your growing seasons are.
Step 4: Examine your space.
Take a look at your gardening space, and envision how you want your garden to look throughout the year. Make notes on how much room you have, and where you will be putting certain things. The picture above shows my pollinator bed. I have some plants already in place, but a lot of room left to add more in the fall and spring. I imagine this space to be overgrown with so many flowers attracting all the bees and butterflies… A beautiful hum of life.
Step 5: Start with your first growing season and start planning where everything will go.
For me, the gardening year begins in fall. Out of my master list, I take my fall list of plants, and I determine where I will be planting everything. This will include seasonal vegetables, strawberries that will grow into the spring and summer, and cut flowers and wildflowers that will be planted now and will bloom in the spring. You need to keep in mind how long something will grow so that you know when you will have that space freed up in the future.
One thing you will need to keep in mind is how you will pair things together, especially in your vegetable garden area. Certain vegetables pair well with each other; this process is called companion planting. Companion planting has multiple benefits:
- Maximizes space
- Reduces disease and pest issues
- Certain plants boost others’ growth and yield
Numerous types of flowers and herbs make excellent companion plants. Remember this when planning out your space; you may want to insert a companion plant here and there to protect your crop. I always plant marigolds around my strawberries. The perfume of the flowers repels many pests that are attracted to the fruit. I have also planted yarrow which attracts pollinators, lettuce and other greens which grow well in the same conditions, and I plan on using borage this year for all of the reasons above.
When you are planning out where everything will go, keep in mind how much you will be using of each plant. This is especially important for your edibles. I have definitely over- and under-planted numerous crops before. It’s a shame when you don’t have enough of something delicious, or you have too much of something and are practically begging your neighbors to take it off your hands. It is pretty easy to search how many plants would be a good amount for your goal, or the average yield of a plant.
For instance, lettuce grows quickly and keeps on growing after harvesting until it warms up in late spring. You could eat a salad a week on a few plants; for myself and my husband I plant 6-8 square feet of different types of lettuce and greens. However, broccoli only makes one large crown and then smaller off-shoots and then it is done. You may want to think about succession planting these types of vegetables in order to maximize your growing season. You may want a couple of crowns of broccoli at a time to feed your family, but you don’t need 20 all at once. With succession planting you start a few plants at a certain date, and then start more later one, and so on. Now you will have broccoli peaking for several weeks instead of all together.
Step 6: Use your whiteboard to draw out your beds and organize your plants.
I love using a whiteboard because it is so easy to erase and make changes. I will draw out each bed and where everything will be planted. Then I will either take a picture of it or transfer the final decision to a piece of paper. Here are my beds for this coming season:
Once everything is planted and growing, I will start thinking about the upcoming seasons. I already know what I will be planting into the winter and spring and summer, but I will be figuring out WHERE everything will go after a while. I like to see how everything goes in case some things don’t grow as I hope. This is where the idea of crop rotation comes into play. You don’t want to plant the same vegetables in the same spot year after year. Certain crops also grow well or poorly after other ones. You need to keep this in mind when planning out your garden for the year.
Step 7: Plan out a master calendar and utilize a planner.
Once I have a plan of where everything will go, it also helps to write down WHEN I will be completing my tasks. I have a master calendar of planting, and I transfer each task to a planner. My planner also serves as a journal. I write down when I actually perform each planting or task on the particular day, and I also take notes throughout the growing season on how everything is doing. This is extremely helpful for future years. Trust me, you won’t remember every little detail. It helps to look back at notes from previous growing seasons to help you make decisions for your upcoming year.
Woohoo that is it! Now you are ready to get planting! I hope that was helpful and gave you some tips and things to think about. Be sure to check out my YouTube videos; there will be two parts because they are rather long. They go into a LOT more detail on my process, so you won’t want to miss it. Also check out my blog post on prepping you vegetables beds for planting as you get started this fall!
Happy gardening, y’all!
Dani