What to Plant Next Garden Season

You may be thinking to yourself, isn't it too soon? Here is why it's not.

What to Plant Next Garden Season

At about this time each season, my boyfriend and I start thinking about what to plant for the next growing season. This may seem crazy because we are still in the current growing season here in South Central PA mid-August. However, that makes it the perfect time to start planning. Let’s talk about why.

Pictured above are Sart Roloise. These are my all time favorite. So even though they crack some, I keep them because they heal over quickly without busting open.

Your Garden Favorites

If I asked you right now what your favorites are in the garden, you could easily answer. You would automatically tell me all the varieties that you are in love with. Now imagine if I asked you the same question in January, well after you have put the garden to bed. At that point, you likely would have a hard time recalling everything you liked.

These Power’s Yellow tomatoes are delicious but they crack too easily with water fluctuation. I will find a crack-resistant variety to replace them with.

Pests, Disease, Cracking

I bet you could also tell me right now all of your garden woes. You would list off the insects plaguing your garden, the diseases that have taken over, and how many cracked tomatoes made you sad. Would you remember all those things 5 months after the season ended? Probably not.

Terrible Tasting Produce

You would think this is something you’d surely remember, right? How bad something tastes can have a very impactful impression. However, I can’t tell you how many times I have forgotten if I didn’t like something because it tasted bad or if there was another reason.

These Cucamelons are a vining plant that take up very little space. I have 4 planted in a space where I would only have room for a single squash plant. Having these 4 plants provides me a much large harvest.

Space Saver

As the season moves forward, you find out what plants took up too much space. You also learn if you had vining plants you didn’t realize needed a trellis. It is always important to make sure you are utilizing your garden space to the best of your ability. Sometimes that means sacrificing planting one large item for the room to plant 3 smaller plants instead. If you don’t make note of this now, this is something that is easily forgotten past the growing season.

Summer Squash can take up a lot of space like this Round Zucchini plant seen above. If you don’t have much garden space, you may want to think about planting something else.

Memory Fades

Are you starting to sense a theme here? Once the garden season is over, it is very easy to forget all the little nuances of the garden. This is why I believe when you are in the thick of harvesting season you should write down a list. That list should include what you ate the most, what you didn’t eat all, what you liked vs didn’t, what did well pest and disease wise, etc. This will be your foundation for selecting what to plant for the next garden season.

Seed Sales

Another reason I like to make my list of pros and cons for the garden are seed sales. August is commonly when seed stores put everything on sale to make room for the next year’s inventory. They are not allowed to sell seeds past their 1 year expiration. The cool thing about that is you get cheap seeds that will still germinate. While germination rates lessen over time, seeds can actually be viable for several years. It is simply a federal regulation that seed companies must have a new round of seeds yearly. So don’t throw out your old seed packets! Use them next season or trade them for other seeds.

Seed Swaps

As we move closer to fall, seed swaps will start to ramp up online. Facebook groups are a great resource for swapping seeds. This is a great way to get rare items you might not be able to obtain online. It can also be a way to save money on seeds that may be more expensive. Seed swaps are also just fun. You join a like-minded community when joining in on a seed swap group. Knowing exactly what you want for the next season will help you make the best swaps.

Final Garden Planning Thoughts

Midway through your garden season, sit down and make your pros and cons list. I recommend doing this while sitting in the middle of your garden. It is really hard to forget anything when it is staring you in the face. Use this information to shape your next garden season. Get in on those seed deals and start planning your seed swaps.

Make sure you are planting what you will eat, but as always make sure you also plant fun things. Try something new. Grow things that encourage you. Happy garden planning!

Trying to decide if gardening is right for you? Check out my post below.