localgreenchain/docs/concepts/seasonal-planning.md

Seasonal Planning

Understanding seasonal agriculture optimization in LocalGreenChain.

The Seasonal Imperative

Traditional agriculture follows natural seasons. LocalGreenChain optimizes this by:

1. Matching production to seasons - Grow what grows best
2. Forecasting seasonal demand - Plant for expected consumption
3. Extending seasons - Greenhouses and vertical farms
4. Planning transitions - Smooth handoffs between seasons

Seasonal Calendar

Northern Hemisphere

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    SEASONAL GROWING CALENDAR                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                  │
│  JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN  JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC    │
│  ├────┼────┼────┼────┼────┼────┼────┼────┼────┼────┼────┤      │
│  │                                                              │
│  │  WINTER      SPRING      SUMMER      FALL       WINTER      │
│  │                                                              │
│  │  Indoor:     Cool Season: Warm Season: Cool Season:         │
│  │  Microgreens Lettuce     Tomatoes    Kale                   │
│  │  Sprouts     Spinach     Peppers     Broccoli               │
│  │              Peas        Cucumbers   Brussels               │
│  │              Radishes    Basil       Sprouts                │
│  │                          Squash      Carrots                │
│  │                                                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Seasonal Factors

Each crop has seasonal multipliers:

const SEASONAL_FACTORS = {
  tomato: {
    spring: 0.3,   // Early season - limited
    summer: 1.2,   // Peak season - abundant
    fall: 0.6,     // Late season - declining
    winter: 0.0    // Not available outdoors
  },
  lettuce: {
    spring: 1.2,   // Ideal conditions
    summer: 0.5,   // Too hot - bolts
    fall: 1.2,     // Ideal conditions
    winter: 0.3    // Limited (greenhouse only)
  }
};

Demand Seasonality

Consumer Patterns

Salads (Lettuce, Greens):
├── Summer: ████████████████ High demand
├── Spring: ████████████ Moderate-high
├── Fall:   ████████ Moderate
└── Winter: ████ Lower

Tomatoes:
├── Summer: ████████████████████ Peak
├── Fall:   ████████████ Good
├── Spring: ████████ Moderate (imported)
└── Winter: ████ Low (imported)

Root Vegetables:
├── Fall:   ████████████████ Peak (harvest)
├── Winter: ████████████████ High (storage)
├── Spring: ████████ Moderate
└── Summer: ████ Low

Forecasting Seasonal Demand

function applySeasonalFactor(
  baseDemand: number,
  produceType: string,
  season: Season
): number {
  const factors = SEASONAL_FACTORS[produceType];
  const factor = factors?.[season] ?? 1.0;
  return baseDemand * factor;
}

Planning Cycles

Spring Planning (Feb-Mar)

1. Review winter performance
2. Order seeds for spring/summer crops
3. Start indoor seedlings
4. Plan succession plantings
5. Commit supply to demand signals

Summer Planning (May-Jun)

1. Adjust for actual spring results
2. Plan fall crop transitions
3. Order fall seeds
4. Plan preservation (canning, freezing)
5. Monitor water needs

Fall Planning (Aug-Sep)

1. Seed saving from summer crops
2. Plant winter storage crops
3. Extend season with row covers
4. Plan winter production (indoor)
5. Prepare for first frost

Winter Planning (Nov-Dec)

1. Review year's performance
2. Order next year's seeds
3. Plan crop rotation
4. Maintain indoor production
5. Update demand preferences

Seasonal Recommendations

How Recommendations Work

function generateSeasonalRecommendations(
  grower: Grower,
  season: Season,
  demandSignals: DemandSignal[]
): PlantingRecommendation[] {
  const recommendations = [];

  for (const crop of getSeasonalCrops(season)) {
    // Check if in season for this region
    if (!isValidForSeason(crop, season, grower.hardinessZone)) {
      continue;
    }

    // Find matching demand
    const demand = findDemandForCrop(demandSignals, crop);

