Planning Your Spring Garden Now: What to Do Before it Snows

As homesteaders in northwestern Ontario, the transition from fall to winter can feel like a race against time. The growing season is short, and the winters are long, making it essential to get ahead with garden planning before the first snow falls. Every year, I find myself grateful for the effort I put into fall preparations when spring arrives. Trust me—taking the time now to organize and prepare will save you stress when the snow melts and planting season begins. So, what can you do in the fall to set yourself up for a strong start in the spring?

Here are nine essential steps you can take this fall to ensure your spring garden thrives.

Save Your Seeds

One of the most rewarding parts of homesteading is being able to save seeds from your own crops. If you've grown heirloom varieties or particularly hardy plants, saving their seeds not only saves money but also helps you cultivate plants that are adapted to your specific growing conditions.

Start by selecting seeds from your healthiest plants—those that produced well and resisted disease or pests. Whether it's tomatoes, beans, squash, or herbs, let the seeds fully mature before harvesting. For example, beans should be allowed to dry on the plant, while tomatoes should be left on the vine until fully ripe.

Once harvested, clean your seeds and dry them completely. You can spread them out on a paper towel or a drying rack, but make sure they’re in a cool, dry spot, away from direct sunlight. Once they're dry, I like to store mine in small envelopes or glass jars, clearly labeled with the variety and date. Keep them in a cool, dark place—basements or even refrigerators work well. Properly stored seeds can last for several seasons, but it’s always a good idea to test their viability in the spring by doing a simple germination test on a few of each type.

Saving seeds isn't just practical—it's a way to carry a bit of this year's garden into next year's. It's also a great way to preserve plant varieties that you love and to share with other gardeners. Don't forget, too, that many seeds get better with time, as you're selectively breeding plants that thrive in your unique garden conditions.

Plan Your Garden Layout

I always find that sketching out next year’s garden in the fall helps me stay on top of things when spring finally arrives. Garden planning isn't just about aesthetics; it's about efficiency, crop rotation, and maximizing yields. By planning now, you can ensure that you’re rotating crops to avoid depleting the soil of specific nutrients or harboring pests from previous years.

Think about where each crop will go and how you want to utilize companion planting. Certain plants, when grown together, can help each other thrive. For example, planting basil with tomatoes can improve flavor and repel pests, while marigolds are great for deterring nematodes in many garden beds. On the other hand, some plants, like onions and beans, are best kept apart due to conflicting growth habits.

Also, take time to evaluate what worked well in your current garden layout. Did you have overcrowded plants that didn’t produce well? Or maybe a section of the garden got too much shade? Now is the perfect time to make adjustments based on what you’ve learned over the season.

Consider adding new structures like raised beds or trellises. Raised beds can help manage poor soil, while trellises are perfect for climbing plants like cucumbers or beans, allowing you to maximize vertical space in smaller gardens. Planning for these changes now ensures you’ll have time to gather materials or build structures before winter arrives.

Prep Your Garden Beds

Prepping your garden beds in the fall might feel like you're doing extra work after a long growing season, but trust me, it pays off. Cleaning up garden debris is important to prevent diseases and pests from overwintering in your soil. Dead plant material can harbor harmful bacteria or insects that could ruin next year's crop, so take the time to pull up spent plants and either compost them or discard any diseased ones.

Once you've cleared the beds, it's time to enrich the soil. After months of growing, your garden soil is likely depleted of nutrients. One of the best ways to replenish it is by adding compost. If you've been keeping a compost pile all season, now is the time to spread a thick layer over your garden beds. Compost adds organic matter, improves soil structure, and slowly releases nutrients throughout the winter, ready for spring planting.

Alternatively, consider planting cover crops, sometimes called "green manure." These crops, like clover or rye, are grown specifically to protect and nourish the soil. They prevent erosion, improve soil fertility, and can be tilled under in the spring to add even more organic material.

Lastly, mulch is your friend. After adding compost or planting cover crops, I recommend spreading a layer of mulch (such as straw, leaves, or wood chips) over your garden beds. This helps regulate soil temperature, prevents erosion, and reduces weed growth, giving you a head start when the snow melts.

Set Up Cold Frames

Cold frames are a simple yet effective tool for extending the growing season in cold climates. If you're new to cold frames, think of them as miniature greenhouses. They're typically made from a wooden frame with a clear top (often glass or plastic) that traps heat from the sun and protects plants from frost. Cold frames allow you to start hardy crops earlier in the spring and keep them growing longer into the fall.

Building cold frames in the fall gives you plenty of time to get them ready before the growing season begins. You can find simple DIY plans online or repurpose old windows and scrap wood. Position your cold frames in a sunny spot where they’ll receive as much light as possible during the short daylight hours of early spring.

In northwestern Ontario, where our growing season can be unpredictable, cold frames allow me to start plants like spinach, kale, and lettuce as soon as the ground begins to thaw. I also use them in the fall to protect late-season crops, giving me a little extra time to enjoy fresh greens before the snow sets in.

Test Your Soil

Fall is the ideal time to test your soil. After a full growing season, your soil has likely been depleted of some nutrients, and pH levels may have shifted. Testing your soil now gives you time to make any necessary amendments before spring planting.

