Crop Planning for Next Year

by Karen McSwain, CFSA’s Organic Initiative Coordinator

Ah, December, frost has likely taken its toll on many of your outdoor crops and your to-do list has probably never looked so good! However, it is never too early to start planning for next year! Crop planning is an essential component to a successful growing season and when I used to sit down to do this, I always had a few resources at my fingertips to make the process easier.  First, I would open up my excel spreadsheets with maps of all my fields that included the length of each field or planting bed. Then I would determine how many rows of each crop I wanted to plant based on the previous year’s sales. Then I would grab my tattered copy of Knott’s Handbook for Vegetable Growers to look up the ideal spacing for the vegetables I planned to grow. This would enable me to determine how many plants or seeds I needed per row. If I was planning to use transplants, I would add 20% to the amount I thought I needed. Next, I would turn to page 51 in Knott’s, Recommendations for Transplant Production to determine how long it would take from seed to seedling before I could transplant out in the field. Then, I would grab my planting guides published by NC State University and determine when it would be safe to plant outside.  The next resource I would grab is a date wheel, which came from my sister who worked in construction for many years. This is a GREAT tool and can be bought on the internet for $12 or you could ask any of your construction friends for one.  Within minutes I can determine when I need to plant in the field based on harvest and maturity dates and when I need to start transplants in the greenhouse in order to meet my expected field planting date. Once I completed my planting plan for the season I would then transfer the information from my excel spread sheet to a calendar template I created on my computer and fill in all the greenhouse seeding and field seeding/planting dates. I would also include field prep dates so I would be sure the field was ready to be planted according to schedule. Then the season would start and plans would have to be adjusted almost immediately due to various unforeseen issues but, at least I had a plan!

Example of a crop plan from Karen’s excel spreadsheet.