They (someone, no idea who) said that hindsight is 20/20. I am not sure that I agree 100 percent with that sentiment. We rarely look backwards without at least some sort of mental distortion, whether it be delusion, misperception, or some other sort of “fishing story factor”. I find that looking backwards is a bit like looking in your wing mirror. It should have a disclaimer stamped on it saying “Objects in memory are never as clear as they appear…” or something like that.

Regardless, winter is here and now you have a number of months to lay out your plan of action for next year. Even though November and December represent the front side and upward slope of the annual hill leading towards another growing season, in reality, the months before the new year are actually a time of opportunity for gardeners of all stripes. The past growing season experiences are still easily enough recalled so as to be of use. The hiccups and the snags are still fresh in the mind, as are the successes and wins.

Former NBA coach, Pat Riley, described the process of learning and preparation fairly well.

 Planning for Success

One of my favorite quotes is supposedly by Benjamin Franklin. I guess that you could say that it resonates with my inner planner.

When planning for the next growing season, you need to make plans that build upon what you experienced and learned this past year. I think that this is really a multi-step process if you really want to get it right.

Mapping Your Present State

The first stage involves taking a few minutes to draw out what you already have in place, as well as what you did this past season. Consider what is your space is like and how it is laid out, regardless of whether it is the size of a farm, or a small, residential space. You might draw a rough map showing the layout of things, including growing areas, waste spaces, storage, buildings, irrigation systems, etc.

From there, you can start to build a baseline list of what happened, in general terms. Look at what you grew or tried? Did you add any elements to your space or operation? On your map and list, indicate which elements are permanent, and which were annual or temporary. Document the different types of maintenance activities that you did, including fertilizing, adding soil amendments, or applying pesticides. List any other production activities that you used.

What Went Right?

After you’ve framed out what you did, document what went right. When you look at your growing areas, what plants grew or yielded well, or which plants really stood out from other plants? What activities really popped and took off? What were the showcase parts of your operation? Did one variety of vegetable perform better than another? What product sold the best, if that was your focus? What were customers talking about afterwards?

Salt Things with Reality

From there, you can now focus in on problem areas. Identify any particular plant or area that did poorly, as well as any clear reasons that might have resulted in that poor performance. When you look at your crops, did any of them not ripen or mature before the fall frost came? Did you notice any sickly plants, and was that sickliness temporary, or did the plants eventually recover? If you can, identify any issues that you might have had related to moisture, light, soil, air flow, or temperature.

Where were the pitfalls and snags when it came to dealing with customers? Suppliers? Employees? Neighbors? Make sure that you examine all aspects of your operation.

Planning and Adjusting

Once you have a firm grasp on the good, the bad, and the ugly, you are now ready to adjust and plan. From the list that you made, select the things that are permanent and look at each of them against your right and wrong list. If something permanent isn’t working, can you think what can be done to make it better (assuming you want to keep it), or what needs to change?

Look at the annual or temporary elements and choose things that you want to repeat. As you do, can you foresee any issues, or are there things that need to be moved around? You might look for opportunities to swap in something new this year.

Build in as much detail as you can in advance. Try and get the orders in early or start gathering information to allow you to frame out your plans.

Conclusions

Early winter is the time for looking for ideas, both to add new things, or to give yourself ideas on fixing your issues. Make your plans now, but keep in mind what you learned previously.