In the Garden with Nicole: Winter Planning

Ahh … winter. I haven’t always been the biggest fan of cold and snow, but I’ve come to appreciate this season that forces me to slow down. From spring to fall, I’m always outside working in the field —I start planting as early as possible, summer is a blur of harvesting, and fall is spent cleaning up and prepping for spring. Winter weather is the only thing that can slow me down (even then I’m out poking around with greenhouse experiments and random projects), but overall, winter is a time to rest, reflect, and plan for the spring.

A good gardener is always looking ahead to the future — the next season, the season after, the season five or ten years from now. There’s no better time than winter to settle in with research and make a plan.

If you grow a garden from seed or are interested in starting, it’s time to start thinking about your seed order (if you haven’t already). This goes hand in hand with your garden plan — the size and layout of your garden determines how many seeds or plants you need. If you really want to nerd out, you can take a few more steps and start researching companion planting and — one of my favorite topics — planting for pollinators too.

Garden Planning

I make a garden plan every winter. I spend hours on this, because I’m a bit of a nerd and there’s nothing I love better than daydreaming about summer and making fancy garden plans.

During the seven years we’ve lived in our current place, I changed our garden plan seven times. This is the fist year I won’t be making any drastic changes to my growing spaces — because it took me seven full years to expand my space and correct mistakes.

Of course, I was working my way toward a flower farm, so I was not only expanding, but also figuring out how to grow my crop as efficiently as possible. If you’re planning your first garden or you’re a few years in and finding that you want to change everything about your growing space, that’s totally normal. These “mistakes” we make in our growing spaces are a huge part of gardening — it’s all trial and error, and it takes a while to get things right.

You can make your plan as fancy or as basic as you want. There’s nothing like sitting down with a pencil and some graph paper. There’s also a lot of online tools that will help you map things out. To get started, the only thing you really need is the dimensions of your garden. I have a background in graphic design, so I like to mock mine up on my computer where I can make infinite changes. Here’s a garden plan from a few years ago, before I expanded quite a bit:

I start my plan by making lists of everything I want to grow. There’s an “A List,” which are my must grow crops. The “B List,” which are things I really want to find space for but I could live without (ha, just kidding, I can’t live without the B List, gimme all the plants). And then there’s everything else … word of the wise — leave yourself a little room for experimentation and overflow. You’re going to get some serious spring fever once it’s actually nice out, and I promise you’re not going to be able to stop yourself from buying more seeds than you need or a couple extra starter plants.

Map out space for your A list first. There’s a little math involved here. Take a look at the back of your seed packet (if you have one on hand), or look up the variety online. You’ll see information for plant spacing. Most of the time, you’ll want to follow this pretty closely. It may seem ridiculously spaced out in May, but by August you’ll learn why you need to give your plants room to stretch out.

Go crop by crop, bed by bed, using spacing recommendations to plan how many plants you’re able to grow. This helps you calculate your seed order, or if you’re planning to buy starts you’ll know how many you need.

You can also carry that math forward to figure out what your harvest should be, and adjust accordingly. Do you really need 10 zucchini plants? Or would you rather try a few more varieties of tomatoes? Spoiler alert, unless you’re growing for market, one zucchini plant is probably plenty. But if you want to make a ton of homemade spaghetti sauce and salsa, you’re gonna want a lot more tomatoes!

If you have an empty spot, instead of filling it up with those 10 zucchini plants, maybe plant a few things that are just for drawing in pollinators or luring pest bugs away from your main crops. This is where companion planting and strategic planting come into play.

Companion Planting

You’ve already taken some time to identify your top priority crops and given them space in your plan. If you really want to go all out this year, it’s time to research companion plants.

If you’re new to companion planting, it’s the practice of growing certain crops for the benefits they provide, resulting in an efficient garden that grows better with less trouble from pests. This is either done by planting two different things close together, or strategically planting something far away from your prized crops to draw harmful insects away. Certain plants work well to attract beneficial insects, repel the bad guys, suppress weeds, provide shade or support, and help with soil health.

Some great things to add to your garden are basil, dill, and garlic. All of these attract beneficial insects and some of them deter the destructive ones. Add some marigolds for easy flowers that repel bad bugs and draw in aphid-eating ladybugs, and consider planting a nasturtium as a sacrificial plant near broccoli and cabbage — caterpillars will be drawn to the nasturtium and hopefully leave your leafy veggies alone.

I could write a whole article just on companion planting (hey, maybe one day!), so I encourage you to head out onto the web and do a little research depending on what crops you are growing.

Seed Shopping

Ahh, my most favorite winter activity. SEED SHOPPING. There is nothing like sitting in front of the wood stove with a hot cup of coffee and a pile of seed magazines. I work on seed orders and my garden plan in tandem, knowing that things will always change a bit once May 15 rolls around.

Because this is Lowell’s First Look, I’ll keep my recommendations local. Here are some great nearby resources for seeds and plants:

Starbard Farms • 11931 Riverside Drive • Lowell

Website: https://starbardfarmsfeed.com/

My favorite local option for seeds — I’m a frequent customer at this local family owned and operated store (for a lot more than just seeds). They have a large selection of seeds and starter plants in the spring. A great way to support local, and Sophie the dog will probably greet you at the door!

Heidi’s Farmstand • 11999 Cascase Road • Lowell

Visit Heidi’s in the spring for a great variety of starter plants ready to go. Another great local and family owned business. And you gotta get some donuts when you’re there!

MIgardener • Michigan Company • https://migardener.com/

Over 750 varieties of seeds, along with a lot of tools and resources for gardeners.

Flowerland • 4321 28th St SE • Grand Rapids

A great selection and big variety of seeds, and everything you need to start them!

And now, we hibernate

We still have a few months of winter to go, but hopefully garden planning tides you over just a little bit. January is on the way, and we can start planting. Outside. Yes, you heard me right! Start saving your milk jugs, and next month I’ll walk you through winter planting.

It’s hard for us outdoorsy types to be cooped up in the house all winter. If you’ve made it this far, I’m going to assume that you and I are a lot alike. We’re both missing fresh (warm) air, sunshine, and putzing around our gardens. But just like our gardens, it’s good for us to take this quiet winter time to rest. I hope you had a great holiday!

Nicole Crocker is a specialty cut flower farmer and owner of Buddy and Bean Flower Farm in Lowell. You can find her flower arrangements on her roadside stand when they’re in season. Connect with her on Facebook or Instagram, or at www.buddyandbeanflowers.com.