A good vegetable garden is a little like building a house.  First you look at models of houses, then choose one, hire a builder, he lays a good foundation and the house is built according to a blueprint (a plan).  I hope you have received some seed catalogs so you can be looking at models of gardens and what variety of vegetables to plant.   You are the builder and if you put your garden area to rest last fall (working the crop residue into the ground), you have laid a good foundation for a good garden this year and now for the planning stage. 

I’ve been browsing through a seed catalog and am pleased to see the amount of helpful information regarding the different varieties of vegetables.  This will be useful when deciding what variety grows best in the type of soil in your geographic area.  Do you know the difference between determinate and indeterminate tomatoes?  Indeterminate grow and produce all season and determinate ripen over 3-4 weeks.  So be aware which ones you choose   I noticed there are several seed starter kits available which help insure a good plant for transplanting outdoors.  There are various methods for starting seeds indoors, depending on the amount of space available.

As you begin to make plans for a garden, draw it on paper (the blueprint) using the dimensions of available ground.  Start placing rows of vegetables according to where they will grow best.  Seed catalog and seed packets inform how much space each variety needs.  Some folks use narrow spacing for small gardens, which means more hand hoeing, but as plants get bigger they shade out weeds.  If a roto-tiller is being used, be sure to space rows adequately.

 

If there are children in your home, encourage them to be involved.  If it’s possible give them a tiny space to plant their vegetables with your help.  It teaches them how things grow and responsibilities.  Many children learn about gardening through the local 4-H clubs.  If you are interested, contact your local Cooperative Extension Office.  The Cooperative Extension System is a nation-wide, non-credit educational network.  Each U.S. state and territory has a state office at its land-grant university and a network of local or regional offices.   They can help you with soil testing questions, too.

 

The use of seed catalogs for gardening is only a basic tool.  Talk to family and friends in your area regarding their gardening experiences.  There is valuable information to learn from their experiences and a good way to spend those long winter days over a cup of hot coffee or tea with them.   Enjoy the planning.