    // Calculate recommendation
    if (demand.gapKg > 0) {
      recommendations.push({
        produceType: crop,
        plantByDate: getPlantByDate(crop, season),
        expectedHarvestDate: getHarvestDate(crop, season),
        ...
      });
    }
  }

  return recommendations;
}

Extending Seasons

Season Extension Techniques

Technique	Season Extension	Crops Suited
Row Covers	+2-4 weeks	Greens, roots
Cold Frames	+4-6 weeks	Salads, herbs
Hoop Houses	+6-10 weeks	Most crops
Heated Greenhouse	Year-round	All crops
Vertical Farm	Year-round	Leafy, herbs

Integration with Vertical Farms

Outdoor Season:  ████████████████░░░░░░░░████████████████
Greenhouse:      ████████████████████████████████████████
Vertical Farm:   ████████████████████████████████████████

Combined Supply: ████████████████████████████████████████

Vertical farms fill gaps:

• Early spring (before outdoor ready)
• Mid-summer (heat gaps)
• Late fall (after frost)
• Winter (full production)

Crop Rotation

Benefits

1. Soil health - Different nutrient needs
2. Pest reduction - Break pest cycles
3. Disease prevention - Reduce pathogen buildup
4. Yield improvement - Better long-term production

Rotation Groups

Year 1: LEAFY GREENS (Nitrogen users)
        Lettuce, Spinach, Kale, Chard
        ↓
Year 2: FRUITING (Heavy feeders)
        Tomatoes, Peppers, Squash, Cucumbers
        ↓
Year 3: LEGUMES (Nitrogen fixers)
        Beans, Peas, Cover crops
        ↓
Year 4: ROOTS (Light feeders)
        Carrots, Beets, Radishes, Onions
        ↓
Back to Year 1

Rotation in LocalGreenChain

interface SeasonalPlan {
  growerId: string;
  year: number;
  season: Season;

  // Previous year data for rotation
  previousYearCrops: Map<Zone, string>;

  // Current plan respects rotation
  plannedCrops: PlannedCrop[];
}

Succession Planting

Concept

Plant same crop multiple times for continuous harvest:

Week 1:  Plant batch A  [●●●●●]
Week 3:  Plant batch B  [●●●●●]  →  Batch A growing  [○○○●●]
Week 5:  Plant batch C  [●●●●●]  →  Batch A harvest  [✓✓✓○○]
Week 7:  Plant batch D  [●●●●●]  →  Batch B harvest  [✓✓✓○○]
...

Result: Continuous harvest every 2 weeks

Scheduling

function planSuccessionPlanting(
  crop: string,
  totalWeeks: number,
  harvestFrequency: number
): PlantingSchedule[] {
  const schedules = [];
  const growingDays = SEASONAL_DATA[crop].growingDays;

  let weekOffset = 0;
  while (weekOffset < totalWeeks) {
    schedules.push({
      plantWeek: weekOffset,
      harvestWeek: weekOffset + Math.ceil(growingDays / 7)
    });
    weekOffset += harvestFrequency;
  }

  return schedules;
}

Best Practices

For Growers

1. Plan early - Order seeds 2-3 months ahead
2. Track frost dates - Know your last spring/first fall frost
3. Use succession - Continuous harvest beats big batches
4. Save seeds - Preserve locally-adapted varieties
5. Check demand - Align planting with signals

For Consumers

1. Embrace seasonality - Best produce is in-season
2. Set preferences - System learns your patterns
3. Be flexible - Accept seasonal variety
4. Preserve - Learn to freeze, can, dry
5. Plan ahead - Subscribe to seasonal boxes

Data-Driven Optimization

Tracking Seasonal Performance

interface SeasonalAnalytics {
  season: Season;
  year: number;

  // What worked
  successfulCrops: {
    crop: string;
    yieldVsExpected: number;  // >1.0 = outperformed
    qualityScore: number;
  }[];

  // What didn't
  failedCrops: {
    crop: string;
    reason: string;
  }[];

  // Learnings for next year
  recommendations: string[];
}

Continuous Improvement

1. Record everything - Conditions, yields, issues
2. Analyze yearly - What patterns emerge?
3. Adjust plans - Apply learnings
4. Share knowledge - Community benefits