Winter's End - Time To Start Planning Your Garden

Gardening requires planning, waiting for the snow to melt is not the best course of action as in some cases you may want to start your seedlings inside well before the snow melts and the planting begins. You should always start thinking about what you want out of your garden well in advance.

Image courtesy of sxc.hu

Winter may be a slow period for gardeners, but it need not be ground to a halt. Winter is time to reflect on what worked and what didn't last season, and to begin to plan your garden for the next year. Planning your garden ahead of time will allow you to make the most of the space you have available to maximize your garden's potential, increase yield (for fruit/veg), and generally make a more aesthetically pleasing garden.

Its also a great time to shop for seeds, since most seed sellers put on some amazing seed sales why not take advantage. There is a slightly increased risk of seed spoilage, but if you know that going in and buy extra you still end up with some pretty fantastic deals.

Software can be quite handy when planning your garden. These programs allow you to layout your garden and get a decent visualization on what it will look like. I've looked around for some of the best garden planning software on the internet, here is what I have found:

Starting your seedlings indoors before the snow melts can mean an earlier harvest and hardier plants. Plant your seeds in biodegradable planting pots to make it real simple, or you can plant them in anything you have available (I've used old margarine tubs) and transplant them in spring to your garden. Starting the plants indoors allows you to plant only viable plants as by the time they hit your garden they are already growing, and it allows you to plant more without having to thin out your plants later.