Garden Planning

Garden planning is something that is always in a state of change for me.  I get a basic idea of what I want, but you never really know where things will end up in my garden.  Bed sizes that sounded good on paper never seem quite the same when I am out there digging in the dirt.  I have a bad habit of trying to put too much into a space that isn't quite big enough.  My garden paths end up as little stepping areas between beds by the end of the season.  And let me tell you, that makes weeding an uncomfortable chore.

I have a graph paper notebook that I use for my planning. There is no rhyme or reason to the way it is organized, and some drafts get ripped out as they morph into something bigger. It contains lists of what seeds I have, what seeds I want, how many plants of each kind I think I will need to fill a bed. The property that we are renting is basically a blank slate. It is 3 1/2 acres of what could be pasture if it was irrigated. My original garden was shaped by the scraps of fencing left behind by the previous tenents.

I was quite convinced that nothing would grow in this dry clay soil.  Most of the farmland around us is irrigated, and while I thought it was a good idea, I also thought that it would be wasteful of water in this dry climate.  I chose to mulch my beds with straw to help hold in water better.  Straw mulch also has the added benefit of becoming fertilzer for next years crops and helps to improve the soil.  The Straw worked so well it even saved my tender seedling tomatoes and peppers from a late frost that year!