Believe it or not, spring is just around the corner. It will be here before you know it.

Now is the time to be preparing for your garden, especially if this will be your first year gardening, or the first time you’ve been gardening in many years. If you don’t plan ahead, you could end up putting things off for too long, and have to wait another year! You don’t want that!

So, start making plans now!

First, decide what type of garden you will have. Are you planning on having a traditional garden out in the backyard? Or, do you want to try container gardening? In some cases, space will dictate your options. If you live in an apartment, for example, container gardening on the deck may be your only option. But, even if you have a big backyard, you might still decide to start with a small container garden out back, perhaps to leave space for the kids to practice sports.

In any case, now is the time to be thinking of these things.

Also, do you have the gardening tools you will need? If you’ve gardened before, you may already have everything you need. Still, you may wish to get them out of your garage or shed to check their condition. Are they still usable? Have any rusted away? Are they broken? Can they be repaired, or need they be replaced?

If you have not gardened before, you will probably need to do some shopping for garden tools. Or, since you don’t need the tools just yet, you can simply make a list of what you need and buy them later on. Perhaps you can wait for a sale.

The type of garden you choose will also determine the tools and accessories you will need. If you plan on container gardening, you will not need large gardening tools, such as a hoe or a large shovel. Instead, you will probably only need the smaller hand tools. But, you will need to make sure you have containers as well as the appropriate soil. In some cases, you may be able to use containers you already have.

Consider how much space you have available as well. This applies to both container and traditional gardening. You might want to go outside and measure the space you have available, or the space you plan to make available for your garden. The amount of available space will also play a role in determining the types of plants you can have, as some will require more space than others.

Alternatively, you might want to work backwards, and determine the vegetables or flowers you want to grow, and then see how much space you will need to have available for them. You will also need to know (or be able to approximate) how much sun your available space gets, as that will also play a role in determining the plants you can grow in a given area.

Bear in mind, too, that some plants, such as tomatoes, have many more options in how and where to grow them than other crops, such as corn. Tomatoes can be grown in containers, in the ground, even hydroponically, whereas corn is going to be limited to the ground.

So, start considering your options and plans, and please join us in the days ahead as we explore these topics in greater detail.