Looking forward to warmer, longer days and the prospects of a lush, abundant garden? Now is the time to prepare for success when those days arrive.
As I write this, the seed catalogs have been arriving and I’ve been pouring over them with my usual keen interest. I’m looking over the catalogs while keeping in mind the seeds I have left from last season that are still viable, as well as seeds I collected from plants that performed well.
If you are just getting started with growing vegetables, here are 6 planning tips to help you have success with your 2021 garden. We’ve covered some of this previously in other articles such as Starting an Indoor Vegetable Garden in Your Apartment, but the information bears repeating. For veteran gardeners, this will hopefully help get you motivated and ready for growing season!
Select Your Garden Site
Depending on your living situation, you may have significant limitations. You may need to get creative in how you think about a garden. Regardless, key factors to consider are:- Light – Number one on the need list for your plants to thrive is light. Most vegetables are going to need 8 hours of direct light to thrive. Leafy greens and root vegetables can make do on 6 hours. Fruiting vegetables like tomatoes are going to do better with more- 10 hours being ideal.
- Water – On average veggies need 1 inch of water a week. So you need to be prepared to handle that. If you only have a few containers, a simple watering can may do. If you have lots of containers or beds, you may want to consider a drip irrigation system such as this one from Raindrip.
- Soil – if you are exclusively container gardening, this is a simple item to address. For new containers, you’ll need to fill them with a quality potting soil. If you have established containers, you may want to consider refreshing the soil in them, particularly if you had any disease or pest issues in the last season. For new beds, you’ll need to do work to prepare the soil. (we’ll have another article on that soon). If you are gardening in established raised or traditional beds, consider what improvements you may need to make to your soil before planting.
Decide What Type of Garden
Your site will dictate the type of garden you can have. If your garden site is a balcony, then you won’t be able to have raised beds or in-ground traditional beds. Varieties of containers are your only option. Or you may only have an indoor space in which case a hydroponic system with grow lights may be your best bet. So what will it be? Here are your main options.- Container gardens – any pot or other container that holds the soil and is not in direct contact with the ground
- Raised beds – beds of soil that are framed with wood, metal or other materials and sit on top of the ground
- In-ground beds – your traditional garden bed dug directly in the ground
- Hydroponic systems – systems that are designed to grow plants without soil. Typically used indoors with grow lights.
Decide What to Plant
The basic philosophy is grow what you like to eat. It doesn’t make any sense to grow broccoli if you won’t eat it! That said, the range of options and varieties of vegetables available can be overwhelming. You can organize your thinking and garden planning by looking at:- Cool-weather annual vegetables. Depending in your climate zone you can get going with these veggies in early spring and also plant again in late summer/early fall. These plants are colde hardy and thrive in cooler temperatures. Most of your root vegetables and greens are in this group.
- Warm-weather annual vegetables. You need to wait until after the last frost date for your are to plant these crops outdoors. You can get a head start by starting them indoors a few weeks before the last frost date. Tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, beans are all in this group
- Biennials. A few crops such as artichokes fall into this category. They spend the first year growing and then fruit the second year
- Perennials. This includes plants like asparagus that once established live and produce for many years.
Decide on Seeds or Nursery Plants
Many vegetables are quite easy to grow from seed. That said, it is often easier to buy established nursery plants than to start your own from seed.
Tomatoes are a great case in point. Every spring, garden centers are well stocked with six packs and singles of a range of reliable varieties of tomato plants. BUT…there are MANY more varieties available from seed that you are not likely to find at the garden center. So if you are intrigued by an unusual heirloom or other variety tomato, go for it.
The trade off is, you will need to start the seeds yourself and grow them up until you are ready to transplant them. You’ll need to plan for this so your plants are ready.
The variety of seeds (as well as the number of seed companies) can be overwhelming. A great resource to check out is the Cornell University Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners website which features reviews submitted by gardeners.Calendar your Planting
Your calendar is your best friend for planning your garden. You can use your old fashioned paper calendar or there are lots of garden planning apps available. Some are free some have a cost. Preparednessmama wrote a nice review of 5 popular ones.
The key date you will need to determine is the last frost date for your zone (unless you are growing everything indoors). You can plant your cool weather crops weeks before this date. But your warm weather crops need to wait until after this date.
If want to start some of your warm weather crops from seed indoors, you need to work backwards from the last frost date 4-6 weeks, depending on the vegetable. Tomatoes sprout and get up to size in about 4 weeks. Other plants may take more or less time.Stage your Plantings
To ensure you have a steady supply of fresh vegetables, you can stage your plantings. For example, if you want to keep yourself in fresh lettuce you could stage planting groups as follows:
Group 1 – plant March 1, harvest beginning April 9
Group 2 – plant March 8, harvest beginning April 16
Group 3 – plant March 15, harvest beginning April 23
Group 4 – plant March 22, harvest beginning April 30
Final Thoughts
Planning your garden is nearly as much fun as planting and growing it. Especially during the winter months when its cold and dreary outside. Taking time now to think about and prepare for your garden will help ensure your success. Have fun and happy growing!