Garden Geeks Grow More Guide to Planning & Tracking Your Vegetable Harvest

Hi! Stacey Murphy Here from Garden Geeks Grow More.!! My first year growing vegetables, I planted a whole bunch of seeds and harvested a respectable amount of food.!! I noticed space where I could grow even more food if I had planned ahead better. Then I noticed patterns, but the only way to learn from those patterns was to track them capture some data.!! The next year, I created my first complete growing system a roadmap for the whole season.! And I nearly doubled my harvest.!! I tweak my system each year and find new ways to save time, energy and resources.! At heart, I m a garden geek. I love crunching numbers and analyzing trends and patterns. Now you can use my templates to track your numbers and see what s relevant for your garden wherever you are.!! Data is powerful. Data empowers you to make critical decisions about your own growing space.!! Geek out with me!!! And make sure you watch the Garden Freedom video series to discover how to use these templates effectively.

Your Garden Vision If you could wave a magic wand, what would your dream garden do for you? What would it feel like to grow your own food? What would you have to commit to so you could incorporate growing food into your lifestyle? Who would you need to be? And what do you need to make it happen?

Find the Right Place to Plant Your Garden Map the Shadows on Your Site STEP 1: Draw your site to scale. STEP 2: Color the shadows on your site throughout the day to calculate how many hours of sunlight you receive each day. Your vegetables need 6-8 hours of sunlight to thrive. Watch Video 2 in the Garden Freedom Series to see an example of this process.

Choosing Your Crops & Varieties Compare Benefits and Drawbacks Go to your farmers market or a gardening Meetup. Ask local growers what varieties they grow and if they can help you fill out this spreadsheet to help you choose what crops & varieties you ll grow this year.

Plan Your Crops & Maximize Your Yield Map out planting & harvest dates to pack in more plants & successions Write down the date you plant and the day you will harvest each of your crops. Label which planting bed for each crop so you know when space in that planting bed will become available. Track your costs and your expected yield to see if it s worth it to grow each crop.

Increase the Biology in Your Soil Include 2 (5cm) of Good Quality Compost Each Year as Part of Your Plan Potential amendments include good quality compost, compost teas, cover crops & mulch

How Fast Can You Create Compost? For aerobic compost, track temperatures & turning dates Aerobic compost from plant material reaches temperatures up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit! Keep your pile hot by turning it every couple days. When the temperature reaches ambient temperature, it might be ready. Only use finished compost in vegetable planting beds.

Which Seeds Germinate Best for You? Discover your favorite seed sources

How Many Pounds Can You Grow? NOTE: For herbs, you may want to track how many bunches instead Harvest weekly and weigh by crop. At the end of the season, divide your total crop harvest by the number of plants to get your expected yield per plant. You will better predict future yields and maximize harvest by choosing crops that provide well for your local conditions.

Quantify Your Local Water Resource Compare: How much water do you need to collect yearly for your crops? Most of your vegetable crops prefer 1 (2.5cm) of water per week which means a garden bed 4 x 8 (1.2m x 2.4m) requires approximately 20 gallons (75 liters) of water per week. Calculate your water needs and add up your local precipitation to see if you receive the water you need on your site.

Discover Pest & Disease Life Cycles Take action to prevent pests & diseases before they become a problem

Focus on Activities that Grow Food What activities could you eliminate or automate to save time? Time is potentially a non-renewable resource. Are you spending your time wisely & getting what you want?

Notes, Drawings, Receipts & References Use this space to take notes, draw, attach receipts, create a photo journal: whatever makes sense for you.