New Year, New Backyard Vegetable Garden

In this new year, learn exactly how to start your backyard vegetable garden for your plants to thrive and your harvest dreams to come true!

It may sound strange, but in the cold winter depths of January, it is time to start your backyard vegetable garden. Winter is always a time for reflection, processing, and planning. It’s the time when we gather up our lessons and transform them into a plan for our future—it’s when we plot our next move.

Lucky for you, this is the inside part or your garden. No muddy, cold, or wet work required. This phase of your garden can be done inside, under a blanket, next to a fireplace, with a hot mug of tea. 

How To Plant Your Backyard Vegetable Garden

There is a lot that goes into this, but keep in mind it is your garden! You can go all out, or start simple. Please yourself. Do what feels right for you. And especially don’t feel like there is some mystical garden policeman out there, judging your every move (they don’t exist—and every gardener has epic fails, just like you will). The following are things to think about and steps to take, but you can also just fly by the seat of your knickers! We all start where we feel comfortable.

What Do You Want To Grow?

I am definitely a planner, but am absolutely more of a dreamer. Fortunately, all my plans start with dreams—and yours should, too. Everything that exists in our world started from someone’s imagination. Your garden is just the same. Picture your dream in your mind, then you can start planning it out.

Before you get into the trenches of building your plan and hashing out all the lovely details, start with your beautiful dream. In your imagination, go take a stroll through this year’s future garden. What is growing there? Go to your summer dinner table in your mind. What’s on the table that you grew yourself? Stroll up to your friend’s house, what did you bring them as a gift from your garden? Go out to your pantry in winter, what do you find preserved and waiting for you? The plants that pop out to you in your imagination, are most likely the ones you should be growing.

Making A Plan

Once your dream is fresh and well nurtured, your plan may begin. This is where you make concrete steps to put your dream into a plan of action.

Sprucing Up Your Garden

If you already have an established garden area, spend a little time thinking about it. What worked well last year? Is there anything you need to change? Are there places that need some sprucing up or repairs? Perhaps you want to create a new garden area. 

Make a list of things you need to do to tidy up your space. It might be short and just involve weeding, spreading compost, or making a few repairs. Or it might be bigger with many more details. Either way, take the time to write it out. Once it’s out on paper it has a much bigger chance of becoming a reality.

Starting A New Backyard Vegetable Garden

If you’re starting a new garden, it is even better that you are starting early! These cold winter months will give you time to plan it out just how you want it. For tips on planning a garden in a small space, check out this article: Gardening In Small Spaces. For general garden planning, try 10 Essential Things To Do Before You Plan Your Garden. This article guides you through the whole process of mapping out a plan.

Need some guidance on how to get started? The Beginning Gardener’s Toolbox will help you plan where to create your space, how to improve your soil, and how to create a plan for watering (this is a crucial step that many people miss). The Toolbox also shows you which garden tools are necessary, and which you can live without. It even has a guide to harmful and beneficial insects.

Deciding What To Grow In Your Backyard Vegetable Garden

Many of us make this choice by whatever happens to be growing in the garden store when we walk through on sunny spring days, which is totally fine! But if you’d like to really be intentional, take the time this winter to make a plan based on what you truly want, rather than what catches your eye at the store.

What To Plant In Your Backyard Vegetable Garden

Deciding what you’d like to grow is the most important part! Think about what you like, and make a plan from there. Check out this fillable, printable pdf to start getting your ideas down. (Be sure you download it to save changes).

Or just jot some things down on paper, or in the notes of your phone. Keep this list with your while you’re making decisions about your garden.

There are basically 5 categories to think about:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Herbs
• Flowers
• Ornamentals

Write down what you’d like to grow from each category. Some may be empty because you don’t want to grow any—totally fine! 

For example, your list may look something like this:

• Fruits: Strawberries, Raspberries, and Apples
• Vegetables: Onions, Garlic, Potatoes, Radishes, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Peas
• Herbs: Cilantro, Thyme, Basil, Parsley
• Flowers: Sunflowers, Roses, Dahlias
• Ornamentals: 

Where To Plant

You need to do a little research here. In planning your garden design, you need to think about much more than just what you think looks good where. You need to check and see how big your plants will get, and plan accordingly to ensure everything has the proper space to grow. Try to put bigger things in the back and smaller things in the front.

Also decide if you want specific garden areas, like a separate herb garden, for example, or if you’d like to mix things up, and interdisperse flowers in your vegetable garden, with an apple tree at the center of it all.

Will you be planting directly into the ground? Or will you be using raised beds and containers? Perhaps a mix of them all? Sketch out your garden design and imagine how it might look.

Also, plan your garden’s proximity to your home. Do you want it close to the kitchen for easy access? Or perhaps in a far corner of your property. I’ve found the more easy and convenient I make my garden, the more I am out there, and the better my garden does. 

If this feels overwhelming, The Beginning Gardener’s Toolbox is a fabulous affordable tool to help keep things simple.

Plan For Sun, Shade, And Wind Protection 

If you’re in a small urban space, you may not have many choices for your garden design. In this case, just make sure your garden is in a place that gets enough sun, shade, and protection from the wind.

