Garden Planning Guide

Not just a garden planner. It’s your guide to garden planning.

Congratulations!

This is your first step

toward growing food in small spaces

Maybe you’ve been thinking…

  • I wish I knew how to start a vegetable garden

  • I wish I knew what vegetables are easiest for beginners

  • I wish I knew which plants do well in the sun or the shade

  • I wish I knew how to grow food in containers or indoors

You are not alone.

Nearly 1 in 5 Canadians started “food gardening” in 2020.
18.6% of them are on balconies.

— Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University

I used to think that growing food in small spaces wasn’t worth the effort.

But then I created a garden plan that maximized my growing spaces.

And it worked! Now I grow LOADS of food in containers on my apartment balcony and windowsills. I enjoy heaps of fresh produce and a way to connnect with nature that I really value.

All because I made a plan.

Less guessing, more growing.

Get the little things right and you can enjoy the rest.

We often think of gardening as a soothing hobby or a way to relax, and that is true… if you get the important things right.

How relaxed will you be if your transplants die as soon as you plant them out? Or if your first frost kills your tomatoes before the fruits are ready to harvest?

You need a way to plan and track milestones like frost dates and seed starting. Think of it like the “measure twice, cut once” rule observed in other hobbies like sewing or woodworking.

We’re used to planning ahead for parties or vacations to ensure we enjoy the main event. The same is true for growing food. A little planning goes a long way. You deserve to find peace and pleasure in your garden.

What people are saying:

  • "If you're interested in growing your own veggies, but have no idea where to start, you've got to check out Cottage Corners. I've been curious about starting my own garden for a while, but since I didn't know what to plant, when to plant, or where to plant, I gave up before even trying. Cottage Corners' Garden Planning Guide answers all of these questions in a way that is both informative and easy to understand. It also gives tools and checklists that make planning easy (even for first timers like me!). I can't wait to start my back deck veggie garden this year!"

    Danielle K

  • "This was really fun to read and a great product! I will be sure to try some of your recommendations this spring / summer :)"

    Claire P

  • "This planner is for everyone who gardens! As someone who's had an established garden for a couple years now, I still had a lot to learn about seed starting, sun exposure, germination, and maturity times. This is a great resource and I will definitely make use of the the planning charts and spread sheets to help me organize my garden better than ever!"

    Julie A

The Cottage Corners

Garden Planning Guide

The planning guide will help you…

  • Maximize your growing spaces

  • Understand your growing conditions

  • Choose the right crops for your conditions

  • Plan and track seed starting, transplanting, and harvesting

  • ENJOY your garden, knowing you got the little things right

Let’s grow together

Gardening is a lifelong learning process. If I take a course or attend a lecture, you can bet I’ll be incorporating any new and relevant info into the guides. You will have lifetime access to those updated versions at no additional charge.

We’ll be with you every step of the way. To answer your questions, admire your progress, and celebrate your wins. Connect with us on Instagram. Let’s build a community. together.

“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting–
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.”

— Mary Oliver

The details:

Your Garden Planning Guide contains:

54 pages of foundational information, instruction, worksheets, and photos. Easy to read and beautifully laid out.

  • A garden planner for easy, at-a-glance tracking of your garden all year. Developed by Bridgette and designed exclusively for Cottage Corners.

  • Seasonal Garden Task Checklists for winter, spring, summer, and fall.

  • Grids to sketch and plan your garden layouts

  • Notes pages to log your processes and communicate with your future self

  • Lifetime access to updated versions of the guide

This is a tried and true system for garden planning and tracking. If you like the system, the garden planner and seasonal task checklists are updated with the new dates each year. Clip them into a binder for easy record-keeping.

What you’ll pay:

$27

What’s waiting for you on the other side of the fence?

  • A beautiful edible garden in your home. A place where you can slow down, relax, and enjoy life's simple luxuries.

  • Abundant harvests of your own fresh, healthy, lovingly-grown produce.

  • The comfort and purpose that stepping into your place in the ecosystem can bring.

Save time. Save money.

This is about learning a new skill. One you will continue to develop over the course of your whole life. There’s no rush to learn everything all at once. But our garden planning guide will help you avoid all the usual beginner’s mistakes, saving you time and money. Take the guesswork out of gardening and get right to the good stuff.

When I was studying environmental sustainability and agriculture at university, food production was only discussed on a large scale.

But after moving into yet another yardless apartment upon graduation (and homeownership nowhere in sight) I just decided that I had to made vegetable gardening work without a yard.

I used everything I knew about agriculture, tweaking it to suit the miniature scale and additional challenges of growing in containers and small (sometimes indoor) spaces. Slowly but surely, I discovered that I could grow and harvest more than I’d expected. Herbs, tomatoes, peppers, squash, potatoes- even corn and watermelon! You name it, I’ve probably grown it in a container.

And by using a garden plan to get the little things right, I know I have the might of Mother Nature behind me. It makes me feel connected to nature, part of something bigger. I’ve realized that growing food is about so much more than just the food. It’s about stepping into our place in the ecosystem and finding the comfort and purpose that brings. And I want the same for you.

More reviews:

  • "I'm excited to say I just completed planning out my garden for this year. I started gardening a couple of years ago but have not had much luck. I was making simple mistakes like planting too early (or too late) for the vegetables I was trying to grow. I also tried some herbs and while I had better luck with them it seemed my neighbors had much better results despite similar space constraints . I searched on the internet for some help and stumbled onto Cottage Corners. I like the simplicity and practical information (and photos) provided on the site. I thought I would purchase the Garden Planning Guide to see if it can help "green up" my thumbs. Still too early to tell but after reviewing and completing the guide I am feeling much more confident that I will have success with the mix of herbs and vegetable plants I will be growing. Space constraints don't need to negatively impact the success of your garden as long as you understand what plant type and tools are required to be successful."

    Dave C

  • "5 out of 5 stars"

    Laura M

  • "I love this guide! I have no idea what I’m doing but I want to have some nice fresh herbs to cook with and I’ve been inspired to do some fresh vegetables as well. Everything I needed to know, which was pretty much everything, is explained well and its charts and notes made planning easy. We’ll see how the growing goes but so far I’m loving it! Recommend!"

    Tyler B

No more trial and error.

Take the guesswork out of gardening and get right to the good stuff.