Clyde's Garden Planner = The Best Vegetable Garden Ever!

 Written by - Kaitlynn from MIgardener

If you're worried about garden planning this spring, look no further! Clyde’s Garden Planner is the perfect scheduling tool for planning when and where to start your seeds, no matter your location on the globe! If you don’t have a Clyde’s Garden Planner in your collection of holy grail tools, today is the day to pick one up. This tutorial post will help you learn a little bit more about what makes the Clyde’s so unique! 

Step 1: Soil Temperature and Planting Dates

Sections 6 and the frost date information will go hand in hand because soil temperature is dependent on the first and last frost dates of your area. By sliding the bright red line across to the approximate last frost date for your region, the planner gives an estimate for how the rest of the growing season will look. To find specific frost date information, check your state on the guide that comes with the planner or put your city’s name into the Farmer’s Almanac for a more accurate prediction. Soil temperature is one of the most critical requirements for planting. Without the right temperature, things could sprout too quickly, or worse, not at all. The recommended dates to start seedlings indoors (si) and when to transplant them into the garden (FP) will be marked once you solidify your last frost date. 

Step 2: Planting Instructions

Slide open your garden planner fully to uncover the basic planting requirements for the variety you want to plant. In red ink, Clyde’s shows suggestions for seed spacing, planting depths, the distance between rows and hills, and distance after thinning needed for each variety. The first section, marked “plants per 10-foot row,” should only be used by gardeners with larger spaces. Clyde’s marks the number of seeds by weight in this section.

The 2nd-4th sections give specific instructions for spacing. Although MIgardener usually recommends high-intensity spacing, these suggestions are the starting point for most gardeners. High-intensity spacing is perfect for varieties like lettuce, onions, spinach, and any other varieties that grow best vertically. Learn more about this growing method on the MIgardener youtube channel. 

Step 3: Sunshine and Harvest

Every variety has a perfect place in the garden, and that place is determined by the amount of sun it gets in a day. The 5th section of the garden planner will tell you how much sunshine each variety will require. Now you can find the perfect place in the garden to plant them! The green checkmarks will tell you when to expect a harvest and how much yield to expect per plant. There are multiple checkmarks, and some extending into the fall frost. 

(Optional) Step 4: Companion Planting 

The last and somewhat controversial section of the garden planner is the blue section of companion planting information. It’s no secret that MIgardener typically doesn’t subscribe to companion planting methods (learn why here), but there are times when this technique can be helpful in your garden. This article from Cornell paints a good description of how companion planting is most useful in terms of pest repellant. This mysterious topic has become a buzzword for bloggers and garden guru's when, in reality, there is no evidence to suggest that different plants work well together apart from the benefits of essential oils. If you want to try it out to conduct a gardening experiment, it's worth a try to see if companion planting is something you find improves how your garden grows! 

Pick up your Clyde's Garden Planner today! Let us know in the comments on Facebook if you found this post helpful. Our goal is always to provide easy access to helpful gardening information. For more from MIgardener:

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