It’s easy to look at the weather forecast and conclude there’s nothing to be done as a grower except wait for warmer days. However, in my experience, an awesome Summer growing season is dependent on what I do during the Winter months. This Winter is an especially heavy load for me with building out my new farm, but I’m pacing myself.

Here are 5 things on my “Definitely Doing This Month” list to set myself up for an unforgettably abundant Summer🤲🏾.

1. TENDING TO MY INDOOR NURSERY

I turned one of my extra bedrooms into an indoor Winter nursery. This room is where I’m housing my plant babies that don’t require supplemental heat or light, but can’t survive a frost (yet). These include many of my newly rooted plants (mostly propagated from cuttings or grown from seed last year) like fig, dragonfruit, toilet paper plant, orange balm, sorrel, avocado, Cuban oregano, leaf of life, vicks plant, and African blue basil. My goal is to keep these newbies healthy during these colder months, so I can transplant them outdoors once the danger of frost has passed.

2. WINTER SOWING

Empty, plastic jugs make perfect mini-greenhouses! So far, I’ve sown containers of valerian, cilantro, dill, mustard greens, kale, spinach, parsley, and swiss chard for early-Summer harvests.

3. STARTING PERENNIAL HERBS FROM SEED

Most perennial herbs have teeny tiny seeds with notoriously low germination success rates and are VERY slow growers. For these reasons, I’m starting some of my favorite perennial herbs from seed this month. Starting now gives me room for error – in case germination isn’t the best. I’ll have time to sow more seeds and try again, if necessary. I’ve got plenty of time to grow well-established and sizeable plants that are ready for the great outdoors in a few months.

4. FINALIZING MY SUMMER GROWING PLAN

I’m a nerd, so you can bet my plan involves a spreadsheet🤓. I’ll finalize my Master Plan For Summer Domination so that I can confidently move forward with a clear vision and path to execution.

5. CLEANING + ORGANIZING TOOLS AND SUPPLIES

I’ve got so much to do in this category that I’ll be sprinkling these tasks throughout the season. Little by little…until one day, my spaces will be all clean and orderly.

REMINDER: It’s cold🥶, but there’s still so much opportunity to better future seasons and improve our ability to feed ourselves + those we love. Let’s not simply survive this season, but use it to grow for what’s next🌱.