Garden Plan for Spring 2016 Hoss Jr. Garden
Every year we like to draw a scaled, rough-sketch garden plan for our spring gardens. It's not exact, but it does help us decide what to grow, where we will grow it and how much of it we will grow. Below are several reasons why you should do this too!
Why Make a Garden Plan?
- It will give you an idea how much seed you will need. You will then know how much of each seed to purchase so you don't waste money by buying extra seed that you won't use.
- It will help you decide which irrigation supplies you will need for watering your garden. Since we use drip irrigation, the garden plan provides information as to how much drip tape we will need for the spring season.
- It will give you an idea of how much food you are going to get from your garden. This allows you to prepare and make room in your freezer(s) and pantries for the food you will preserve.
So what things should you consider when planning your vegetable garden?
- Think about how much food you need for you and your family, and of course a little extra to give to friends.
- Think about how much food you need in the freezer or pantry to feed your family during the winter when the garden isn't producing warm season crops.
- Think about which crops need to be harvested nearly every day (squash, tomatoes, cucumbers), which crops are harvested several times a season (peas, beans), and which crops will be a one-time harvest (corn, potatoes).
Below is the garden plan for our smaller, appropriately named Hoss Jr. Garden. For this particular garden, there are several crops we are not going to grow this spring because we have plenty in the freezer from last year. These crops include bush beans, butterbeans and okra. We are, however, growing quite a bit of field corn in an attempt to save money on our deer feeding costs throughout the year. Do what works for you!
