spreadsheet | Better Hens and Gardens

Making 2012's Seed Starting & Planting Schedule (w/downloadable template)

We’re running a little late this year on selecting vegetable seeds and getting them ordered; but now that I’ve created our annual seed starting and planting schedule (see below), I can keep us on track. It helps me keep focused on buying seeds, starting transplants, getting supplies, and making sure the garden beds are prepared on time.

I start with my schedule from the previous year (see Making 2011′s Seed Starting & Planting Schedule), copy it to a new spreadsheet tab, consult my notes from last year’s garden, and then work up the new plan. I’ve included a downloadable template (2012 Seed Starting & [...]

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2011 Fall Seed Starting & Planting Schedule (w/downloadable template)

I used to do a combined spring, summer, and fall seed starting & planting schedule (see Making a Seed Starting & Planting Schedule), but this year I wanted to start concentrating on extending the gardening season into the fall longer – so this is my first fall only planting schedule. But wow – it seems like the garden just went in – yet it’s already getting late for starting and planting crops for fall! I need this kind of schedule to keep me on track for what needs to be started indoors and seeded outdoors; otherwise I let the dates slip until it’s too late for [...]

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What's In That Freezer?

We have a chest freezer, but I had no idea what was in there anymore. So, as part of a more organized New Year, I decided to organize it and keep an inventory. This picture shows what it looked like before – kinda scary huh?

For the inventory, I just used an Excel spreadsheet. The simple inventory set-up I created in Excel is shown below. It has cagegories for which freezer, the location in the freezer, description of the food, how much, what measure, and the date it was frozen. Hopefully, this will help us find what’s in there, and use up the oldest food first.

What’s In That Freezer?