With spring bounding in—well, for some of us, anyway—it’s time to finalize your garden plans. Getting a head-start on the growing season will ensure you have a bountiful harvest. While this start date varies from region to region, most gardeners can plan on March-April to begin their outdoor festivities. My Arctic Amigos will have to wait until May.

But why wait? Get those seeds started now!

Checklist

1 – Order seeds. Grow what you’ll eat—not what’s easy. I know it’s tempting, but there’s no sadder day than the one when you witness perfectly good food withering on the vine because no one wanted to harvest it. The “excitement” factor was missing. The “ah-ha” moment, if you will. Rule number one: Gardening should be fun! But it should also be productive.

2 – Design layout. If building container beds, get your lumber now. (I don’t know about you, but my husband likes a bit of notice before he’s asked to perform.) Getting your creative juices warmed and flowing now will help speed the process later. “Oh, hunny bunny! About that little favor I mentioned… “

3 – Sharpen your tools. Or simply clean them off, know where they are, organize them. You get my drift. The last thing you need is to be searching for that trowel when you need it. Mine is indispensable, because it weeds (its primary function), digs, buries and levels. You gotta love a multi-tasker. My other essentials include gloves, hat, sunscreen and water bottle.

For you serious gardeners, you might want to add a long-handled hoe (I prefer the triangular-shaped head) for the job of cultivating your rows. Not me. I’m a busy gal with a bad back — “till as you go” is more my speed. There’s also the new Cobra Head tool I’ve fallen in love with. It’s like having bionic fingers!

4 – Turn your compost. You do have a compost pile, don’t you? It’s too easy not to—just toss, pile, and turn. Easy as 1-2-3! Seriously, composting is easy and productive. Why, just look at these gorgeous potatoes my compost served up for me.

Love a generous compost pile.

5 – Organize your rows/containers based on companion planting. Like people, plants do have their favorites, so keep them close. Besides keeping the harmony, companion planting provides a natural pesticide which eases your workload later. The sooner you break out the excel program (my preferred garden journal), the sooner you’re planting seeds and keeping track. Bear in mind your crop rotation as well—unless this is your first time playin’ in the sunshine then the sky is the limit!

6 – Check your water supply. Now’s the time to fix those leaky drip hoses, or grease any squeaky sprinkler heads. And if you can’t fix them–replace them–before they’re scooped from the shelves by other eager beavers. Note: lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency in the eyes of the store manager.

7 – Gather your mulch. Discarded newspapers, lawn trimmings, hay, pine straw and bark… All of these lend themselves well for use as natural mulch, though be sure to wet your newspaper down (or layer it with another form of mulch for a good thick cover). Trust me. Your neighbors will not be happy when your “mulch” blows across their lawn.

8 – Prepare soil. Remove weeds and add compost. 100% organic, it provides an excellent soil amendment, rich in the nutrients your plants need. Also, till your beds ahead of time. This will introduce air into the soil and accelerate bacteria activity, which in turn helps release nutrients into the soil. Word to the wise: after you’ve taken the time to remove weeds from your soil, be sure to cover your beds with row covers (or a hefty dose of mulch). Otherwise, you’ll be wedding again before your seeds/seedlings arrive on scene. In my house, that’s call for mutiny.

Also, consider ordering a bag of corn gluten now so you’ll have it on hand come season. Once your seedlings have sprouted and are on their way, you’ll want to sprinkle corn gluten on the soil around them to help keep the weeds at bay. Those tiny golden granules are amazing.

9 – Soil test. If you’re not sure what shape your soil’s in, take a sample to your local garden store. I take mine to the seed and feed and they test it on the spot. You do-it-yourselfers will prefer a home test kit. They’re simple to use and give a good idea where you stand soil-wise. Then, depending on what you’re planting, you might want to adjust the pH (acidity-alkalinity) by adding lime to raise pH, or peat/pine/sulfur to lower it. Maybe you’ll even want to dump a bag of mushroom compost into the mix. The stuff is magical!

10 – Dream. Until your seedlings are ready to hit the garden, sit back and wistfully dream of the day when your beds will be lush and full, and flourishing with life.

Tips for Planting Success

If you’re working with transplants, remember size matters. At the garden center, most plants are in small containers which make for easy transplanting. However, once home, do not make the mistake of spacing them according to their current size. They grow. Sometimes quite a bit. Caught me off guard a time or two, so be prudent, and read the label. You’ll be glad you did. There’s nothing more lovely than the layered look of foliage in your garden, from flowers and hedges to fruits and vegetables. But if the plants are placed too close together? You can stunt their growth. You can invite fungus, due to poor air circulation. Ick. Then, there’s the work of pulling them up and tossing them out. Gardening should be a pleasure, not a chore.

Companion Planting

Something else to consider when designing your layout is the plants themselves. Certain plants thrive next to one another while others are simply ill-suited to be in the same row, let alone the same garden. This is known as companion planting and is Mother Nature’s secret to success. Encourage “friends” to be close, and “foes” to be distant. Examples of good friends are carrots and beets, corn and beans, strawberries and cantaloupe. Even limas and marigold, garlic and roses! Why? Because marigold is a wonderful plant for repelling nematodes that like to attack the roots of your plants. Garlic is rumored to increase the perfume of roses, repel aphids, and prevent black spot. Corn gives beans support to climb, while beans feed corn the nitrogen they need. Like a good hostess, you simply must know who likes whom, and who doesn’t!

Arch enemies? Well, that may be a bit dramatic, but beans and onions are no good together, nor are tomatoes and dill. You see, the dill plant attracts the hornworm and the hornworm, if given the chance, will consume an entire tomato plant in a single afternoon. I’ve heard some gardeners suggest planting dill near your tomatoes to lure the hornworm away, but I don’t trust the little bugger. They make the “hungry caterpillar” look like a waif!

Crop Rotation

If you are re-planting your garden, here’s a quick tutorial on crop rotation: beans-leaves-roots-fruits. Basically stated, where you planted beans last season, plant leaves this season. Roots last season, fruits this season. This will help ward off critters lurking in wait beneath the soil, hoping for another go round against the same crop. Trick the bugs and plant something they’re not expecting! Disease can also linger in your soil, so planting the same family of plants in the same location will only exacerbate the problem.

Another rotation method? Alternate deep root plants with shallow root families. Heavy feeders with light feeders.

Follow these steps and you’ll have a head start on planting success!