by Annie M Manzi

Created on: July 12, 2008   Last Updated: November 05, 2011

Visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads are replaced by dreams of vegetable and flowers growing in our thoughts. Yes, the holidays are over and it is time to put some thought into planning the spring garden. Seed catalogs are crowding the holiday bills aside, signaling the time to start making the short list of gardening tasks. It takes an effort to tear ourselves away from the attraction of the seed catalogs, but in taking a moment to create an overall plan of gardening tasks for the upcoming spring will be well worth the effort. But as we look over the frozen tundra of our gardens it is hard to imagine what needs to be accomplished.

• If a gardening journal was kept the year before, you will have a written account containing valuable information that will make planning this years spring tasks easier. It is an important tool and very useful to know what worked or did not work. It also gives you the varieties of produce or flowers that were planted. It contains valuable information concerning the preparation of the garden beds for winter and taking care of the equipment. A list of all the new purchases made at the end of the season sales should be noted in the journal so you don't buy doubles at full price in the spring. If you don't have a journal, starting one should be a priority.

• Make sure all gardening tools and equipment are ready to be used. Use the journal to help make an inventory of what is on hand and what needs to be purchased. Schedule time to fix, clean, and shop for new tools and equipment. Do not forget hoses and watering devices. Remember spring chores are not all gardening; there is clean-up and sprucing up your property. Factor in these tasks into your preparations.

• Design the garden or gardens on paper. Create a list of all the vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers that you want to plant and then configure them onto the outline. This makes the task of buying seeds and plants more clear and planting in the spring easy to follow. Once the plan is on paper, you can always change it if needed. Once settled, a list of seeds to purchase can be prepared.

• The best part is to pouring through seed catalogs or visiting Internet gardening sites to find the right varieties of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers you want to grow. Whether to buy seeds or plants should be decided and then the seeds bought. If some of the seeds are to be started indoors, a timetable of planting is the next task to set

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