Planning Your Garden #1: What’s for dinner?

One of my goals for this year is filling my freezer and pantry with good foods that have been grown and nurtured in our own backyard. It sounds easy but a project like this requires a large amount of research, planning, prepping, and maintenance. Over the years I’ve learned a number of great tips from books, friends, and my own experiences so it seems only fitting that I would share those things here with you.
Every Wednesday during the month of March I’ll be writing about a different aspect of planning a garden fit to fill your freezer.
We’re starting things off by asking WHAT are we going to grow?

Picking out your produce without a clear plan is like grocery shopping on an empty stomach, everything looks good. So before you let the pretty pictures in the catalogs, or the wall of seeds at the store, leave you with more seeds than square footage ask yourself these questions.
- What does my family REALLY eat?
- What can be PAINLESSLY added to our diet?
Now that you know what you want to grow the real work starts when you ask yourself:
- Can I grow it? (zone, growth, needs)

Is it prone to mold? We have very wet springs and early summers but last year was the first time I experienced actual mold growing in the soil of my garden…it was weird and killed my beans.
Exactly how much space is a squash plant really going to take up? I don’t know about you but I’m always surprised at how large zucchini plants REALLY get!
Becoming knowledgeable on a plant’s growth and needs, from germination to harvest, is important because it will help you plan a garden with yields large enough to feed your family. It is also key to succession planting.
I recommend investing in a book to help you learn more about each plant in your garden plans. There are many options out there so it’s really your preference. Of all the books I have my favorite for information about each plant is The Family Kitchen Garden. I love that it has a month to month section as well as an A to Z guide.

Next Wednesday we’ll discuss
Buying Seeds and Plotting Your Garden Layout!
Check out these awesome places I like to share and party, listed on my Linky Party Page!
Technorati Tags: gardening,planning,seeds,vegetables,fruits,roots,gardens,knowledge,The Family Kitchen Garden,Backyard Gardeners
Sounds like a plan!!! I always wanted to eat the "fruit of my land", lol! 3 years ago bought a house that actually had a backyard, but it was already July! The following summer I tried but did not tend to it properly! And planted tomatoes but I don't actually like fresh tomatoes???
ReplyDeleteI did plant zuchinnis and they were great! And also some herbs like basil, mint, oregano and rosemary! Used some, not all. I should have dried the oregano, for example. So last year I planted roses instead... Anyway, I will be following you, for some inspiration!!!