You can buy an at-home soil test kit or send a sample to a local extension service for more detailed results. Either way, testing your soil will give you valuable information about nutrient levels (like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) as well as pH levels.

If your soil is too acidic, consider adding lime to raise the pH. If it's too alkaline, sulfur or peat moss can help lower it. You can also amend the soil with compost or organic fertilizers to boost nutrient levels.

By doing this in the fall, you're giving the soil plenty of time to absorb and incorporate these amendments before you plant in the spring. It's a small step that can make a big difference in your garden's productivity next year.

Plan for Early Starts Indoors

Starting seeds indoors can give you a major head start on the growing season, especially in colder climates like ours. But the key is to plan early—well before you actually plant the seeds.

First, decide which plants you'll be starting indoors. Typically, I start plants that require a long growing season, like tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. Some flowers, like marigolds or zinnias, also benefit from being started indoors.

Make a schedule for when to start each type of seed. For example, tomatoes should be started 6-8 weeks before the last frost date, while quicker-growing plants like cucumbers only need 3-4 weeks. Knowing your last frost date (you can find this information online for your area) will help you determine when to start each plant.

I find that having a clear timeline prevents the rush of trying to plant everything at once, which can be overwhelming when spring is just around the corner.

Order Seeds Early

Once you’ve planned your layout and decided what seeds to start indoors, don’t delay in ordering your seeds! The recent surge in interest in gardening and homesteading means that many popular varieties sell out quickly, especially if you’re looking for specific heirloom seeds or organic options.

Ordering seeds early also gives you the opportunity to explore seed catalogs at your leisure. I love spending a cold fall afternoon browsing through seed catalogs, dreaming about the possibilities for next year’s garden. It’s also a great time to research new varieties you might want to try or to find local seed swaps if you’re interested in trading with other gardeners.

By ordering early, you’ll avoid the disappointment of seeing “out of stock” on your favorite seeds come spring. Plus, having your seeds on hand means you can start them indoors at the perfect time without any delays.

Build Garden Structures

If you’ve been thinking about adding new features to your garden, like raised beds, trellises, or even a small greenhouse, fall is the time to start building. Once winter sets in, outdoor construction becomes much more challenging, so get these projects started now while the weather is still manageable.

Raised beds are especially useful in our northern climate, where soil can take a long time to warm up in the spring. By building raised beds, you can start planting earlier since the soil in the beds warms faster than the ground. Plus, raised beds can help with drainage, which is important in wet springs.

Trellises are another great project to tackle in the fall. They maximize vertical space, allowing climbing plants like peas, beans, or cucumbers to grow upward, which not only saves ground space but can also improve air circulation around the plants, reducing the risk of diseases. If you've ever had a tangled mess of vining plants taking over your garden, you know how valuable a well-placed trellis can be.

If you're up for a bigger project, consider building a small greenhouse or polytunnel. These structures can extend your growing season by several weeks and give you a protected space to start seeds early in the spring. While a greenhouse may seem like a big investment, it pays off quickly if you're serious about maximizing your garden's productivity in our cold climate. Building one in the fall ensures it's ready to go by the time you need it next spring.

Whatever garden structures you're adding, getting them built and set up now means you won't be scrambling when the weather warms up. By the time spring rolls around, you'll be able to focus on planting and enjoying your garden rather than construction.

Reflect on Last Year’s Garden

Fall is also the perfect time to reflect on how this year's garden performed. I always find it helpful to take notes on what worked, what didn’t, and what I’d like to change for next season. By reviewing your successes and challenges, you can make informed decisions about how to improve your garden next year.

Ask yourself a few key questions:

Which plants thrived, and which ones struggled?

Were there any pests or diseases that caused problems?

Did you have any issues with watering or soil fertility?

Did your layout work well, or did certain crops get too much or too little sunlight?

For example, I noticed this year that my squash plants took over a lot more space than I expected, crowding out some of my herbs. Next year, I'll plant them in a different spot with more room to spread. I also had an issue with cabbage worms that I’ll need to address by rotating my brassicas to a new area and using row covers earlier in the season.

Reflecting on these details while they’re still fresh in your mind will make planning for next season much easier. You’ll have a clearer idea of what changes to make and what to replicate for another successful garden.

Setting yourself up for a smooth and successful start

While it might seem counterintuitive to think about spring when winter is just around the corner, fall is actually the perfect time to get a head start on next year’s garden. By saving seeds, planning your layout, prepping your beds, and taking care of other key tasks now, you’ll be setting yourself up for a smooth and successful start when the snow melts.

As homesteaders, we depend on our gardens not just for food, but also for the satisfaction that comes with growing our own sustenance. And in regions like northwestern Ontario, where the growing season can be unpredictable and short, every bit of preparation counts. The more you do now, the less you’ll have to worry about in the spring, allowing you to focus on planting, growing, and enjoying the fruits (and vegetables!) of your labor.

So take some time this fall to plan ahead. Whether you’re saving seeds, testing your soil, or building a new trellis, each step you take now brings you closer to a productive and stress-free growing season next year.

What preparations are you making for your spring garden? Do you have any tips or tricks that have worked well for you? Let me know in the comments below—I’d love to hear how others are getting ready for the next growing season!