Another note: If you have a patio or porch you can have some of both worlds and even move plants in containers in and out when needed. For instance, you could grow tomatoes outside in a container until it gets too cold (begins to frost) and then bring them inside to continue the harvest into the fall.
Also, some veggies to try growing year round inside could be greens (lettuce, kale, collards, Swiss chard, etc.), roots (carrots, radishes, turnips, etc.) and herbs. I don't have personal experience growing these year round inside but they should do better with less light and the shorter days than your fruiting veggies like tomatoes or cucumbers.
Other Planning Resources
GrowVeg is a powerful online garden planner that gives you amazing flexibility in laying out your garden visually. From the garden planners I have looked at it seems to have the most versatility combined with the most useful features. Some of these features include:
- Automatically calculates for your specific area
- Planting and harvesting schedules laid out visually
- Large database of vegetables
- Easy crop rotation suggestions
- Personal customization
- Email reminders
And the list could go on... If you are serious about planning, this software is definitely worth checking out. It starts off with a free trial and then goes into a very reasonable yearly subscription.
If you are looking for something free, Smart Gardener just might be your best resource. It is a free online program for planning your garden. Even though it doesn't have quite the visual versatility of GrowVeg, it does come with some nice features of its own including weekly tasks, a journal just for you, and a very large database of specific vegetable types. It also plans out your season based on your location automatically.
Garden Plan Pro is the iPad version of GrowVeg and works seamlessly with the online software. It is a beautifully created app with wonderful graphics and an excellent interface.
NOTICE: The current version is buggy and seems to crash often. Download at your own risk. My guess is that they will pump out a new version that is more stable and when that happens it will definitely be worth the investment. 🙂 Also Mother Earth News has repackaged the same app under the name Grow Planner. Just wanting to save you from spending money on the same thing twice...
When to Plant is an excellent app put out by Mother Earth News that will show you what vegetables to plant each month of the year for your specific location. It also gives you a visual of the vegetable's growing season and growing information for each crop.
9 Comments
Isela Muzquiz
September 29, 2015Thank you so much for the links! My area has no chance of frost. 😀
Jan Johnson
November 12, 2015Thank you for the Resource information. I am finding everything I need in the Free Smart Gardener planning program. I am sure as I become a more experienced gardener, I will move up to a paid program with an additional IOS format but, for now, the Smart Gardener really works. I love the colorful Garden Plan that I can print. It makes me feel like I just might know what I am doing.
Paul
November 19, 2015Great Jan! Yes, I’ve seen the Smart Gardener planning program and I’m glad it’s working great for you. Keep it up!
Natasha
April 3, 2016I have recently started planting veggies (in containers) by using the phases of the moon. There are people that “swear” by it. I don’t know how the moon would have an influence on plant growth, but it has helped me not to get overwhelmed by planting too much at once. (Planning made simple.) It is also helping me to spread the cost of purchasing seed, etc. by only buying when needed. (Every week or so.) I have planted beans by the moon. The week after my son planted some as well and both containers have some good looking plants. Does the phase of the moon really influence crops? What is your take on this?
Paul
April 4, 2016Great question Natasha! And I’ll have to be perfectly honest here. I’ve never had experience with planting by the moon. For the most part there isn’t any scientific evidence that I have seen to suggest that planting by the moon actually effects crops in a significant manner. That being said, if it helps you schedule then it can easily be a blessing in that way. There are those that begin to put spiritual emphasis on the timings in connection with the moon which I personally do not adhere to with my understanding of God and His creation. It’s a great question though and once again, I’d see the primary benefit for you in helping with scheduling. Otherwise I wouldn’t put much weight on the timing actually affecting plant growth in a significant manner. Cheers!
Natasha
April 5, 2016Thank you for your reply, Paul! I can’t imagine God planting by the moon. He made plants before there ever was a moon I didn’t know people put spiritual emphasis on using the moon as a guide to planting. Thank you for the info.
Paul
April 6, 2016You’re welcome! Glad to help.
Adrienne
April 20, 2017Hi Paul.
Thanks for including these garden planners, it’s definitely helping with my organizing (or lack of). A question about the sample planning calendar (under plug and play garden plan)…..is there a way I can see on the plan only the veggies I am planting as apposed to seeing dates for all veggies listed? I haven’t tried to download it yet, so not sure if the option to adjust is provided at that point. Thanks!
Paul
April 21, 2017Hi Adrienne – great question. At this point there is no way to choose which ones to see and which ones not to see. One thing you could do is download the Google Calendar file, add it to your calendar program or account and then edit the entries. That would be the easiest way to customize it to your specific garden. Hope this helps!