Even though you may still be harvesting the end of the growing season’s bounty, or have moved on to your Fall/Winter gardening, planning for next year’s growing season NOW will give you many advantages and increase your odds of success! Each year you have a garden, you are learning new things constantly because Mother Nature tends to surprise us by throwing a few curve balls with weird weather, bugs and pests you weren’t expecting, and maybe some odd wildlife depending on where you live. Here, we deal with black bears, deer, and the local pack of dogs. 😉
There are many things to consider and implement toward making next year’s garden better than this years was:
- New plants you would like to grow and how they fit into your current set up
- Crop rotation
- Space considerations
- Time available to tend to the garden
- Additional time for research
- Improvements you need to work on
Save money this year on next year’s garden plan!
With the season coming to a full close, there are sales going on all over the place and it is time to get your garden plan ON! Hit Walmart, Target, Home Depot and other big box stores to scoop up deals on gardening tools and supplies at deep discount prices. Better yet, hit the internet sales, too! If you are willing to put in the time, you can buy supplies for pennies on the dollar and get everything you need (or close to it) without breaking the bank. For those larger purchases on items, utilizing a layaway system can help you meet your goals if you have a hard time setting money aside and then not spending it. 😉
You can also get together with other gardeners in your area and see about doing a “garden” swap meet where everyone brings the items they aren’t using or don’t want and trade/barter for some stuff you do want. You could even take it one step further and make it a “no money” event; trade and barter only. You might be surprised at the response you get!
Get to know your gardening neighbors and network!
Chances are good that there are others who garden in your community. Note those who grow flowers or vegetables and strike up a conversation! Check your local paper or community’s website for a gardening group or farmer’s market. These people are a wealth of knowledge and I have yet to meet anyone who isn’t more than willing to help answer any questions you may have about different plants and growing in your climate. Maybe you can work together to get a larger variety of fresh fruits and vegetables by trading your excess. If you have a bumper crop of carrots, perhaps someone will be willing to trade for their excess of tomatoes. You get the idea!
A community of gardeners tends to have greater success and by getting involved in the slower growing season, you will have the time to really learn and implement new methods or help someone else start their journey! Perhaps your involvement in your community and talking with people is the one thing a person close to you needed to ‘dig in’ and realize that they can grow some of their own vegetables/fruits/herbs/spices, too! You do NOT need a huge area to grow at least some of your own food. Say there is a person you know who lives in an apartment and only gets good light in one window. Now say that same person loves peppermint tea. Get a peppermint start for them and show them how easy it really can be! So what if they aren’t getting enough to sustain their tea drinking habits. It isn’t the how much that matters. It is showing people that they really can rely on themselves and produce their needs and wants for themselves. Powerful stuff…just from a packet of seeds!
Even if you have really small spaces to work with!
You can still plan a garden! Utilizing vertical greenhouses and shelves can turn a window into a food producing machine! How nice would be it be to walk over to your window and pick oregano, parsley, basil, and chives fresh from your herb garden to put directly into your tomato sauce? How much money would you save a year on your favorite spices by growing them yourself? I have grown basil in my kitchen window a couple of time now in one of those rectangle plastic pots. I used it fresh as it was growing (which helps it grow even more!) and when it took over the container it was growing in, I harvested it and dried the leaves up in my dehydrator before crushing them down a bit and stocking it away in the old basil container I got from the store about….3 years ago now.
Right now I have oregano growing because we have enough basil. Sage is extremely expensive here so, I started growing my own of that too! I cannot wait until we get our own home and land because I am going to plant a large garden dedicated to herbs and spices. It will serve to save us money on spices and provide natural remedies for common ailments as well. I have daydreams of making pesto from ingredients so fresh that the water hasn’t stopped moving inside the leaves! Until then, I will use all of the space I have available to lessen my reliance on the system, learn more about growing my own, and saving money on a far superior product than I could buy in the store. Win-Win!