Garden lovers are itching to get their fingers in the dirt no matter the season. When the ground is frozen and it’s just too cold, planning your perfect garden oasis is a wonderful way to satisfy that craving.
Planning your garden is an ideal way to spend an afternoon, especially when preparing to order seeds!
There’s a quiet joy in spending countless hours ruffling through five different seed catalogs, searching through our inventory lists, and scouring our photos to see which crops we loved and which ones we won’t need to order this year. And every January we rejoice – it’s time to order seeds and plan this year’s gardens!
Here at Crazy Daisies, we begin placing our seed orders in February. Ideas start flying around the room and the possibilities of this year’s flower and food crop seem endless! It can certainly get hectic and hard to keep track of what we have, what we need, what we want, and the overall garden plan.
We’ve learned from our own trials and errors. So I am here to share some tips with you to help make this time of year as exciting for you and your home garden as it is for ours!
Begin Your Garden Plan With Research
We order from a wide variety of providers like Johnny’s Seeds, Harris Seeds, Ivy Garth, and many more. When picking a provider, you certainly do not need five different companies in your arsenal. But doing some light research on each company might help you decide who you want to order from, and that really is the first step.
Whether you have a seed catalog, are on a website, or just walked into your nearest garden center, here are five tips to help you organize your garden plans for the year!
Review Your Garden Space
Take a walk outside and look at your garden space. Record the dimensions of your plot. You might even want to draw out a simple map and make a rough sketch of where you want certain crops to be, making note of the amount of space you alot for each section.
This will come in handy when your seeds arrive and the instructions for specific spacing for each crop are mentioned on the back of the package.
Planning your garden out this way, even if when the time comes to plant it turns out different than you expected, will help to organize your general garden plan. Putting your ideas on paper allows you to have more room in your brain for your other crazy ideas!
Take An Inventory of Last Year’s Garden Tools and Supplies
If you had a garden last year and kept track of any leftover seeds, equipment, soil, etc. you will want to make note of the seeds and materials that will be usable for this coming season.
When checking to see if your seeds are viable you want to look out for a few signs. If you notice that the package of seeds has gotten wet, this might be an indicator that the seeds are no longer useful. As well as if the seeds are squishy, or any mold is present within the package you will want to get rid of those seeds and order new.
Find a Dedicated Space for Your Garden Supplies
If this is your first year starting your garden consider dedicating a space in your shed or garage where you can store leftovers to keep for years to come. Ideally, you want that space to be cool and dry.
We usually store our leftover seeds in glass mason jars or in the refrigerator, so they will not be soiled and can be used for our garden in the following year.
Make All of the Lists for Your Dream Garden
If there is one thing that I could recommend above all other organizational tips it would be to make as many lists as possible.
Similar to drawing a rough sketch of your garden ideas on paper, making lists is a great tool when you have so many other things to be thinking about in a day.
Make so many lists.
- A list of your crazy ideas, and your realistic ones.
- A list of foods or flowers that you love, and maybe a list of ones you know you want to avoid.
- A list of materials that you might need.
Grab an old journal off the shelf and make all the lists of your thoughts, plans, and ideas. It will only help you to keep your thoughts organized and you can refer back to them with ease!
Do Your Plant Research
There are probably close to a million different cultivars (or types) of each crop. If you know you want to plant broccoli that is a great start, but now you have to decide what kind. And that is where the research comes in.
If you are in the store, chances are they might only have a few options to choose from. But if you are in a catalog or online, there is a sea of broccoli cultivars to choose from.
Narrowing this harrowing list down can be a tough job so read the crop descriptions to see which crops fit your needs. Bonus points if you made a list of what you want out of the crops in your garden, this will help you determine exactly what your needs are.
One rule of thumb we go by when picking seeds for our edible flowers and food gardens is the flavor description. You would be surprised to know how many vegetable seed descriptions exclude the flavor profile, and we do not put those crops in our carts if we can’t get an understanding of the flavor. Makes sense, right?
Ask for Help With Your Garden Planning
You can reach out to the team or stop by Crazy Daisies with your garden questions. Closer to home, having a partner, friend, or co-worker around to help you work through any questions and smooth over any plans you have can also be super helpful.
If you’re struggling to find ideas, think outside the garden. Cultivate inspiration with brainstorming sessions Pinterest boards, or watching cool videos you saw of someone’s garden.
Remember, gardening is supposed to be fun!
If you find yourself getting stressed, take a deep breath and have a fresh pair of eyes look over your maps, lists, and questions to help you sort it out. Planning out your perfect garden can be the most joyous experience!
Have you created a plan for your garden? We’d love to hear your tips! Share an image of your garden plan on social media and tag Crazy Daisies so we can take a peek!
