Here Comes the Garden Plan!

I published this post two years ago and thought I’d pull it out and share it again for new readers who might have missed it. As the post reads, for $25 a year Mother Earth News gives you the ability to graph out and print, share and post your garden plan. You can change it as much as you’d like and they send you regular garden chore reminders.  I’m finding that this year we are way behind many of the recommendations that Mother Earth News and gardenplantingcalendar.com have sent me because of our cold and snow. Maybe our weather will catch up with the calendar soon!  As a side note, this Mother Earth News planner also works wonderfully with a group of people who are planning together using a smart board or computer. The men and women at Bass River, Inc enjoy identifying all of the things they would like to plant and using their hands to place the plants on our virtual garden site. It’s definitely worth the investment. Let’s get planning!

One of my very favorite things about winter is thinking about the garden plan.  Yesterday I spent some time poking around the internet looking at planning websites and found this great service at Motherearthnews.com. For a thirty day free trial ($25/year after the thirty days),  you can design your garden space using lots of cool features.  The site uploads plant lists for your climate. Then you can determine your square footage and add all of the beds, structures and plants that you’d like. You can share it on social media, publish it, view it on your phone and print it.  I used the video tutorials that are provided to get started and before I knew it I had created this complete map of my kitchen garden.

Here is the link directly to the vegetable garden planner which I happened upon when I googled “garden plan.”   Just a side note about the Mother Earth News web site,  that’s a wonderful resource too! There’s lots of great information about gardening, sustainable living and health. I could spend days just reading and gathering ideas and information there.  Here’s the link  to the online version of the plan just above. You’ll see the plant list that comes with it just below the plan.

As I finish typing I can hear the ducks down in the pond for the first time this year.  Spring really is right around the corner!

If you create a garden plan, let me know, and I’ll share here on The Salem Garden!

Enjoy everything!

Michele

*This is not a paid endorsement, I have no connection to Mother Earth News, I just liked it  ;)*

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And the Winner Is….

John Pelletier of Salem!

John is the Program Coordinator of Mass In Motion Salem and said that he would use the calendar to help the Salem Public School Gardens! Since those gardens are so close to my heart I’m happy to think that the calendar will be used for them.

Here’s my process, just so you know that he won fair and square!
IMG_7903While I had lots of views of this post, the comments were light so the chance of winning was quite high. Note that John had two entries because he talked about how he would use the calendar in his comment.

IMG_7905I placed the entries into one of my favorite little baskets.

IMG_7910And the basket maker, who happens to be sick today, drew the winning entry.IMG_7914Congratulations John! I’ll email you with the coupon code for the free premium subscription to Gardenplantingcalendar.com.

Don’t forget to use coupon code salemgarden20 to save 20% off of a premium or standard subscription!

Happy garden planning and planting!!

Michele

Gardenplantingcalendar.com – Your Personalized Garden Planting Plan and a Free Giveaway!

It’s the beginning of a new garden year and just as I started to think about this year’s garden I was invited to try this website;

 

With a few clicks of my mouse I was hooked!

Gardenplantingcalendar.com will help you plan a wonderful garden. The site considers your local weather conditions and the needs of your seeds and seedlings, then provides a coordinated planting schedule.

How cool is that?

If your wondering about when to start tomatoes outdoors or indoors, you’ll have some guidance.

Maybe your pondering the possibility of growing potatoes in March?

Perhaps your a little nervous about just which week is best for planting your first row of lettuce.

Figuring out when to plant each type of seed or seedling is a big job.

Using the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) “Climate Normals” Gardenplantingcalendar.com takes care of that for you!

You simply enter data about your location, the fruits and vegetables that your hoping to grow, and your preferred growing methods.

Immediately after answering the questions your garden calendar will be ready.

I actually cut and pasted each week of the plan onto my google calendar so I could keep up with the tasks and plan each one in to my schedule.

Needless to say I’m feeling super organized and ready to go!

I can’t wait to plant seeds and I’m sure that this little boost of organization is going to propel me right into the greatest garden season ever!

So now for the giveaway;

I will be giving one reader a premium subscription to gardenplantingcalendar.com. Just say hello in the comments section by Thursday evening at 6pm eastern time and your name will be entered into my random drawing! If you go beyond a quick hi and talk about how you’d like to use the calendar I’ll add two entries.

If you can’t wait for the giveaway winner to be announced to subscribe, use the coupon code  salemgarden20  to save 20% off of a standard or premium subscription.

Gardenplantingcalendar.com is going to be a great way to get this garden season started!

Check it out and leave your comment today!

Michele

PS/ Please feel free to share this post widely! Thanks!