It’s time to start planning for veggies
Did you miss me? I definitely missed talking and dreaming about gardening and plants. Thankfully the holidays are over and it’s time to start planning the 2019 vegetable garden.
If you’re at all like me, you’ve either started a list or have an idea of the plants that you like to grow this year. Even if you are new to this, or just want to see what you can grow, now is the time to start making it all happen.
Before you start scouring the garden centres or the seed catalogues, I want you to really think about where you are going to grow this year. Is it in the same plot of land you’ve always used or are you willing to add some containers? Maybe it’s time to try growing vegetables at the front door in the big planters or even on the deck, in the window boxes or on the side of the garage. Make a list of your opportunities so that you know approximately how many seeds and plants you can really order.
In my own space, I know that I have my veggie garden and in it I can plant 12 tomatoes, a dozen peppers, four varieties of pole beans, three varieties of vines like cucumbers or zucchini and 35 rows of other things like carrots, lettuces and bush beans.
This year I am also adding some new spots. I have five pots on my patio that can each house at least one tomato with either lettuce or basil growing around each plant. I also have my two big planters at the front door. I think they’d look amazing with a pair of decorative trellises and peas planted on them. I think I’ll also plant a dark red lettuce around the outside edge of the pot. Last fall, I also moved some specially designed vertical gardens to a sunnier spot. In each of these wall-hangers, I can plant two varieties in each pocket, giving me an additional 20 plants for my list.
If you take all of these opportunities and make a list with blanks beside them, you can start filling in the blanks from catalogues or even from your own seed libraries. When you make your list, start with the type of vegetable, the location it’s going, the seed/type you want and then where you are going to get it from.
Each line should look something like this:
Peas — front door planter — Swenson Peas — Vesey seeds;
Peas — garden trellis — Green Arrow — Kent seeds.
The biggest mistakes I make every year is knowing how much to order, where I’ve already ordered from, what I’ve bought or even have. This year, a little organization will make the process so much easier for you.