The FREE Resistance Garden Planner Is Here!
GROW. Reclaim. REPEAT.
I've been talking about this for a while, and now it's finally done: the Resistance Garden Planner, a FREE 26-page garden planner PDF built for real life, anywhere in the US.
All of grandma’s wisdom. I’ll give you the confidence.
This is an edible garden planner for people growing food in apartments, on balconies, in small yards, in big yards, and in your front yard. Beginners welcome. No experience, no yard, and no money required.
What's inside this free garden planner:
- A planting calendar for every US growing zone, month by month, so you always know what to plant in YOUR zone.
- A universal planting chart timed to your frost dates, so it works whether you're in California or Minnesota.
- The beginner crops I'd start with, and exactly why.
- Container gardening basics: soil, drainage, pot sizes, watering.
- Seed starting basics for small spaces.
- Free resources: free library seed programs, seed saving, and where to learn hands-on.
- A troubleshooting cheat sheet for when things go sideways.
- 12 monthly planner pages, a weekly garden log, and a garden layout grid.
You do not need a yard. You need a plan that fits the space you actually have. These are layout examples drawn for real apartments and real balconies.
The windowsill. Zero floor space. Basil, mint, and green onions in three small pots on one sill. If you cook, start here. Herbs want your sunniest window, about six hours of light, and they want you to snip them. The more you cut basil and mint, the bushier they grow. Green onions will even regrow from the scraps you were about to throw away. This is the lowest-stakes garden that exists, and it still counts.
The front steps. The sunniest crop gets the top step. That is the whole trick. Cherry tomatoes need six to eight hours of sun, so they go on the highest step. Peppers love heat and do great in a pot on the middle step. Marigolds go on the bottom step, where they earn their keep by keeping pests off everything else. Steps are free-raised beds with perfect drainage. Just make sure you don't block the walkway!
Sample monthly planner page.
The patio corner trellis. When you cannot grow out, grow up. A cherry tomato vine and a cucumber vine can share one big pot if you give them a trellis to climb, and basil tucked in at the base keeps the soil covered. Tie the vines up as they grow, and they will do the rest. Corner patios are prime real estate that can produce the most food.
The railing boxes. No floor space at all. The railing does the work. Lettuce, radishes, and green onions all have shallow roots, which makes them perfect for railing planters. Radishes are the fastest win in the whole garden: seed to harvest in about thirty days. Lettuce you harvest leaf by leaf, so one box keeps giving for weeks. Hang the boxes on the sunny side and water them a little more often than pots, since they dry out fast.
My first balcony garden. This is the starter kit. Four pots, a patio chair, and maybe a coffee table. Cherry tomato, basil, lettuce, and one pepper along the railing where the morning sun hits. Keep a clear walkway so you can actually reach everything (I learned this the hard way), and set pots near the drain so watering doesn’t flood your downstairs neighbor. Leave room for the chair. You are going to want to sit out there.
Growing food is for everybody.
And that’s the thing nobody tells beginners. You do not need more space. You need the right plants in the space you have, and a plan you will actually follow. That is what this planner is for.
Why free? Because we're centering the growers who've been left out of the gardening conversation for too long. Black and Brown voices. Renters. Beginners. People working with a windowsill and a dream. Food knowledge should never be gatekept, and growing your own food is some of the oldest ancestral wisdom.
If you've got a backyard, a balcony, or just a sunny windowsill, you belong here.
Drop your email below, and I'll send the planner straight to your inbox. Then go plant something!
