It's Time To Plan The 2024 Container Garden

And here are my thoughts.

A lot of evaluation and journaling is happening at this time of year. It is time to start preparing or planning for the next growing season.

I have all the seeds I may need and all the tools and growing containers I need. What I need to decide is what to grow and when. After that, I need to plan for when I should start planting the seeds. I was quite late planting seeds in 2023, and I suspect my harvest might have been even greater if I’d started just a few weeks earlier. However, I wasn’t in a position where I could do that, and that’s okay. This year, however, I may be able to start earlier.

I want my garden 2024 to take up even less space yet have greater yields than the years prior. I grew about 50 kg worth of food in 5 sqm this year, and I will beat that record this year.

Simplify

I want to make things even simpler this year. I will look at my Excel file and notes from 2023 to see what I grew and how much I grew; from that, I will decide what to do differently this year. But the main goal is to grow more food in less space and spend less time prepping. Naturally, that means focusing more on my perennials, eliminating the crops that haven’t done well the last few years, and planting more of the staple crops.

Pumpkin/squash – I will go back to growing a pumpkin variety I grew a few years ago. It was the most productive variety I have tried. Should it not produce any pumpkins, I will still get a good amount of pumpkin leaves, and I love eating them with noodles.

Beans – I have bought three varieties that I will pre-sow in March.

Tomatoes – I haven’t decided if I want to plant tomatoes this season or not. I am often gifted tomato plants. It is also easier to grow tomatoes from tomato slices when in season rather than plant seeds beforehand.

Tomatillos – If I grow them this year, I will settle for one plant and give it more room.

Chilli – Fewer plants and more room.

Potatoes – Keep them in the greenhouse instead to ensure they do not drown during climate changes like last year.

Onions and garlic – Plant them throughout the season.

Cabbage – If I grow it, it’ll be in the greenhouse. Hopefully, that will act as an extra layer of protection against the pests. The slugs annihilated my brassica last year.

Sunflowers – I grew them for the first time last year and will definitely grow more this year. They’re so delicious when marinated and pan-fried. I shall have to think of another use for the stalks, but there’s time to do that. I also get a lot of lovely sunflower tea from the petals and individual mini-flowers.

Beets, radishes and other root vegetables – I am Swedish, so naturally, I will continue growing these. However, I must make sure the radishes are planted in containers that are deep enough to allow them to grow large. And I need to space them out better since they like more room than the seed packages suggested. I want to be able to grow some daikon and Chinese radish for my kimchi this year. And I do need more pods for my seasoning cabinet. As for carrots, I shall have to see how the ones from last year have done once the snow melts. After that, I will decide when or if to plant them in 2024.

Perennials

The perennials will likely do better this year. They received larger containers last year; most were pruned, and they were all fertilised well. That ought to boost the yield this year, especially the berry bushes.

I got a few apples in 2023, but not all of my trees began producing. So, I should be able to get more apples this year, and more varieties will likely reach the fruit-bearing stage.

Mushrooms – I filled mushroom pots, placed them in the greenhouse, and layered straw and mycelium over my garlic beds. I am slightly worried that they aren’t doing so well in the greenhouse since I don’t water there during winter. For one, the zippers could break if I open them when it’s too cold. Also, when it is around minus 5 to minus 15 degrees out, it’s not a good idea to water anything. It’ll just freeze.

Have you begun planning your garden yet?