Start Your Garden Now!

It’s January, and whether you’re a garden pro or trying it out for the first time, you should start planning your garden now! There are absolutely tasks to do over the winter months, read on to find out what you need to do to prep for a beautiful spring and summer!

January/February

1. Plan what you are going to grow. - If you’ve grown a garden before, you know what you’ve had success with, and you know what new things you want to try. Do you want to do just flowers this year, or are you venturing into fruits and vegetables? Make a list of the things you would like to grow, and take stock of the space that you have available, do you have the room to grow everything you want? Do you have the right amount of sun or shade for the plants you want to grow? You can actually grow a lot in a small space if you companion plant (more on that later!) so don’t be intimidated if what you want to grow seems like more than you can grow in your space. Also, don’t forget there are many veggies that have container friendly varieties, so keep that in mind as you plan, too! 

2. Take stock of what you have on hand. - This is one I have to get better at! If you only have a few of one seed, you may want to buy more, as we all know there is never a 100% germination rate. Do you have all the tools you need, or was something missing from your stash last year that you want to get your hands on? Do you have seed starting trays and grow lights to get things started indoors? Do you want to upgrade pieces of your greenhouse (I sure do!)? Do you want to build a raised bed this year? These things all require money, and you may need to budget to fit these things into your personal budget. Check out my free budget tracker and start your budget while it’s still early in the year!

3. Order your seeds! - It may seem like it’s a little too early to start ordering seeds, but serious growers are snatching seeds up, and there are seeds that are already out of stock, so you want to get in early to make sure you get the seeds you really want. I am a fan of Burpee as I have used them for years (my gardening obsession started with a basil plant grown from seeds in a window), but this year I am also giving Pinetree Garden Seeds a try as I have read great things about them online.

4. Consult your gardening journal. - So this is one thing I have read about that I am going to start this year; I am going to heavily track what seeds I use, where they were purchased, and how well they germinate. Some seeds just don’t have a great germination rate when they come from one supplier, while if you buy them from somewhere else you may have great success. It’s good to keep track of what works and what doesn’t so you can have even more success in the future.

February/March

Some of my indoor-started trays from last year.

1. Clean your supplies. - It is so important to make sure you disinfect your seed trays and tools! You don’t want to potentially contaminate this year’s efforts with anything that may have contributed to failed plants last year. Use a 10% bleach solution to clean off your tools. It’s not a bad idea to keep a spray bottle of the solution in your potting table or shed (if you have them) as you always want to clean your tools when pruning infected plants, anyway.

2. Set up warming mats, grow lights, and trays. - It’s a lot to get everything set up, especially if you have a lot of things you are planning to grow! This is a perfect time to get everything set up in its place to make sure you have adequate space. Also take inventory of pots - do you have enough to transplant seedlings that aren’t quite ready to go outside yet, or do you need to grab some more?

3. Start your seeds! - You may not be able to start all of them now, but check your packets for when you should start indoors and the last frost date in your gardening zone, you may be able to start now! According to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, I am in zone 7a. I will be starting my impatiens and coleus indoors at the beginning of February, my marigolds indoors mid-February, and zinnias at the end of February. I will be starting my sunflowers at the end of March, and will start most of my vegetables mid-to-end of March as well. Do a search for your average last-frost date, and start indoors accordingly! 

4. Consider companion planting. - As mentioned earlier, you can get a lot more in your space if you companion plant. For  instance, everyone knows that marigolds are great to grow with tomatoes, so if you plant them together you don’t have to sacrifice flowers for vegetables or vice-versa. There’s also the well-known “three sisters” combo of squash, corn, and beans. Corn acts as the stalk for beans (so you save some cash on trellising there!) so they don’t have to compete with squash, which sprawls and helps retain moisture in the soil, and beans put nitrogen into the soil, helping to make the corn stalks tall and strong so they don’t succumb to windy spring and summer storms. There are plenty of other combos of vegetables that grow well together, you just also have to make sure you know what doesn’t grow well together, as you don’t want to set yourself up for failure.

March/April

A freshly cleaned & mulched bed of dianthus (a short-lived perennial) already starting to flower in early March 2021. I will be planting zinnias here this year.

