Preparing and planning your fall garden can be hard if you're away on vacation or trying to soak up every minute of summer. Luckily, one TikToker has an easy hack to help you get prepped and ready for your fall garden, and you can do it at any time of the year.
The scoop
Jerra (@jerrasgarden) is a garden educator who owns a seed-and-plant shop and is located in plant zone 9B in Florida. Knowing plant-hardiness zones helps gardeners know which plants will grow best in their area. You can find your zone here.
For Jerra, the best fall garden contains a variety of produce such as eggplants, peppers, herbs, and broccoli. Once you've discovered which plants will grow well in your zone, you can begin Jerra's prep method.
The first step is to draw out a rough sketch of your growing areas and fill in where you think you'll want to plant each crop. This will give you a better idea of how much of each seed you'll need.
Then, Jerra suggests going through your seeds to figure out what you have and what you need to buy, and sorting them into baggies by the month that you'll plant them.
"Early planning means that you'll have an early start on your fall garden," Jerra explains in the video.
@jerrasgarden It's July and its time to start planning your fall garden. Here is my method to plan our my growing space and organize so I don't forget to start seeds. Please comment below on anything your excited about growing this fall. I'm always trying out new cultivars. Below is an idea of my sowing schedule. It is way too hot outside so I will be sowing indoors. Also the pests and diseases really beat up tender seedlings so it helps it shelter them by sowing indoors or in a screened porch or patio. July - sow seeds for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants August - sow seeds for anything in the brassicas family - I only sow these indoors because heat will stunt them. September - sow seeds for traditional herbs, flowers, and greens like lettuce #fallgarden #gardeninspiration #seeds #southerngarden #gardening101 #urbanfarm #homestead #homegrown #gardentok #garden #gardeningtips #vegetablegarden ♬ original sound - Jerra's Garden
How it's helping
This method of organization makes it easier to get your seeds chosen or planted during those busy summer months. You'll be able to decide ahead of time what makes the most sense to grow in terms of zoning and your produce preferences.
Growing produce gives you the freedom to have your favorite veggies on hand instead of buying what's on sale or looks freshest at the grocery store. After the initial investment, it tends to be cheaper, too.
Gardening has also been shown to improve your mental health, and using Jerra's organization method makes it even easier. Just imagine how good it will feel to grab your seeds and go outside to plant.
Planting your crops based on their ideal growing months will also give you the best chance at a strong harvest of your favorite produce. This helps out the planet, too, because planning and harvesting exactly what you want will help avoid wasting food.
Around one-third of all food is wasted each year, and according to Recycle Track Systems, food waste is the "single largest component" of U.S. landfills. If you're growing your favorite fruits and veggies, you'll be less likely to let them go to waste.
What everyone's saying
Commenters on the post were thrilled by the prospect of being able to plan out their gardens ahead of time.
One comment read: "The bag per month idea is gold! Love it!" Another chimed in: "Such good tips!"
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