Gardeners take a break from planting and harvesting over the winter months and shift their focus to what should be changed or added the following year. It’s the perfect time to purchase seeds and write down how you want to space out your garden rows for the growing season ahead.

If you haven’t had a garden before, there is no better time to start. With the uncertainties of the world today, it doesn’t hurt to be pro-active and a little more self-sufficient. You can just jump in… whether you start with container gardening, a few raised garden beds, or go all-in with a large garden. Start your garden planning in winter for a successful harvest.

Planning for the Next Growing Season

Garden planning in winter months is important to ensure a successful crop of vegetables the following summer. January and February are the perfect time for browsing seed catalogues and placing orders to ensure items are not sold out. It’s also essential to order early in the year if you are starting seeds indoors. Take inventory of gardening supplies you may need such as growing lights, pots, heat mats, and seed starting mix.

If you’ve had a garden before, think about what you didn’t have enough of last year and order a little more this year. Read some gardening books or scroll through Pinterest to get some additional inspiration!

Maybe try something you haven’t grown before like cucamelon or kohlrabi. Do you want to plant more perennials like asparagus, berries, or rhubarb? Have you thought about expanding your herb garden or perhaps preparing your soil a little better this year? Plan everything out now.

Once you have a bit of a plan in place, you can start to browse at your local garden centre or online with trusted seed companies.

Top 5 Online Seed Companies

Experienced farmers consistently shop with the following seed companies for top-quality seeds.

You can browse online catalogues by clicking the links below:

Veseys Seeds

Johny’s

OSC Seeds

Burpee

McKenzie

Keep a Gardening Journal

It’s smart to keep a journal as you garden throughout the years. Remembering what you liked and what worked well isn’t always easy by the time the following season rolls around.

It’s helpful to record shopping lists and new projects in your journal, along with photos from your previous garden. Write down your garden plan now and make any adjustments required before you plant any seeds.

Garden Planning in Winter

When planning out your vegetable rows, it’s a good idea to consider the order in which you plant your seeds as some veggies don’t like to be planted next to others. You’ll want to avoid planting potatoes near tomatoes, or beans near your onions.

However, some vegetables do really well when they have certain companions beside them.

• Beets, beans, cabbage, kale, and lettuce all do quite well together
• Swiss chard, spinach and cabbage also do well together

You also need to consider the size of the full-grown plants as some rows remain fairly small like carrots and onions, and some rows grow quite wide like squash and cucumbers… which will creep into other rows.

We have an eclectic garden design with 4 separate gardens. Two of our gardens are quite long, about 60′ long and only 5 feet wide. This allows our tomatoes and squash to expand without intruding into other vegetable rows. It also creates a nice border along the lawn.

You can also plan for insect control by planting thyme near your cabbage to keep cabbage worms away… or rosemary near your beans to keep beetles away.

Getting your thoughts down on paper allows for a more successful garden with less stress since you’ll avoid making the same mistakes twice.

You can even mark out your succession planting to ensure you maximize vegetable production within your garden borders. Spent vegetable crops can be pulled out and new seeds can be planted all within the same growing season.

Consider new projects that include extending the growing season. Do you want to add a cold frame to continue growing greens throughout the year? Do you want to add a new trellis or hoop gardens? What about adding a greenhouse to start seeds?

These larger products take careful planning and budgeting… and the winter months provide the perfect time to dream and plan for springtime.

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Summary of Tips for Garden Planning in Winter

• Think about new projects you would like to complete this year
• Order seeds in January or February
• Gather inspiration from gardening books or Pinterest
• Journal what you would like to grow and map out your gardens

Visit our Gardening page for more tips!