“There is no beginning or end to the garden year.”

This quote from Elizabeth Lawrence seems to be true. Even though we have prepared our gardens for winter, our different garden activities continue. Fortunately, with much less hassle.

Now begins a quieter season of thinking, reviewing, dreaming and planning for next year’s garden. Unfortunately, many gardeners overlook this step, which is as enjoyable as digging the soil and is vital to success next year.

If you take a few minutes to think about your garden’s performance and do some planning, you’ll be better prepared for next season. Here are a few tips to help you get started.

The most useful tool in the shed

My most prized gardening tool isn’t made of steel; it is my garden journal.

I take notes at least once a week throughout the season, keeping track of weather forecasts and frost dates, planting and harvest dates, and most importantly, my garden’s successes and challenges. This gives me a record of what worked and what didn’t and allows me to improve my garden each year.

My journal also helps me remember details like plant types and locations. I no longer guess plant names or dig into a supposedly bare spot just to find plant roots or bulbs, as I have done on more than one occasion.

A diary makes it easy to keep track of fertilization, soil amendment, rotation crops, seed germination and planting dates, as well as millions of details that are easily forgotten over time.

Whether you prefer pen and paper, a computer tablet, audio recording, or photography, journaling helps you keep track of your garden’s progress through the seasons and years. If you haven’t started yet, now is the time.

Evaluate your existing garden

The first step in planning next season’s garden is to evaluate the past season and take notes. If you can do this while gardening season is still on your mind, you’ll have better information to work with (instead of trying to remember a million details from April).

Whether or not you keep a journal, the following questions will help you create a framework for evaluation and planning:

• What successes have you had and why? If you can identify a “why,” it will help make successes repeatable.

• What challenges did you encounter? Some we can control, like not enough time in the garden, and some we can’t, like weather issues. Understanding the challenges will help you be better prepared.

• What was the failure and why? Don’t worry about this. Everyone who has picked up a garden trowel has encountered failure. These are the BEST learning opportunities, especially when you can identify the reasons why.

Set goals for the next season

Once you have examined and evaluated the garden, it is time to set goals and turn your evaluation into a plan.

What are some inspiring ideas you can include in your garden plan? These don’t have to be major revisions; Maybe you’re dreaming of a cut flower bed or want to try growing a new vegetable variety. I discovered that when you make a list of goals, you can achieve it.

To help prioritize my plan, I list my goals as must-dos, want-to-dos, and wish lists. As you get started, consider the following:

• What do you want to grow? Fall is a great time to research new plant varieties and make sure they are suitable for your climate and soil. Create a list of what you want to grow and identify sources for purchasing seeds or plants. Try to purchase seeds before the spring rush to avoid running out of produce.

• Can you grow more efficiently? Consider growing some herbs in containers or vertically to free up space in a small garden. Succession planting and transplanting are two effective ways to get more growth no matter the size of your garden.

• What needs to be revised or updated? These questions open up great possibilities in the garden (and many of my answers are on the wish list). But doing simple tasks like getting a soil test, amending the soil, or replacing or repairing tools and materials can make a big difference in the garden come spring.

Plan your layout

You don’t need to be a landscape architect to create a garden layout. Every year I draw a simple outline of my garden and list what goes where. It has become an invaluable resource for rotating crops in my small garden.

If you want something more complex than a pencil sketch, free and paid online tools will create a garden layout including planting times, plant spacing suggestions, succession planting ideas and more. A quick Google search for “garden planning apps” returns many options.

Having a routine of your garden each year is critical to vegetable crop rotation; This helps reduce disease and insect infestation and increases soil fertility.

I know from experience that this can be difficult in small gardens, but try to grow different plants in different locations each year.

A garden layout can also help you plan succession and planting to ensure you get the most out of your garden. Use your layout to determine when crops will stop producing so you can plant something instead.

By intercropping, you can designate space in the garden where fast-growing vegetables, such as radishes, can grow among vegetables that take longer to mature, such as tomatoes. No bare ground means fewer weeds and a more productive garden.

As the garden rests for the winter, use this quiet time to reflect on the past season and plan the next season to set the stage for future success. Come spring, you’ll be ready to grow an even more beautiful garden. A gardener’s work never stops; it just takes on a different rhythm.

• • •

Candace Godwin is a certified Idaho Master Gardener, Garden Consultant, and owner of The Coeur d’Alene Coop (thecoeurdalenecoop.com), which offers seasonal plant sales and articles on gardening and raising backyard chickens.

A log is the most useful tool in the garden. I use this to create layouts, track weather, planting times and more.

Garden projects, whether big or small, have a better chance of becoming a reality when you make a plan.

This simple sketch represents the four-year crop rotation in my small garden. It helps me avoid planting the same crop in the same location every year.

A simple garden layout can help you plan succession and planting to get the most out of your garden.

Candace Godwin