Potting and Planning for 2016

Are you potting and planning yet?   We are.  The 2016 growing season is just around the corner.  And for some it has already begun.

A lot of people are busy starting seeds indoors and planning their garden.  Some are even planting outdoors, especially in the South and West.  Sales are already quite brisk here in the Northeast for this time of year and it is not even mud season. So, this tells us that the itch to get our fingers in the dirt is everywhere.

Now is a perfect time to fill small containers with potting soil and start planting seeds indoors for your hot bedding plants, like tomatoes, peppers, onions, leeks, artichokes, eggplants and tomatillos.  And herbs!!  It is never too soon to get some fresh parsley, thyme or basil going.  In a couple weeks it will be time to plant seeds indoors for other vegetables, like broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cucumbers and squash.  What you start indoors and when depends on your growing season, when you can transplant outdoors and when you want things to come in.   For example, lettuce, spinach and beets are a priority for us for early season greens.  Remember, you do not have to start everything all at once.  We grow most vegetables in succession so everything does not come in at the same time.  Other things that we freeze, can or put in the root cellar, we plant all at once, like bush beans.

So, while you pot, we encourage you to plan.  Planning next year’s garden is like opening another chapter of a great novel.  You get to develop the story line and add fresh ideas.  A trick we learned early on is to take a few pictures of each year’s garden.  It helps us keep track of crop rotation and make adjustments to the layout and variety every year.  Granted, we have 3,000 feet under cover, so planning helps.  But even if you have a 8’ X 12’ plot, it makes sense to plan.

If you ever have a question about potting or planning, email us or give us a call.

In that spirit we want to thank each and every one of you for choosing Garden Mats.  We hope you appreciate growing 100% organic vegetables weed-free as much as we do.  Here’s to a great growing season in 2016.