it’s nice when your hubby gets on board with your garden projects. for the longest time joe was not really interested in my garden aspirations until he started getting home made pizza. he really jumped on board when we put the fire pit in the middle of the garden and started spending our summer nights out there. it really helps when we have the help of my secret garden planner tool. he is a spreadsheet man after all!
last year we worked on putting in garden paths with pea gravel to cut down on the weeds that sprout up in between the beds. this year we are going to expand the garden up towards the road and include an outdoor dining area, grill pit, herb and perennial beds and a kids garden for otto.
we have our work cut out for us but after learning some tricks last year i don’t think it will take us but one or two saturdays to get it all situated. my beds are all raked and my supplies are ready to go so now it’s just taking the time to come up with a plan that tells me what is going to go where.
note: i used to start my seeds myself but due to not having a greenhouse (yet) and the size of my garden i outsourced my seed starting to a friend who has a commercial business that is doing them for me. because she is a gem. and i love her. not only for starting my seeds but it definitely helps.
my garden in total will be just about an acre in size (includes shed, fire pit area etc). so keeping up with a plan for everything is important. i use this secret planner weapon to help me decide what is going to go where. it’s a program called GrowVeg. it is a subscription service but it tells you how far to plant your flowers and veggies, companion plants (ex. what to grow together tomatoes and basil) and succession planting. (ex. when your’e beans are done replace with x plant). i have been using this program for a few years (since 2013) and it’s helped me remember what I planted where last year. You do not want to plant the same plants in the same spot year after year because they soak up the nutrients in the soil needed for those plants. also it can attract pests more than normal. crop rotation is important! by the time i get out to planting i have a hard time remembering which bed got which tomatoes.
GrowVeg is a must! It’s $25/year and well worth it. There is a discount if you sign up for a two year deal. There is also a free 7 day trial.
So far here is my garden planner for 2019! click here
see what i grew in 2018 here.
$25 a year isn’t bad at all. I might have to check it out 🙂