While I didn’t get my act together last fall for a prolific winter garden, I did deep dive into research for the upcoming year. Garden Season 2023 has a resolution of becoming a year round garden and I was determined to actually make this happen. I decided I needed to start with an early spring garden by indoor and greenhouse sowing starting in February. In order to do this, I needed to research how exactly I was going to do this successfully.
Good Intentions
If you’re like me and you had all the good intentions of starting in the fall for a winter / year-round garden, don’t beat yourself up. Gardening is a process and sometimes things don’t go as planned. I made it a goal to move forward and start now (February) on what I can do to prepare my soil, which seeds I can start, how I would go about that. A lot of this requires reading, research, and list making to focus my efforts moving forward. Like me, you can consider why you were unable to winter garden this year and make a plan to address those factors in the future. For me, back to school season is hectic and still really warm outside. Next up are the holidays which are even more time consuming. Maybe you can make small changes such as reorganizing your schedule or setting more realistic goals. Remember that every year is a new opportunity to get back on track and achieve your gardening goals. For me personally, I decided that I was going to carve out one hour each weekend day and 30 minutes each week day during these times when my schedule seems scrunched, to tackle things in bite sized pieces in order to be more successful.
Reflection and Reading
Reflecting on past gardening seasons and reading up on best practices can help you prepare for the spring gardening season. This allows you to learn from your past experiences and make improvements, as well as stay updated on the latest techniques and products available. Additionally, it can also give you a head start on planning and organizing your garden so that you can hit the ground running when spring arrives.
This is probably my favorite thing to do in winter when things in the garden have slowed down is to read and research. Each year for Christmas I have a list of garden books on my wish list and ones I enjoy rechecking out of the library. I like to follow the steps below during the winter in order to organize and educate myself, to make the upcoming seasons as easy on myself as possible.
Planning Ahead
To plan ahead for the next garden season, you can follow these steps:
- Reflect on the past season: Think about what worked well and what didn’t in your garden this year. Take note of any issues you encountered and how you can avoid them in the future. I like to make mock ups of my garden spaces in Canva to help me keep track of crop rotation and what didn’t work as well last year…or what did!
- Research: Read up on gardening techniques, new plants and products that are available, and any changes in the local climate and pests. I love hitting up my local library for books on gardening for new techniques, or simply inspiration. I have been enjoying gardening books on square foot and vertical gardening, no till methods, companion planting, and how to best reintroduce nutrients into my soil. This year I have chickens so I want to make the most out of their manure!
- Make a plan: Decide what you want to grow, where you want to plant, and how much space you need for each plant. Make a list of the seeds and supplies you will need to get started. I really enjoy using Canva to create a template of my garden spaces and fill them in with graphics of the veggies and herbs I want to grow there.
- Prepare the soil: Fall and Winter is a great time to add organic matter and amend the soil to get it ready for spring planting. I really enjoy the ‘chop and drop’ method for helping my soil over the cold months when I am not gardening as much. I like to chop my died back veggie stems and leaves at the soil level and leave them there to then later cover with compost and more soil. This gives nutrients back to the soil all winter long so your beds are nutrient dense by spring.
- Organize your space: Clean up and reorganize your garden tools and supplies so that you are ready to start gardening as soon as the weather permits. It’s always good to re-evaluate how you want to grow your garden and what tools you will need. You also want to make sure your tools are in good working order before the season comes.
- Order seeds and supplies: Order your seeds and supplies early to ensure that you have everything you need when spring arrives. Sometimes during the height of the seed buying and planting season it can take 2-3 weeks or more for your seeds to arrive due to high demand. You can always buy in person but you will likely pay higher prices and it can also be a game of hit and miss on what is available that you are looking for. When you order online, you are supporting small businesses with a focus on biodiversity and there is a ton more variety! I love experimenting and introducing new varieties of veggies into my garden other than the ‘regular stuff’ found in grocery stores.
By taking these steps, you can prepare your garden space for the next growing season and ensure that you have a productive and enjoyable gardening experience. Also, if you are like me and you are craving the planting and growing season, reading about it and gaining inspiration can be a great way to hold you over until it’s time to plant again, while still benefiting your garden.
Happy Planning!