Skip to main contentSkip navigation | Access keys infoAccess keys
Accessibility information
Montage of membership benefits

Planning for the New Year

Planning and preparation

Once the growing season starts, it is nice to have all the necessary equipment to hand. This is a good time of year to...

Whether you grow vegetables in a designated area of your garden, on an allotment, or simply dispersed between other plants around the garden, a bit of forward planning - what you are going to grow where, and when and how much - can be invaluable. Our Crop rotation factsheet is a useful planning aid.

  1. Grow only what you will eat

    • It's easy to get carried away when looking at the catalogues in the winter. Be realistic about the quantities you really need and want.
    • Ask the whole family - there is no point in growing vegetables that they wont eat.

  2. Match workload and available time

    • Plan crops so that ground preparation and sowings are staggered, and that you have the appropriate time available
    • Remember harvesting too; will the neighbours be prepared to pick your glut of runner beans every August when you are on holiday? Wouldn't you like to eat them yourselves?

  3. Avoid gluts and famines

    • Staggered sowings, a range of varieties and some protection (both in spring and autumn) can greatly extend the harvest and avoid gluts (most of the time).

  4. Keep space available

    • If you have a plan, you are less likely to fill up empty spaces with leftover plants that you cant bear to throw away
    • You will also be aware of when to remove plants to make space for the next crop. Particularly important in the late summer, when a missed week or two can make all the difference.

  5. Have seeds in stock

    By planning, and purchasing in advance you will ensure:

    • that you get the varieties you want
    • you have the right seed to hand when you need it
    • you don't buy too much of some things - check last year's leftovers

  6. Remember sowing dates

    • A sowing list can be invaluable if you tend to forget dates; it is particularly helpful later in the season for late summer and autumn sowings
    • An easy alternative is to keep seeds in a tin or box, with card dividers to make fortnightly or monthly sections

  7. Maintain rotation

    • Crop rotation keeps plants healthy and makes best use of soil fertility. To be successful it really must be planned in advance.
    • Remember to record what actually happened too

  8. Fertility building

    • Plan in space for making compost, leafmould and storing manure (if you use it)
    • Make a note of what you are going to use when and where.
    • Fertility building green manures are much easier to manage if you include them in your cropping plan in advance.

Return to what to do in your vegetable garden now

All content © Garden Organic  |  Registered Charity No 298104

Garden Organic is the working name of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA).
We are not responsible for the content of external web sites.
Supported by
ERDF logo