GARDEN BINDER

I upped my seed game in 2021 and wanted everything to be a bit more organized than my usual “organization” of putting seed packets in a zip lock bag. I also wanted to have a way to plan my seed starting and have it all in one place instead of having to read individual seed packs all spring long. Enter in: my seed binder. It’s doing its best but it isn’t big enough >.<

The first section of the binder is full of pockets for my seed packets, organized by what week I need to start the seeds.

These pockets correspond with some timelines I created for myself. The purpose of these was to have all the pertinent information in one place so I wouldn’t have to continuously refer back to the seed packets. I also gathered additional information online for some plants and these is where I would include that. 

This also helps me plan out succession planting, which is when you space out your plantings so you have a continual harvest of blooms throughout the season. I created one chart for each type of seed and wrote in my sow indoors date, direct sow date (if applicable), harden-off date, transplant date, and harvest time frame. I have three lines for each plant for up to three succession plantings. Underneath each chart is sowing information (which corresponds to the pockets), days to germinate, days to maturity, freezing instructions for my vegetables, and then an area for notes. 

So that is my “plan”. I also have an empty calendar in the back for me to write down what happens. For instance, I started some Patterson Onions at the end of January instead of waiting until March 1st because that’s what Garden Answer did. I can still plant more on Mar 1 and treat it as a succession planting and see which method works better for me!  I also started my Vinca earlier this year than on my plan in the hopes that they will be a little bigger when I plant them out in May than they were last year.

Other resources I have in my binder include a Bloom Timeline chart where I plan on marking when the bulbs that I planted in the fall bloom and for how long. I can also add notes about deer resistance, if they naturalize over the years like they’re supposed to, etc. 

I created more charts for the sowing date before the first frost, days to maturity after transplanting in mid-May, and days to maturity for late-season planting so I can make sure to plant things and give them enough time before our first frost in mid-October. 

I chose an optimistic last frost date of 5/10/21 based on my experience with last year’s weather

Finally, I have some of the seed catalogs I received this year, with the varieties I purchased marked with post-it tabs. This is more for fun so I can see what the bloom colors will look like and to have a little bit more information about them at the ready. For 2020 and 2021 I purchased my seeds from Park Seed, Johnny’s Seed, and Select Seeds. My bulbs planted in Fall 2020 were purchased from Dutch Grown. I purchased most of my 2021 seeds in August 2020 just to make sure I would be able to get the varieties I wanted, especially with the current Covid-related seed shortages. I also purchased some live plants from Select Seed, which should be here in mid/late-Spring. This will be my first time receiving outdoor plants online and I’m very interested to see their packaging choices since I sell and ship indoor plants at my business here in Pittsburgh. 

I organized everything and filled out the sowing charts in the Fall of 2020 as a nice postseason activity and did all of my extra research then too. That way I can trust past-Abi’s work and just get straight to sowing and planting this Spring.

How do you organize your seeds and plan for your gardening season? I’d love to know!