I have really started getting that itch to do some physical work. A person can only look through so many seed catalogs before the need to get up off the couch is un-ignorable.
But the two and a half feet of snow outside are a constant reminder (Or maybe torment? Still debating.) of the fact that spring is still just a dot on the horizon.

I like to remind myself that in the middle of August, I’m going to WISH I was still in February, sitting on the couch planning out this coming season.


I have a love/hate relationship with doing paperwork, if I’m going to be completely honest. It can be very tedious, but I love seeing the numbers come together.
During the year I managed to keep up on weekly records, such as farm stand sales, but I hadn’t had time to pull it all into something useful. Well now that I’m stuck indoors I had the time to do just that, and I learned some interesting things.
My customers have something against peas, apparently. My customers barely bought any, and I can count the number of people that did on one hand.
Live and learn, I guess.

Those records were very helpful in telling me what I should plant this year.
Peas? No thanks, maybe another time.
Cantaloupe? Was very popular, definitely should grow more of those!

My family can tell you I spent a lot of time – probably too much- going through seed catalogs and websites picking out just the right varieties of fruits and vegetables.
I compiled a very long list of what I wanted to grow, then cut the list down, then added a couple things, cut out some more…. Repeated that cycle until I got the veggie dream team for 2021.


I then put all the different varieties onto a calendar. With 50 something different types of fruits and vegetables it’s impossible to remember when to plant what, at least for me.
Now I have a day by day game plan. No more realizing that I should have planted those carrots two weeks ago!

After last year, in which I had a tentative plan that changed often; I realized I also needed a solid crop rotation plan.
With a list of produce all set, I went about figuring out how to put it all together. This part was a bit frustrating to me, but I kept reminding myself that once done; I will be able to use this plan for the next couple years.

Now, reading this makes it sound like it took me an afternoon. In reality it took me a couple weeks to go through records, pick out seeds, make a calendar, and complete a crop rotation plan. Each step involved going down different rabbit holes of research. My hope is that I won’t have as much work later in the year, and next year I’ll be able to re-use this year’s research.
I guess time will tell if all this planning (especially the planting/harvesting calendar) will work like it’s designed to.
If it’s done anything, it’s made me more excited for the season ahead!
Alright spring, I’m ready! Can you come now?