We’re back to our Garden Planning for Success series, developing a spreadsheet Plan for “What to Grow” for our priority goal (????If you’re just joining now, we have links to all of the posts in this series down below.)
The next step: think about WHEN to plant in order to have flowers each week. Here again, you’re taking your vision of what you want to PICK and *working backwards* to think about when/what to PLANT to make the magic happen.
To be fair, this is a tricky part of growing. Each microclimate and zone varies, so what works for me here in the PNW won’t always work for gardeners in Florida. There are existing resources that can help you with this, but in my opinion, you’ll find the most value in making your own reasonable planting plan by using “days to bloom” info from seed sellers, and counting backwards from your desired harvest date to choose a planting date.
Let’s go back to our beautiful spreadsheets. The next step is to add 2 more columns to your spreadsheet.
We’ve got Focals, Fillers, and Foliage. Add a new column that says, “Indoors or Direct Sow” and a second new column that says, “Start Date.” Fill in the first new column quickly with your plans for whether your seeds or bulbs are going directly in the ground outside or if you’ll start them indoors first. Then move to the second new column and decide when you’ll plant seeds. (If you need help deciding whether you should start your seeds indoors or sow them directly, here is a helpful a blog post all about that!)
TOP TIP: As you walk through each season, keep super abundant records in a Garden Journal. I recommend recording the following things in your journal.
- when/what you sow
- whether you started in soil blocks/trays or sowed seeds directly in the garden
- how long seeds took to germinate (at what temp/how many hours of light?)
- if/how many days until pinching
- how many days from seed to harvest
If you succession plant (more info coming on this!), keep recording data so you can see if growth cycles shorten midsummer when days are longest.
Through this kind of record keeping, you’re creating an extremely valuable resource for yourself. You will not remember all the details in January when you’re cuddled by the fire with your pup and trying to plan your next season, but your garden journal will!
Other Posts in this Series
- Making a Plan for Success in Your Cut Flower Garden
- Push Through Fear and Make Your Gardening Plan
- A Brief History of Triple Wren’s Humble Beginnings
- Your Reason for Growing Flowers Matters
- Our Bouquet Palette for 2022
- Start Big and Work Small for Successful Garden Planning
- Don’t Fall Into the Trap of Trying to Grow Everything
- Use a Spreadsheet to Make Detailed Plans for Your Flower Garden
- Cut Flower Garden Planning Inspiration
- Should You Start Seeds Inside or Direct Sow Outside?
