Do You Plan for Next Year’s Harvest?

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A simple spiral note book. It was less than a dollar on clearance but it has saved me far more than any other garden tool.

We all know our regular gardening wind down routine. As a matter of fact, tonight I will finish pulling the last of the buggy zucchini plants and the scraggly tomato stems and will haul them over to the burn pile. The herbs still need to be split and transplanted. They will come in to grow in the window box over winter. A few beds need emptied, raked over and top dressed before we settle into winter but we are right on track for fall chores. Don’t miss that notebook. It will save you time and money next year.

The end of the season is a great time to make assessments about how your garden performed. Make notes on seeds that did well and locations that thrived or failed. Create a simple map from this year’s spring planting where it will easily be found and when you need to rotate crops next year all you need to do is look it up. Having the Garden Journal has simplified my planting to packing up routine. When I plant I write the name of the seed pack in my map and throw the seed pack in my plastic bin. At year end I can pull the packet if I want to know more about the plant and make a note in my Journal. Not every plant needs noted but clear winners and losers of the garden get a note.

This helps me formulate a plan for next year. I already know we will make a few minor adjustments but  I will definitely want to note them now. Small change bring us a better crop and more beauty. Gardening should not be about hopeless fights with weeds and rotten crops. We could grow more, but we grow just enough to eat and enjoy. Assessing helps you make the garden serve you. It helps you get a plan for spring. Did your family suddenly turn on the radishes, but couldn’t get enough broccoli, make a note now. We decided that we will not grow mixed greens next year. That will go in my year end notes. The tomatoes shaded the pepper plants too well. I will want to put a note in my Garden Journal to put something that loves shade in that spot if I plan to use the trellis again.

I note changes in my Journal because come spring we are dirt starved and crazy, it is all we can do to not just start putting things in the ground. Examples of Spring madness: for years I bought plants for my porch before Mother’s Day. I would get plants that were for full sun because the trees still had not leafed out, my porch was bright and sunny. For three years running my hanging baskets were pathetic because they ended up in full shade as soon as the trees were in leaf. Until I made a note to my self in my Garden Journal. Same story with my peppers. They were happy for the first half of the summer but as the sun moved position in the sky they lost light because of a tree. Long winters make gardeners crazy. We just want to see some green and that makes us a bit  irrational.

You think you will remember all of these things come spring, but why take the chance when the Journal is such a simple tool. Late this summer the tree that caused shade took damage in a storm and had to be removed. Writing it down now will ensure that next year I will take advantage of the sun and will plant peppers in the same spot early in the spring. I might not have remembered to keep them in the same location because I spent the whole summer planning on moving them from that very spot for lack of sun shine. I don’t have to remember because I wrote it in my Garden Journal.

I will have a few features telling more about my garden over the winter months to help you plan for next year. Pass this along to any frustrated gardeners you know. You don’t have to quit gardening, you just might want to change the way you do it. Be sure to follow so you don’t miss my upcoming post on about how I quit gardening. Check out our gardening page on Facebook NAC for Gardening for more practical advice and tips from experts.