It’s cold, cold, cold and hard to even think about the coming summer-growing months in the garden and yet in the mail, here they come the vegetable SEED CATALOGS. Today we began our planning for the coming garden season. Gathered around the stove, bringing out the lists, charts and data from last year, we ask, “does anyone remember when we planted the first tomatoes…did they all live…no, that was when we had the cold Spring and had to replant…someone look at the planting charts”…and so we do remember and begin to fill in the planning calendar for the coming season.
Here is the order of how we begin:
1. Make a chart of what you are going to plant.
Example–
| 2011 Garden Plan | ||
| ITEM | HOW MANY | NOTES |
| Basil | 50 plants | |
| Beans (bush) | 3 double row | 1 for us, 2 in gh |
| Broccoli | 3 rows, 75 plants | |
| Cabbage | 2 rows | |
| Carrots | 2 rows | |
| Cauliflower | 3 rows, 75 plants | |
| Celery | 2 rows | |
| Chard | 1/2 row, 15 plants | |
| Cilantro | 7 rows, 1/2 row every 2 weeks | |
| Corn | 50 rows | |
| Cucumber(Slicer) | 2 rows – 50 plants | 1 gh, 1 in garden |
| Cucumber(Pickler) | 2 (1 row) early, 1 row late | |
| Dill | 1/2 row | |
| Lettuce | 1/3 row Romaine, every 3 weeks | |
| Melons | 5 rows | |
| Onions | 1 tray of 250 | |
| Parsley | 1 row, 25 plants | |
| Peppers (Bell) | 2 rows, 25 plants | |
| Peppers (Hot) | 1/2 row Ceyenne, 1/2 row Jal. | |
| Peppers (Hot) | 1/2 row Pablano: 10 plants | |
| Potatoes | 4 rows | |
| Raspberries | 3 rows | |
| Pumpkins | 10 row, 17 per row | |
| Squash (Winter) | 2 row, 17 per row | |
| Squash (Yellow) | 5 plants | |
| Tomatoes | 3 row 51 plants | |
| Zucchini | 3 plants | |
2. Make a Planting Table to establish the dates when you will begin planting the seeds.
Example–
| Greenhouse Planting Calendar 2011 | ||||
| DateSeed | Item | Amount | Seeded | Transplanted |
| 02/01 | Peppers: Bell | 25 | ||
| 02/01 | Peppers: Colors | 25 | ||
| 02/01 | Peppers: Pablano | 15 | ||
| 02/01 | Peppers: Hot | 25 | ||
| 03/01 | Tomatoes | 25 | ||
| 03/03 | Onions | 1 trays | ||
| 03/09 | Broccoli | 80 | ||
| 03/09 | Cabbage | 55 | ||
| 03/09 | Cauliflower | 80 | ||
| etc. | ||||
3. Inventory last years seeds so that you will know what to order from the catalogs.
Print Greenhouse Work Sheets to record the dates when you plant, varietys and how much. This is very helpful to establish when to plant for the next year, as well as keep you on track with your seeding.
When we are done establishing how much we want to plant of everything then we will pull out the Seed Catalogs. I can hardly wait…
