<p>If you’ve ever planned a garden that looked amazing on paper and then halfway through summer you thought, “I do not have the time for this,” this episode is for you.</p><p>Because a garden can be beautiful, productive, and fun and still be too much if the plan doesn’t match your real life.</p><p>Today on Just Grow Something we’re building a low-maintenance garden plan. Not by choosing “easy plants,” but by designing your garden around the things that actually determine how much work it takes: location, layout, watering, weed control, and disease pressure and how that fits into the rest of your actual life.</p><p>Low-maintenance does not mean low-yield. It means fewer chores that pile up, fewer “emergency problems,” and a garden that still functions when your life gets busy.</p><p>As we go, I’ll give you simple action steps you can do in January to set this up. Because the easiest gardening season is the one you design on purpose.</p><p>Let&#39;s dig in.</p><p><strong>References and Resources</strong>:</p><p><strong>My Plan Like A Pro Course is Open for Registration:</strong> <a href="https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/pro">⁠https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/pro⁠</a></p><p>University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension. “Beginning Vegetable Garden Basics: Site Selection and Soil Preparation.” <a href="https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/beginning-vegetable-garden-basics-site-selection-and-soil-preparation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/beginning-vegetable-garden-basics-site-selection-and-soil-preparation</a></p><p>Colorado State University Extension. “Drip Irrigation for Home Gardens.” <a href="https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/drip-irrigation-for-home-gardens/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/drip-irrigation-for-home-gardens/</a></p><p>University of Minnesota Extension. “Mulching 101: the secret to a healthy and happy garden.” <a href="https://extension.umn.edu/news/mulching-101-secret-healthy-and-happy-garden" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://extension.umn.edu/news/mulching-101-secret-healthy-and-happy-garden</a></p><p>Oregon State University Extension Service. “Sheet mulching and lasagna composting with cardboard.” <a href="https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/em-9559-sheet-mulching-lasagna-composting-cardboard" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/em-9559-sheet-mulching-lasagna-composting-cardboard</a></p><p><br></p>