Now that it is officially 2025, I can’t help but feel excited about my garden plan and the upcoming growing season. Even though it’s 20°F outside and the ground is covered in snow, I am ready to start sowing some seeds!
January may seem a little early to start seeds for zone 5, but it’s the perfect time to start cold stratifying native flowers. Some of the plants I’m stratifying include milkweed, hyssop, boneset, and skullcap.
I use milk jugs to cold stratify a lot of my plants (see below).
Prairie Moon Nursery is a great source for native seeds. You can filter by native range and germination requirements on their website.
January through February is also the time to start onion seeds for zone 5. This year, I’m growing Walla Walla, Ruby Red, and White Sweet Spanish onions, as well as Zebrune shallots.
New Garden Layout for 2025
This year, my focus is on maximizing all the space in my small backyard. In October of 2024, we removed five 3-foot by 4-foot raised beds and replaced them with one giant 12-foot by 18-foot raised walk-in bed. With the upgrade, we went from 60 square feet of growing space to over 150 square feet of growing space.
We filled the new bed with fallen leaves and covered it with all the soil from the old beds. In early spring, we will fill the rest of it with new compost and topsoil. We’ll also finish the bed by adding some trim to the seams, a trellis system, and a fence.
The old beds were relocated to a different part of our property. We will use those for strawberries and extra veggies that we don’t have room for in the new bed.
What I’m Growing in 2025
The new raised mega-bed (as my kids call it) will be filled with our favorite veggies with a focus on the plants that have high-yields and/or good long-term storage.
Main Crops
These plants are the priorities in mega-bed because they are family favorites, produce a lot in a small space, or have good long-term storage. The veggies in this category are tomatoes, peppers, bush beans, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, beets, radishes, onions, garlic, and broccoli.
Other main crops include potatoes, sugar snap peas, pole beans, and berries, but they will be in different areas of the yard.
Secondary Crops
These plants either don’t have good long-term storage or they aren’t family favorites. The plants in this category are eggplant, cabbage, arugula, lettuce, and other greens. I will try to fit these into mega-bed, but if I run out of room, I will grow them somewhere else.
Herbs and Flowers
In mega-bed, I’m prioritizing herbs and flowers that repel pests, attract beneficial insects, and are used in herbal remedies or culinary recipes. These include chamomile, calendula, basil, borage, marigold, buckwheat, chives, thyme, dill, peppermint, and rosemary. Dill, peppermint, and rosemary will be in pots scattered around the outside mega-bed.
Other herbs and flowers, like echinacea, bee balm, lavender, spilanthes, roses, anise hyssop, and oats, will be located in the flower beds or herb garden.
Garden Schedule for Jan and Feb
January
| Plant | Cold Stratify | Sow Indoors | Transplant Outdoors |
| Onions | – | Jan 14-20 | Apr 1-10 |
| Shallots | – | Jan 14-20 | Apr 1-10 |
| Anise Hyssop | Jan 1-12 | – | – |
| Boneset | Jan 1-12 | – | – |
| Comfrey | Jan 14-20 | – | – |
| Echinacea | Jan 14-20 | – | – |
| Hyssop | Jan 1-12 | – | – |
| Licorice | Jan 14-20 | – | – |
| Milkweed | Jan 1-12 | – | – |
| Skullcap | Jan 1-12 | – | – |
| Snapdragon | Jan 1-12 | – | – |
February
| Plant | Sow Indoors | Transplant Outdoors |
| Celery | Feb 1-11 | Apr 1-10 |
| Rosemary | Feb 1-11 | May 5-11, May 28-31 |
| Valerian | Feb 13-19 | Apr 14-20 |
Garden Goals for 2025
Start canning
Grow more native plants
Try some new varieties of tomatoes
Save seeds from heirlooms and native flowers
