Hello planty friends!
Spring is here!
The days are getting longer, and it’s time to start your garden.
In this article, I’ll show you how to start, what you should consider, and give you some great ideas to try in your garden this summer.
Here’s the main steps:
- Make a garden calendar
- Evaluate your space
- Buy seeds
- Make a plan
Q. Find your hardiness zone
A. This will tell you what plants will grow best in your environment.
https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/
Next, search for a garden calendar + your zone to view your general planting schedule. Mine looks like this:
This will tell you when to start seeds indoors, plant or transplant outdoors, harvest, and give you a general idea of your growing seasons.
I like to think of it as three cycles:
First and last are things like salad vegetables (spinach, lettuce, kale), peas broccoli, and root items. These plants appreciate the cooler days of spring and early fall.
The middle growing season will be all the classic vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, squash, etc.).
Next, look up the first and last frost dates for your area: https://www.almanac.com/gardening/frostdates
This will tell you exactly what dates you can base your garden on. You will refer to these key dates when planting your seeds.
A seed packet will say something like, “sow outside 2 weeks after last frost date”. You can also find this info in a farmer’s almanac along with a lot of other great information for gardeners.
A seed packet will say something like, “sow outside 2 weeks after last frost date”. You can also find this info in a farmer’s almanac along with a lot of other great information for gardeners. I love keeping my farmer’s almanac in my bathroom, and flipping through it when nature calls. There’s tons of interesting articles, from general weather predictions, to lunar events, to old sayings and wisdom. If you have never had a farmer’s almanac, then I highly recommend picking up a cheap copy from amazon our your local gardening store.
Evaluate Your Space
Next you want to evaluate your gardening area and look up a sun map.
Whether you have an existing garden bed, or are looking to build one, now is a good time to evaluate your surroundings. Go outside and stand where you plan to have your garden, bring a tape measure, and really give the area a good look.
Ask these questions:
- Where is the sun in the sky?
- What time of day is it?
- Where are the cardinal directions?
- Are there any large objects nearby?
- Will these block the sun or cause shadows?
- Will a tree that is bare now, grow leaves in the summer?
- Where does the sun rise and set?
- How do shadows change throughout the day?
- How will these change over the summer?
To get specific solar information about your area, you can look up your sun path here.
Make sure to adjust the date to summer months to look at how the conditions change.
Tomorrow, make a point of looking at your garden during different times of day. Where is the sun in the sky? How is the light hitting the garden? Is it dapples or direct? Are there any trees nearby?
Now for the fun part!
Buy Seeds
And decide what you want to grow!!!
If you’re wondering what you should plant, I suggest growing things you love to eat. It doesn’t matter if zucchini is easy to grow, if you hate eating it then you probably shouldn’t put it in your garden (especially being such a big plant).
You can find a great selection of seeds at seeds.com. They have everything! All your classic vegetables, tons of different varieties, flowers, heirloom seeds, organic seeds, and bundles. I like trying new seeds every year because you never know what you will find, and what seeds will grow best for you.
Some Things to Keep in mind when buying seeds:
- How tall will the plant be?
Put taller plants in the back of the garden so they don’t cast shadows on smaller plants
- Does it need support structures?
Peas, cucumber, melons – trellis
Tomato – twine or cage
- When will it grow? (Late Spring, Mid-Summer, or Early Fall)
Don’t get stuck trying to make the perfect garden, and focus instead on just getting out there and getting it done.
Every season you will learn something new, and your garden will grow along with you. 
Make A Plan
After you have your seeds, you can look at them to see when exactly they need to go in the ground.
The packet will tell you how to sow your seeds, when to plant based on your last/first freeze dates, how much room you’ll need, and other info.
Now you should draw a rough sketch of your garden. Decide what you will plant where, when it will be growing, and how much room it will take up.
The garden doesn’t need to be filled to the brim during the entire growing season. Trust me, once the season starts, everything will be growing like a weed, and you’ll be glad you didn’t overcrowd the garden and overwhelm yourself.
And that’s it!
Now you have a general idea of what you need to do and you can feel confident in the growing season. I know I’ll be making a couple runs to my local garden store, and I may bring home some random green things.
Happy planting!
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