It’s that time of year where I start planning the season out!

I’ll give you a look at what I’m planning and how it compares to last year as well so you can better plan your own gardens.

There are definitely a lot of similarities to last year’s list, but some things have changed and we’ve had to adapt.

Let’s check it out.

Plot A

For this plot we have moved to doing exclusively perennial plants and herbs there (garlic is the exception).

This mostly serves as a site for us to take cuttings from and to keep plants that will eventually be used elsewhere.

I may let this site go soon, we’ll see. Our main friend who used to care for it doesn’t live there anymore, the current homeowners don’t do much with it, and we don’t visit it often anymore other than to take cuttings or to plant garlic.

Plot B

This plot had a lot of fresh mulch and new soil prep done last year so it’s going to need a little while to get to a point where the soil is good quality. We have some nitrogen fixers doing their work there for now as well as some mulch that will decompose faster than wood mulch in some spots.

This plot will be our main food plot, and we will be able to tend to it more regularly than the other plots.

We had some good yields from the perennials that are producing, and we added several new perennials including: pawpaw, more currants, more elderberry, thyme, yarrow, honeyberry, and thimbleberry!

The annuals struggled quite a bit last year because of the stage 3 drought and the rough spring. We expect better this year because of our heavy winter which we haven’t had in several years.

Plot C

This one will continue to be for experimental crops and I will probably delegate most garden duties to others in my church since I’ve received a lot of interest.

I mainly want to grow my watermelon landrace there, and then some commonly eaten crops like potatoes and tomatoes.

While we ran into some issues with a lawn company spraying the site last year, I was impressed with how well the water retention was on this site (I managed to get a decent harvest of watermelon with absolutely zero maintenance) which I attribute to the shade it gets later in the day.

Plot D

There is a potential 4th plot that I can farm this coming spring. The plan would be to make it a U-pick berry farm. This year wouldn’t require a ton of work other than planting and bed prep.

I’ll give an update on this as things progress!

The one caveat to this list is I have to realize I won’t be able to fully achieve my goals here with how busy my schedule is and a family (that’s just how life is sometimes!)

That said, here’s my ambitious list of what I’d like to forage in the upcoming season:

For our grow list, we want to narrow it down a bit more.

As I said in last year’s edition: “I always plan on planting a few focused things and consistently end up planting a lot more than I should because it’s so easy.

Naturally this means sometimes I sacrifice yields of one thing in favor of more variety but that’s ok.”

Apparently I never learn.

For the annuals this year we plan on:

For perennials/self-sowing:

Our plant list is mostly the same with a few changes:

Produce

Plants

And many more nursery plants that I have yet to finalize!

With that, I will also announce that I plan to officially get my nursery license and sell many of the plants I write about locally!

I want to stay competitive but there are obviously some staple perennials that it will take me some time to actually carry in stock. I have to start small and add more variety as I grow!

That said, if any of you live locally to the West Michigan area and want to support my work, buying plants from me is not only encouraging to me but it directly supports and funds my ability to do this full time in the future!

It really means the world to my small family and myself.

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