1. Clean your beds. - Whether you do it yourself or have a professional come to do it, it’s time to start clearing away any weeds or debris that may have gathered over the winter months. Depending on your style of gardening, you may want to turn your soil (though no-till gardening is becoming hugely popular). Check on your perennials that have over-wintered and make sure they are still safe from any last frosts that may occur, weather with a weather shield or adequate mulch around the roots.

2. Check your lines. - If you have a sprinkler system, and especially if you have a drip system, you want to check your lines to make sure everything is working properly and there are no leaks. You also want to be sure any drip lines are placed properly for your planting needs.

3. Care for your sprouts/seedlings. - You may have to transfer some of your plants to larger containers as they continue to grow indoors. You want your plants to be able to grow strong, sturdy roots, so make sure they are in the appropriate sized containers to continue to flourish.

April/May

A small greenhouse on the side of my house where seedlings can be protected from harsh weather, but get used to direct sun and being outdoors.

1. Start hardening off your seedlings! - You don’t want to take the plants you’ve spent time and effort on from indoors and stick them directly into your garden; this can cause the plants to go into shock and die, and that certainly isn’t the goal here! You want to slowly get them used to being outside, it’s best if you have a shaded area you can bring them into where they are protected from any harsh weather conditions, and if there is a chance of late frost, you want to either have a frost blanket ready, or be able to bring them back inside. I also recommend taking some time to introduce your plants to direct sunlight as well, so over a week-ish period, taking them out into direct sunlight for a few hours at a time, lengthening it each day until you leave them out in the sun all day. As a caveat, you obviously don’t want to put plants that should be in shade in the sun for the full day, so plan accordingly! 

2. Transplant your seedlings! - As with hardening them off, you want to make sure you have frost blankets in case there is a late frost, but the general rule of thumb is that you can plant after your average last frost day, OR on/after Mother’s Day, which should both fall within this timeline. Make sure they are well watered, and don’t worry about feeding them for a few more weeks, they still need to grow strong roots.

3. Direct sow seeds. - If you don’t have the space/supplies to start indoors, now is the time to plant your seeds directly into the ground. Your results may come later than those who started inside, but you can absolutely have great success starting your seeds outdoors, I personally have done it plenty of times!

May/June

1. Tend to your plants as they grow. - Weed when you have to, around June you can start fertilizing, check for any diseases or pests and treat as you choose (no judgement here whether you choose to garden organic or not!), and marvel every day at the beauty of growing plants! Remember that it is best to water your plants near the bases and water early in the morning so if leaves do get wet, they have time to dry before the heat of the day sets in and can potentially burn the leaves. 

2. Set up stakes/cages/trellises. - Your plants are probably getting to the point where you need to set up the necessary supports so they can continue to grow successfully. If you are growing tomatoes, I recommend pruning away the bottom few sets of stalks so energy is sent to the top stalks where fruits will grow.

June/July

1. Harvest! - Continue to tend to your plants as previously mentioned, but if you are growing summer vegetables, you may be able to start harvesting the fruits of your labors at this point. The more you harvest, the more your plants should produce for you. 

2. Consider succession planting. - Succession planting can mean a few different things; if you are growing sunflowers, you may want to plant some more seeds now to continue growing them into the late summer, and again in a few more weeks to continue growing them into the fall. It can also mean thinking about what cold-hardy seeds you are going to start in a few weeks to plant once the summer crops are fading.

3. Take notes. - Write down the things you did that were successful, the spaces you planted your vegetables this year so you can start a crop rotation, and which brands of which seeds were successful for you so you know what to purchase again when the time comes, and what to stay away from.

4. Enjoy! - You’ve worked hard on your garden, so sit back and enjoy the beauty. Remember that it is a learning process, and it takes time to get things just right. You may only grow one thing with success this year, and that’s ok! Next year, everything may grow beautifully. Just take pride in the work you’ve done.

I am so excited for a new year and a new chance to grow something beautiful. I can’t wait to see what is successful this year (I am trying corn for the first time!) and start expanding my growing space (I’m hoping to build my first of a few raised beds this year). I am no expert and gardening is always a learning process, but I hope my tips and tricks can help you to have a successful garden this year as well! Are you planning to grow anything? Please let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear about your plans!