by Susan Klatz Beal

Created on: February 20, 2009

In order to have an organized garden, it is necessary to begin the organizing from the onset. To organize the garden from the onset, it is necessary to establish a plan for it. That plan begins with a careful consideration of every important factor that comes into play in the creation of the garden. During winter when it may not be possible to be outside in the garden, take the time to make decisions about planting.

PLANNING

If you are going to have a vegetable garden, this is the time when you can think about the things you might want to plant. If you've already planted in the garden in the past, make sure that you know where things were previously planted. If you haven't planted anything in that space before, make sure you know how big it is. This is something that can be done at almost any time. By assessing the size and analyzing the dimensions, you will know for certain, exactly how much space you have, and can get a more realistic handle on exactly how much you can plant.

After deciding what you want to plant, make a list of the things you've decided upon. Spend some time to do some rough drawings so that can begin to plan out what will be planted where. It may take a while to come up with a final plan, but at this point, there is no urgency in making the final decision.

PLANT SEEDS FAR ENOUGH IN ADVANCE

Depending on where in the country you live, as soon as the beginning of January, it may be time to start planting the seeds. Make sure you have all of your seeds, planting medium, containers in which to start the seeds, proper labels so that you can identify every different thing for which you plant seeds, and that you have the proper warm and bright place in which to start the seeds. Herb seeds can also be started at this time.

Start gathering seeds for the vegetables that can be sown directly into the soil. If you do a lot of gardening, you should have some sort of box in which you can keep your seeds. You will need to make or buy dividers for the box and then have packets or envelopes to keep the seeds in. This is also a good time to make sure that your seed box is well organized and that you can find everything easily. Seeds should be separated according to categories: annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs and so forth.

If you live in a cold climate, it might be wise to consider starting some annual seeds in advance. You can also start perennial seeds indoors, but perennials are often started in the fall to ensure blooms the following spring and summer.

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