Time to Plan Your Veggie Garden
I know the calendar says it's February, but now is the best time to plan your Vegetable garden.
The snow is still on the ground, and the temperatures are still low. Cabin fever is setting in, and your mind turns to spring. Well, it's time to start getting ready. Put on those boost, gloves and hat, and head to the local garden store. They are stocking the shelves with seeds, and such, and now is the time to buy.
Before you head out to the store, sit down and plan your Veggie garden.
Now how you do it is up to you. You can make a list, make a sketch, or as I do, You can make up a schematic. Making a schematic really isn't all that hard. It can save you a lot of head scratching. And it can be fun too. Here is what you need to get started.
A few pieces of graph paper
Some pencils
A ruler or straight edge
A Medium point waterproof marker
Colored pencils (optional )
A list of the Veggies you plan on growing.
Now you need to decide how big your garden is going to be, and how much of each vegetable you want to grow. Whether you are only planning on planting a few things, or, Like me, are growing on a big scale, this planning method works great.
Now, Each square of the graph paper represents one square foot. If your garden is 5 feet by 7 feet, make a garden space, on your paper, of 5 squares wide by 7 squares long and so on. See my schematic for this year Here .
Next, decide how much growing room you will need for each crop. For Tomatoes you want to figure 3 square feet per plant. For Carrots, figure 6 carrots per square foot. You can figure this out by, reading the spacing directions on the packages. Always leave a space for this years "experiment" planting. I always try one new seed or plant, every year. It might end up a staple or just a one time thing.
When making your plant areas, remember to leave enough room between rows for walking. If your garden is going to be small enough, to reach all of the plants, you won't need a foot path. You want to make the foot path large enough to walk in. Don't make them too big, or you will have a lot of extra weeding to do.
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