It's already the second week of March! That means all you gardeners are getting geared up to start some of your plants indoors, get your peas going outside, turn your compost, and plot out your grow beds. But where to begin?

We're here to help you with your timing, seed selection, compost, and everything else involved in growing your own food.

Your spring-planting calendar will vary according to your planting zone. At the

Farmer's Almanac website you can plug in your zip code

to see exactly when you should be planting what in accordance with your plant-hardiness zone.

Click here to give it a try

. Knowing when to start your seeds is a major game-changer for home gardeners. Gardening smarter, not necessarily harder, will save you a bunch of time in the long run and increase your success rate exponentially.

For loads of information for you to access year-round, click on the "gardening" tab on the right of this page. If you'd like a more personalized approach, get in touch with us about a private garden consultation. We will come to you and go over garden mapping, seed selection, landscape design, compost, and answer all your specific questions.

But how much should you plant? Well, it depends. How much food do you want to produce? Enough to garnish your dishes? Enough to feed your whole family? And for how long? Here's a basic guide to figuring out how much you should grow to feed yourself for a year, gleaned from the classic homesteading book,

Reader’s Digest: Back to Basics