Dig Deeper

Episode Transcript

Hi! John Morgan here and welcome to this month’s episode of the Keep Growing Podcast.  During the summer we take a look at weekly garden tasks and the weather forecast for the Mid-Ohio Valley.  Now that we’re in the depths of winter, we’re taking a look each month at things you can be doing now to get a jump on the gardening season.

An often-overlooked aspect of gardening is planning.  Getting the most out of your garden space from the earliest part of spring to the first frosts of fall, planning is one of the best things you can do.  Personally, I rely on a few planning tools.  I keep a daily journal that I use to organize everything.  My plan starts this time of year with a sketch of my garden beds and a list of early spring plants.  Then, once I have seeds in the ground, I use an app called AirTable to track my crops.  By adding in the “days to maturity”, I can calculate the projected harvest date.  That helps me later in the season plan for succession planting and crop rotation.  Let’s zoom out to the 10,000 foot view of garden planning.

Step 1: Choose Your Garden Type

First, consider the type of garden that suits your space and lifestyle:

·       Traditional, Victory Garden: Requires a plot of land, perfect for those with a yard.

·       Container Gardening: Ideal for balconies or patios, using pots for each plant or group of plants.

·       Raised Beds: Great for controlling soil quality, drainage, and keeping pests at bay.

·       Vertical Gardening: Useful for small spaces, growing upward on trellises or walls.

I grew a traditional victory garden for years.  A few years ago, I went to a bit of a hybrid layout.  Half of my garden is raised beds for crops like cabbage, squash, tomatoes, herbs, etc. Then the other half is for larger volume row crops that I’ll be canning like beans and corn.

It’s a more efficient use of space with less weeding.  Also, as I get older, working on raised beds is less bending and kneeling.  Also, they are more visually appealing.  Eventually, I want to add a seating area to my raised bed garden.

Step 2: Location, Location, Location

Vegetables need sunlight - at least 6 hours a day, so pick a spot where the sun loves to linger. Also, consider:

·       Access to Water: Your garden will need regular watering, so proximity to a water source is key.

·       Soil Quality: Test your soil or prepare to amend it. Vegetables prefer well-drained, fertile soil. Depending on your state, many state extension services will test soil and give you recommendations for treating it.

·       Proximity to Your Home: The closer your garden, the more likely you'll tend to it regularly.

Step 3: Decide What to Grow

Choosing what to plant can be as much fun as the harvest:

·       Know Your Zone: Check your USDA Hardiness Zone to understand what grows best in your climate. For our region, we’re located in the zone 6-7 range.

·       Succession Planting: Plant in stages to have a continuous supply. For example, sow lettuce seeds every two weeks. Then, as plants are harvested, you have younger plants maturing to take their place.  This also works for swapping out seasonal crops.  For example, snow peas planted in March, might get swapped out for summer squash in May.  Then, the squash could be swapped out for turnips in the fall.

·       Family Favorites: Focus on vegetables your household loves to eat. As I record this, I am recovering from a surgery to address a massive kidney stone that was in my left kidney.  Analysis showed that is was promarily calcium oxalate.  That means I’m going to start cutting crops that are high is oxalate, like spinach, in favor of low oxalate veggies like bok choi.

·       What and Where to Buy: Buying seeds and starts is the fun part.  Based off prior experience, I know what plants I want to grow from seeds versus what I want to buy as starts from Bob’s.  For example, I rarely have luck starting tomatoes from seed. At Bob’s we carry seeds from a company called Botanical Interests.  You can actually hear an interview with a representative from their company all the way back in episode 003.  If you’re old fashioned like me, I also enjoy setting down with the Burpee Catalog and let my imagination run wild.

Step 4: Planning Your Layout

Sketch your garden on paper before anything goes in the ground.  I’ve gotten fancy when it comes to planning my landscape over the last few years.  I use a drone to get aerial shots of my property, and then I map out my garden and landscape plan directly over it. For my larger landscape beds and wildflower areas, it helps me plan exactly how much seed, flats, potting mix, and mulch I will need.  I’ll actually start stockpiling potting mix and mulch now.

·       Space Management: Each plant needs room to grow. Research or use seed packets for spacing guidelines.

·       Rotation: Rotate crops each year to prevent soil depletion and pest buildup.

·       Paths: Include walkways for easy access and to prevent soil compaction.

Step 5: Planting Schedule

Timing is everything in gardening:

·       Start Dates: Know when to start seeds indoors or when it's safe to plant outdoors after the last frost.  This is something I’ve struggled with in the past.  I start seedlings too early and then they’re legging by the time I transplant them.  Also, you need to plan time for hardening them off.  Basically, taking them outside on warmer days to help them get stronger in the sunlight and wind.

·       Planting Calendar: Create or find a calendar for your area to guide planting and harvesting times. This goes back to planning for crop rotation and succession planting.  In our region, the WV Extension office produces a great gardening calendar.  In fact, it is one of the tools I use for planning this podcast and Uncle Jim’s Almanac on the Bob’s Market website.

Hopefully, this gives you some ideas for planning your garden.  As I’m recording this, the snow is flying as we get hit with the first big winter storm of 2025.  I’m going to fix myself some hot tea in a bit, sketch out my garden beds, take a look at the seed I have stored in the fridge, and plan to ... Keep Growing.

For a full transcript of this episode and more, check out the show notes at bobsmarket.com/keepgrowing.  Copyright 2025 Bob’s Market and Greenhouses, Inc.

Also, with the new year, it’s time to shake things up.  Here’s our new theme song!