All Part of the Plan

This week, as I tweaked my own garden plan, I was reminded that good planning makes a world of difference in your garden.

Now I've admitted I'm a bit type A ~ and I tend to get warm-fuzzies from having everything planned out and on paper (or digitally so, as the case may be).  That's not to say everything always goes as planned ~ I've already changed a few things on mine for the year, and it's only March!  If you're not like me, some of these ideas may be overkill or even stressful.  This is what works for me.  I hope you take what you can use to make your own garden and homestead a success ~ and know that it's okay to make mistakes, too, because they help you learn!

First of all, a disclaimer: I have been gardening for about 8 years now.  Gardening in the food-producing sense.  I grew up tending plants and flowers, inside and out, but not much vegetable gardening at our own home -- a few tomatoes or peppers was it, usually.  My Babi (buh-bee, Czech for grandmother) had a little garden I used to help her with as a child, but it was occasional at best.  I don't claim to be an expert, but rather a well-read hobbyist of sorts.  I'm no master gardener, but I'm definitely learning as I go and enjoying almost every minute of it.

DH grew up on what could be called an urban homestead, the family garden was bigger than most city lots.  So when we got hitched, the garden was already in the ground.  Those first few years were me helping him.  I couldn't contain my excitement as it grew, and soon I asked if I could take over the planning and planting.  I was convinced that a little foresight (again, type A -- DH is fantastic at making things happen, but the lack of a plan drove me nuts) would give us greater yield.  So I put on yet another hat: GardenMama.

It was a slow progression from helping him, to doing it mostly myself, with a few kids thrown in just to keep it interesting.  Seven-months pregnant and weeding onions, not my most graceful moment -- but I kept trying, as should you!   Every year we add something new, and/or make the garden itself bigger.  Eventually, I realized it really is better to do it teamwork-style, we can do more with less exhaustion.  However, the more we do, and the more kids we have, the harder it is for me to remember everything that's out there or been done already.

So, back to garden planning.

Journal: The biggest helper for me now, is to note everything I can note from year to year.  This is good for what works and what doesn't, so you remember for next time.  I also jot down my perennials (flora and food) -- when and where we bought it, how much it cost, any pertinent info on the tag (like fertilizer or tending instructions) and where exactly I planted it if it's in a mixed garden (like the herbs).  You can either use a "garden journal" specifically for gardening, a spiral notebook, or even using a word/drawing document on your computer.  I've grown to like the last option best because I can send it to my e-reader and have it with me when I'm shopping or away from home.  It's also easy to make changes in diagrams or goals, as well as keeping charts of what exactly is planted and when.

Research: Know what you are growing -- its likes and dislikes, needs, etc.  Some good books will help.  I have a [brand name] Guide to Vegetebles that goes through veggie by veggie with details from seed to harvest.  I also have a homesteader's book with lots of info on a variety of things and month-by-month yard/garden guide book made specifically for our state.  There are great websites out there with similar information, and most areas have classes and seminars offered by true master gardeners.

Document: This goes beyond the journal.  A journal is your story, but it also helps to jot down what varieties you've planted.  If you start seeds, it may just save you from wondering if you've got duds or if they are just not up yet.  I jot down the brand, variety, when I started the seeds, how many I started, and what the package indicates for germination time.  I also leave room for results.  In the words of my DS1's favorite science show: "I like checking out charts; charts rule!  A chart is handy-dandy scientific tool." :)

My 2012 garden, subject to change, but at least I have a plan to start from!
Key: Top Rt - Peppers, Red circles, center - Tomatoes, R - Rhubarb,
Br - Brocolli, B - Beens

Draw: Having a diagram of your garden helps when the plants are small, or if you don't remember which variety is where.  Again, so you can eventually track how everything does and add that to your seed/plant charts.  This will also help you make the most of your space.  I do mine on an office drawing document so I can move things around and try different layouts.  Before that I used graphing paper and colored pencils, which also worked well.  With paper, I just glued it into my garden journal as part of the year's information.




Set Goals:  To decide what to plant and how much to plant, you need to know your goals.  I found a great book that lists how much you need to plant per household member: [The Backyard Homestead: Produce All the Food You Need on Just a Quarter Acre, by Carleen Madigan].  Not advertising, just saying it's a good read.  So, it recommends 5 plants of broccoli per household member, and I have 30 in my plan (a few extra for good measure).  Another part of goals is what you want to produce.  Are you looking at a fresh-eating summer garden?  Salads, fresh veggies, berries?  Or, do you want to preserve for the winter?  Stew, salsa, sauce, jam?  Find the recipes now, look at the ingredients, and try to grow as much as you can yourself!

Our backyard, in rough sketching (not quite to scale).
Note the green O's -- trees.  Some of those may have to go
eventually.  We fence the main garden with 3' garden
fencing to keep kids from running through. We also plan
on putting the eventual chickens in the dog pen, and possible
fruit trees to the east of the house, in the front/side yard.

Placement: If you don't have a garden in yet, you need to decide where to put it.  Depending on what you're growing, sunlight, moisture, and space are determining factors.  Watch for close-by trees, which as they get bigger will shade your plants and put roots into the garden space.  If it's a perennial plant you are putting in (like those bloomin' strawberries) make sure you know how much space they need at maturity and plan for that.  It may look like you only have tiny plants now, but they will spread out.  Perennials are best outside the "main garden," for me.  Then, when we till the veggie garden, we don't have to work around perennials -- I have two rhubarb in the main garden, and I don't think they will be there much longer!  Finally, be aware of kids and pets, either put the garden where they can't get to it, or fence it in.  Little ones will run right through, not caring about the bean sprouts you've been nurturing!

Form & Function:  I urge you to try and find ways to make your functional garden beautiful and relaxing to be around.  This will save you stress, and make it part of your yard, instead of entirely utilitarian.

Be Reasonable:  It's easy to get ambitious on paper, but start where you are at.  When I was first learning, our garden was about half the size it is now, with no outlying plantings.  As I got my feet as a gardener, I felt ready to start something new, maintain more, and grow more.  I guaranty, if you start your first garden at this level, you will more than likely get overwhelmed and give up.  It may be more than you can handle in maintenance, or the plant might have certain needs you don't expect and you lose the crop.  Better to lose a few tomato plants than thirty.  Take on what you know you [and your family] can manage, learn from it, and then grow from there!

Pray & Praise: Trust me when I say His help is exactly what you need to succeed in your efforts.  It can be done on our own skill and labor, but I've found the blessing more abundant and the work more sustainable when I ask God's blessing and give Him the praise for the result.  Pray as you plant.  Praise as you harvest.  Bless others with the abundance.  The Lord will shine through your efforts, if you are open to being an instrument of His efforts.

Just remember the wisdom in the Word: our plans are not the first priority ~ His is better, even if we don't see it.  The Lord always provides (even when things don't go "right"); appreciate what you are learning, even in failure...for through it all, He won't forsake you or your family.  If you are excited about gardening, then I'm with you!  You will truly be blessed by knowing you and your family can be more self-sufficient as long as you put credit where it is due -- to the One who provides for you, even through your labor and skills He has granted you.