The Right Plants For Your Backyard Vegetable Garden

If you are short on space, especially sunny space, be sure to plan for that. Prioritize the sunny places in your garden for those plants which require the most light. Things like:

• Sunflowers
• Tomatoes
• Pumpkins
• Melons
• Peppers
• Squash
• Onions
• Many flowers

And use the shadier places in your garden for plants that can tolerate cooler temperatures. For example:

• Peas
• Radishes
• Lettuces and greens
• Herbs

Know Your Zone!

As badly as you want to grow something (for me it’s lemon, orange, and avocado trees), unfortunately your desire won’t make them magically grow in your zone. 

Before you buy anything (especially things you order from other places), make sure they grow in your zone!

How Do You Find Your Zone?

Google! It’s easy! Simply type in your town or zip code, and the words planting zone, and you should have your answer. Here’s another great tool to check, as well.

USDA Hardiness Zone Finder https://garden.org/nga/zipzone/ 

After you’ve made a list of what you want to grow, do some research and make sure it grows well where you live. Here’s a little planner to keep track if you’d like.  fillable, printable pdf

When To Plant Your Backyard Garden

Knowing when to plant your dream garden is key! There are actually several times to plant throughout the year. 

All of this will depend greatly on your zone, and where you live, but in general here’s a basic plan for planting throughout the year. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and this plan works best for me. Check your location to fine tune this basic outline. 

These recommendations are for planting seeds, sets, and starts directly outside. Planting times will be different if your are starting your plants indoors. 

How To Plant Your Garden

There are so many different ways to plant your backyard vegetable garden. The main ways to start plants are seeds, sets, starts (baby plants), crowns, and bare root plants.

While you can grow most things from seed, there are also easier ways for many plants. Use this guide to help you decide how you want to plant what you’ve chosen. 

Easy To Grow From Seed

• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Cilantro
• Carrots
• Peas
• Beans
• Sunflowers 

Easy To Grow From Starts

(Note: Many of these are fairly easy to grow from seed, but depending on your climate, will need to be started indoors, and hardened off to go outside, which makes starts easier, especially for a beginning gardener).

• Cucumbers 
• Melons
• Tomatoes 
• Peppers
• Herbs

Easy To Grow From Sets

• Onions

Easy To Grow From Crowns

• Asparagus 
• Rhubarb 

Easy To Grow Bare Root

• Raspberries 
• Strawberries 
• Grapes
• Fruit Trees

Buying Seeds For Your Backyard Vegetable Garden

Now that you’ve figured out what you will be growing, when you will plant, and where it will go, you are ready for one more winter gardening task: ordering seeds!

Warning: This one can be easy to get carried away with! You will be wooed by fun and unique plants. If you are out in the county with lots of space, go for it, get wild, plant till your heart is content! 

However, if you are in the city, or other small space, realize that every choice you make to plant one thing, is a decision not to plant another. Choose sparingly, and edit ruthlessly. It is the only way you’ll have room.

A Few Notes About Seeds

There are many different types of seeds to explore in order to find what’s best for you. Here are a few to consider.

Organic Seeds: Get these whenever you can! Seeds produced without harmful chemicals are better for you, your family, community, and our entire ecosystem. Use organic seeds whenever possible!

Heirloom Seeds: These are great. You can find lots of cool old varieties, and grow things you’d never find in the store. The best part is that you can save these seeds from what you’ve grown, and plant them again and again.

Best Places To Order Plants And Seeds

Shop Local! Going to your local stores and nurseries is a great place to start, because they are usually selling exactly what grows best in your area. Often they have experts there available to help you, as well.

Order Seeds And Plants

If you can’t go to your local nursery, or are looking for more variety, these are a few of my favorite sources for quality plants. Sign up for their free seed catalogs in winter! It’s perfect timing, because while you are longing for your garden, they arrive and help tide you over.

Raintree Nursery: An amazing source of unique and edible plants! They are usually shipped live, as opposed to seeds.

Siskiyou Seeds: A wonderful source for unique, sustainable, and fun to grow plants.

Seed Savers: An excellent source for unique, heirloom varieties.

Baker Creek: Great selection of unusual seeds.

Botanical Interests: Quality seed with many varieties.

Do some research and find companies that look interesting to you. Get on their mailing lists, and gorgeous seed catalogs will start arriving to you for free in winter.

Other Favorite Seed Companies

Azure Standard is a favorite of mine! Besides just seeds you can also order very healthy plants, and even groceries here. Great company!

Rest Up

Now that you have planned your upcoming garden, put your feet up, grab that (probably cold by now) cup of tea, and let your mind wander. Go back to your long winter’s nap, and rest up for spring. 

Are You Ready?

If you’re ready to start your own thriving urban homestead, and would like more detailed guidance, click here! Homestead in the City is a friendly, simple, robust and detailed course that will take you from beginner to urban homesteader in one growing season!

Learn everything you need to know about garden planning, space creating, planting, growing, harvesting, cooking, and preserving. Filled with tips to save you time, money, and heartache, this is our most popular course!

Happy Garden Planning to you!

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I would love to get to know you more and see your garden (or your dreams of one)!

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