Preparing for Spring

February is here! It is the down swing of winter in Northeast Kansas (fingers crossed) and I am getting excited for spring! I have pulled out the seed packets and am starting to plan what vegetables and flowers we will plant in each of our garden plots. This is the time of year I have to calm down and not get too overzealous. So many times, when we have some warm days, I think, “Oh, I need to get all my seeds started!” only to be transplanting tomato plants into bigger pots until it’s warm enough for planting outside.

There is this great online program called Garden Planner that I have used the last two years to layout my gardens. Learning as I go, Garden Planner has really helped me organize my crop rows and the timing for planting. Within the program, you can setup multiple plans. Once you have the plan setup, you can create a new year plan based on an existing one. One of the great features of Garden Planner, is once you select an item to add to your plot, you can also show companion plants. The program provides a variety of garden objects that you can add to your plan such as row covers, trellis, and drip line. Another cool feature is Garden Planner will provide a plant list and part list for you. Just another helpful feature!

I use the program primarily to prepare for planting our personal garden, but I have also used it for planning out the cover crops for our garlic plots when they are not in use. Maybe I’ll do a post about that whole process next! It is a topic that made my head spin when trying to figure out the best way to provide our garlic fields with the nutrients the ground needed for the future.

I am not affiliated with Garden Planner in any way. I don’t get any compensation for talking about it the program. If you would like to check it out though, there is a free trial available at https://gardenplanner.almanac.com/.

Well now I’ve got our three garden plots planned and I’m ready for spring! Happy planting everyone!