planning my 2021 garden

As I write this it is trying to snow outside, but my mind is firmly into spring and summer already. One of the things that brings me joy each year is my garden and the few months in winter when I can’t do anything is always a little sad. It is nice to have a reset however as I start to prepare and plan for my garden for this year.

You can check out lots of my other posts about my garden under the “Garden” tab where I keep everything if you want to look back on the past two years. This is my third year at my community garden and this year we won’t be moving so we are able to start our garden right away! If you don’t know we rent a community garden plot a few minute walk away from our home that is 8′ x 8′ and is so great. We have a little bit of space in our backyard, but sadly is doesn’t get enough sun to really grow anything. We have garlic growing there right now so hopefully there will be an update on that in the summer when I dig it up.

I last was in my garden plot at the end of October when I cleaned everything up, harvested the last of the vegetables, and took home any things I was leaving there. The only thing I did leave was the onions that I had planted. I haven’t been back to check on the onions since so I have no idea how they are growing (or if they are at all), but I will find out soon when I start this garden.

Now onto the planning. The first thing I did was take a look at the seeds that I had stored from previous years. There were a few packets that were a few years old that I didn’t feel great about that I got rid of, but I still had quite a few seeds left. I then looked at what I wanted to grow that I didn’t yet have. This I did in part with the West Coast Seeds Gardening Guide which I requested to have sent to me. I really love West Coast Seeds and since they are sold in all of the Nursery’s around me they are very easy to get. This guide not only has planting guides for all the vegetables, but also lists every seed that they sell.

• 

• 

Together with Nigel I sat down and circled all of the vegetables that I wanted to get. A lot are ones that we have grown before, but there are few new experiments that we are excited to try out and see how they turn out.

Then we headed down to the West Coast Seeds store. I had never been before so I thought it would be a fun adventure, I knew they would have a pretty good stock, and they sold some other products that I was excited about as well. Here is what I picked up:

Seeds:

• Corn – NEW
• Beans
• Peppers – NEW
• Tomatoes – NEW (from seed)
• Leeks – NEW
• And some Bonnie Henry Flower seeds

Still Had from Previous Years:

• Peas
• Carrots
• Parsnips
• Radish
• Brussels Sprouts
• Beets
• Butternut Squash
• Cucumber
• Onions

Other Supplies:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• Seeding Square (to help maximize the planting in the small space)
• Labels (metal and can be reused over and over)
• New Tools as ours were very old and breaking
• Seedling Pots

Then I started planning. I wrote down all of the months and then using a combination of the West Coast Seeds Planting Guide and the Farmer’s Almanac worked out when I should be starting seeds inside, outside, and transplanting seedlings. This helps me at least see a guideline of how things are going to work out and when about I need to be doing things.

• 

• 

• 

Starting in February I will be continuing my garden series monthly sharing how my gardening is going, what works, what doesn’t, and what I am learning. Let me know in the comments if you enjoy gardening, if you have started planning for this year yet, and what your favourite thing to grow is.