Are You Planning Your Garden Yet?

It’s still winter, and cold in many parts of the country, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be getting your garden ready to go. Not that you want to start planting in most areas yet, although some people do like to get an early start indoors.

This is a great time to figure out what you want to grow and figure out when you need to plant everything. Some seeds can be started earlier than others. How early you should start depends on where you live, but an early indoor start can nicely extend your growing season. It’s nice being able to avoid frost or freezes while getting your garden growing.

Check your local library for gardening books specific to your area. That will help you to figure out what you should be trying to grow and when to start. It’s pretty variable by region.

Square Foot Gardening is very popular, and a great way to keep your planning of your garden space under control. We do something similar, although much of our garden space is limited to where our landlord’s decorative plants died in a freeze a couple years back, and goes along the border. But the principle is in there.

It’s also smart to look up companion plants and plants that don’t get along so well. Tomatoes and marigolds are classic companion plants, for example. The right companion can keep pests away or fix more nitrogen in the soil for another plant. There are plenty of online companion planting resources too.

Your compost bin or pile can be used pretty much anytime. If it gets too cold for composting to happen, don’t worry. It will start up again as the weather warms. You can add some soil and/or compost starter when things warm up enough if you want to kick start things. If you’ve been neglecting it, get moving again.

It’s not too early to get things moving right now. The sooner you get things started, the sooner you can enjoy home grown produce.