Thoughts before Planting

Depending on where you are and what the weather brings, March can be winter or spring for you. But I have two suggestions for any gardener, anywhere.

Don't feel pressured. There's a lot of hype around early planting, and we all want to get out into the garden. In my experience, seeds sown later will catch up--and often surpass--very early plantings.
This is your opportunity to think about what would make your garden more fertile, more enjoyable, and easier to maintain. Once crops are in the ground, it's hard to change layouts, or to address deep soil issues like compaction, poor drainage, or perennial weeds.

Think back to what did and didn't work well last year. What problems do you need to solve? What irritations can you remove? What joys might be possible? Now's the time to lay out that shady spot, privacy screen, hedgerow, trellis, compost pile, mini-greenhouse, whatever. Or just to realize much zucchini you really will eat.

Plan for enjoyment: What makes you want to be there? For me, it's a place where I can see and plan the beds while sipping tea in the shade. For you, it might be a privacy screen so you can relax more fully. Or a bed of flowers for bouquets separate from those in the landscaping, or adding an outdoor table, or tubs of salad greens, or an herb bed in that rocky spot where veggies don't thrive, or a row of raspberries in that narrow spot by the garage.....Or how about a trellis full of cherry tomatoes that shades a garden seat, so you can sit in the shade and munch?

Plan for ease of maintenance: paths wide enough for your cart or barrow, water at hand, several short hoses instead of one long one you have to drag around, planting patterns that make hoeing easy, a direct route to and from the compost, seedlings where you can see and tend them often.

Plan for the kitchen: What do you love to eat? How can you have that all season? Is there a shady spot for growing summer lettuce? How much will you eat fresh? Do you want to can or freeze food? What about dry staples for winter like beans, polenta, cornmeal, hot cereal (teff is wonderful for this) or winter squash?

Plan for your climate: If your soil is cold and wet, tall narrow beds allow it to warm up. If hot and dry, flat or sunken beds retain moisture. If your plants have suffered from too much wind or scorching sun, perhaps you could shelter them this year with companion plants, placement by buildings and structures, row covers, or temporary structures.

Plan for your soil: Wait till the soil is dry enough to crumble in your hand before you dig, walk, or plant. Then a fork or a piece of steel should glide down easily in your beds. If not, consider loosening the soil with a broadfork, hand fork, or even a piece of rebar. Sandy soil has trouble retaining both water and nutrients. Clay has plenty of both, but needs more air in the root zone. Organic matter (compost) solves both problems.