Garden Planning Part 1: What & Where to Plant, Keeping Notes

It's garden planning season, and in this video I share the first steps of my garden planning process including how I decide what & how much to plant, where to plant, mapping out the garden and the importance of keeping notes.

Resources for Determining How Much to Plant:

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00:00 Intro
01:00 The Wishlist
03:29 Seed Inventory
04:47 Space- What Do I Have Room For?
07:51 Garden Layout/Mapping Apps/Calendars
11:11 Taking Notes
13:34 Supply Inventory



#zone6gardening #gardenplanning

[tinasmith]

I plan everything out to the last detail, and then when spring comes I throw that out the window and plant way more than will fit.

[kirstmlarson]

Step 1, make a detailed plan
Step 2, inventory supplies and seeds and order more seeds than I can actually grow
Step 3, start way more seeds than I can actually grow
Step 4, transplant seedling disregarding the plan because I’ve determined in the spring that I had no idea what I was thinking back in January
Step 5, find good homes for remaining plants that I’ve started and run out of space for
😁

[namastenurse]

We are settling into a property with a large acerage that has an established orchard (apples, peaches, plums, pears) and loads of blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. I’m looking forward to an enormous garden but I have a lot of work to do. I want all the things. Chickens, a high tunnel, a green house….. but first I need to figure out how to keep all that other stuff alive. We are coming from the burbs. I did a full garden on my little half acre in suburbia but I didn’t have all the fruit trees and berries. We had an HOA and all the rules lol. My issue is pacing myself. I have bought too many seeds. I can’t help it. I’ve told family and friends not to buy any. I have it all! We also have Paw paw trees! I’m in Ohio too.

[snowbirdgardener]

It's my 3rd year growing vegetables, in containers. The 1st year, I planted everything that was supposed to grow in my zone. The 2nd year I planted what did well. This year I planted what I actually eat!

[deanneidholt]

As a young man of 70..growing in Texas..I have started raising all I can on cattle panels. I don't like raised beds..the most important planning I do is plant rotation and seed starting and general planting dates..love your channel

[HomeHarvestCo]

Watching your videos has sparked my interest in gardening. I'm excited to start my own green journey!

[GROOMERS]

I am GLUED to your videos since we are neighbors!!! I am a 3rd year gardener… but have 2000 sq ft…. Doing big things! Doing big things!!!

[anniesmith]

I’ve been watching your videos on the big tv. It’s so much better than my tiny little iPhone. Anyway, I’ve commented before about relearning everything. Five years ago, I lived in northwest Illinois. I could grow anything. The soil was rich and fertile. I was used to the climate. I’d lived there for 60 years. And then, we moved to Ohio. Everything changed. A different climate zone, clay soil that was as hard as cement, deer eating everything…sigh. I’m still learning and trying to amend my soil. I never had to think about amendments until we moved here. I feel like a newbie, even though I’ve been gardening for over 45 years. Thanks for your videos. You’ve given me the stamina i need to keep going and have kept discouragement away well enough to keep me from saying I give up.

[lindad]

I am absolutely loving the new Johnny's Selected Seeds catalog for 2023. Every category has vegies displayed by harvest size. This is so helpful to me as a new gardener, so I know exactly the size of the fruit I'll get and not spend the entire season on a plant that disappoints. They also include tips for growing, taking care of pests, harvest and storage. I really enjoy your videos and the inspiration you give. Thanks so much!

[billiecrabill]

My husband just finished 20 years in the Navy and we're settling into a small farm in Eastern Tennessee. My rolling clay hills are a blank slate!
We excavated an 8'x20' strip to set up three 32" raised planter beds. Put some hugelkultur to work.
We also filled three Greenstalk planters on the patio.
Waiting for fruits to arrive! Saved dish-paks to mulch around them.

[JamesRattray]

Very helpful. Love seeing you not being perfect too. Also there was no shouting at the camera and funny facial expressions. Thank you very much, very helpful as I start my first full year on our small garden plot in our new home.

[wendyweddell]

HI Jenna,
I'm new to your channel. I am so glad I found you. Because I live in Indiana. I really appreciate finding people that live close to me. It's easier to tips from people in my area instead of people all over the country.i follow Luke from MIGARDENER&
THE STIVERS Bexause they are close to me but I am thankful that I have found you. God Bless you Jenna

[jjc]

NE Ohio here! My online garden planner is from GrowVeg. I love that planner. I am so excited about the planning process again this year. I love researching my seeds and dreaming of my spring garden while I look out the window at the snow. I bought new seeds after thanksgiving from two seed companies and now am looking to buy more from another. Growing onions, leeks, and herb starts indoors. In a few weeks, I start my broccoli, Brussel sprouts and other things that require a long growing season. Good luck to all! and remember to have fun!

[wingrider]

All the tips were very good. For me, as a journalist, keeping a written account of your gardening life and adventures is key. A written history, as it were, to tell the story of your journey with nature, both the good and the not so good. To both inspire and teach those who will come. One day, a child or grandchild, will open up those pages and be able to walk through the garden with you even though you have long passed away. The written word is so necessary, and yet so dismissed these days. Carry on!

[moonedward]

Love your videos...very precise, orderly...as a retired physician, I spend most of my time sitting in the garden with a yellow legal pad and pen and drawing a plan and decide what I'm going to do next. I never learned Excell, so I remain "Old school".

[microsnook]

Love the idea of warm vs cool seeds that is simple and great.

[sweetpeahill]

Thank you for the suggestion on Garden Savory. I can't wait to use it. The cost was reasonable. I'm planner. This app will be great for me.

[HillbillyAcresSoapery]

Thank you for this recommendation! I set up an account yesterday & got all three of my vegetable gardens planned out.

[krissy]

I am so glad I found your channel! I live in NE Ohio, I love to hear your expert advice and professional experience. Thank you for your videos!

[abbycole]

I used the “garden planner” from territorial seed, it’s a free trial for 7 days, then a cost each year. I got the subscription as a Christmas gift this year, and found it really helpful, mostly because it has so much information to reference all in one place. I agree with the start date thing, it uses your zip code to calculate dates, but is ultimately ball park. It’s really visual chart that is endlessly adjustable. I will see how it goes.
For me, garden planning is a huge project that I CANNOT do in one sitting, I started in September and was finally happy with it just after Christmas. I’m also a newer gardener, not green, but not experienced either. Companion planting, spacing, indoor seeding vs outdoor direct seed, etc was a lot of bit by bit gathering for me.