Here at Salty Mama, we begin our summer gardening in the depths of winter. We begin with reviewing all of the items we grew successfully in prior years and mapping out where those will go in the garden. Then we identify the “new” things we want to try this year–ranunculus, anyone?

My notebook and seed binder are essential gear for this phase of the garden. Every little thing from “plant inside” or “plant outside” to a timeline to a diagram to a watering schedule goes into this notebook.

Once the notebook is complete, I map my calendar with everything that needs to happen, when it needs to happen, and how it needs to happen. And of course, refreshment is needed when the brain is this hard at work!