Summer is just around the corner - time to roll up our sleeves and attend to spring gardening tasks!
Winter is just about over. Gardening enthusiasts are glad to see the end of the cold and gloomy days. We've pored over the garden catalogs and are ready to put some walk in the talk. Now is the time to clean and sharpen our gardening tools, get the soil in ship shape and make that lovely summer display of flowers and delicious edibles a reality.
Depending on your climate zone, you may already have a jump on the season, starting annuals and early veggies in mini-hothouses, under lights in the garage with heating pads, ready to plant as soon as the soil is warm. If you've got a cold frame, you've got some salad fixings well along the road to the table. Last fall, you gathered all of the compost material from last summer, fall leaves, spent annuals and winter prunings, so you've got a good supply of soil enriching nutrients for the spring gardening tasks at hand.
If your soil is still too wet to work, aerating your lawn can be done now, to give that greenery a chance to buff up for healthy spring growth, staving off molds and giving a good dose of greening.
Once you've got your seeds and starts going, the next major step in spring gardening preparation is to work the ground. Be sure to wait until the ground is no longer soaked. If you've still got wet, soggy soil, you'll only compact the soil by working it now. Wait until a ball of soil is just wet enough to stick together, yet dry enough to crumble in your hand when squeezed. That's when you want to start digging and tilling.
If your garden beds are well established, dig or till to turn at least 8-12 inches of soil, before adding amendments. You'll also want to get a soil test kit to determine which amendments and nutrients you need to add to establish the correct Ph. Wait at least two weeks after amending the soil before planting.
Testing your soil should be a yearly spring gardening task, as certain crops and plants can become depleted of nutrients. You'll certainly recover the cost of the kit and testing in more vigorous plants, flowers and crops.
If you've got bulbs planted in your flower beds, allow them to die back naturally. When the leaves are yellowed, you can cut them back. This way, the 'strength' is retained in the bulb for next year's flowering. Most spring flowering bulbs can be left in place. Interplanting the area with annuals or perennials hides any untidy looking bulbs during the summer.
If it's a rainy day and you can't get out in the garden, check at the library or at an online garden website to see what you can find out about companion planting. Companion planting is a technique whereby you can increase the vigor, yield and pest resistance of one plant by planting it next to another specific plant. For example, tomato plants produce better tasting and larger fruit when planted with basil. (Coincidentally, tomato and basil are one of those made-in-heaven culinary matches.)
Your last basic spring gardening task is planting and mulching. Apply a three inch layer of mulch. This helps reduce watering and weeding significantly, so don't skimp here.
Now, your spring gardening preparation is complete! Have a great summer!
Winter is just about over. Gardening enthusiasts are glad to see the end of the cold and gloomy days. We've pored over the garden catalogs and are ready to put some walk in the talk. Now is the time to clean and sharpen our gardening tools, get the soil in ship shape and make that lovely summer display of flowers and delicious edibles a reality.
Depending on your climate zone, you may already have a jump on the season, starting annuals and early veggies in mini-hothouses, under lights in the garage with heating pads, ready to plant as soon as the soil is warm. If you've got a cold frame, you've got some salad fixings well along the road to the table. Last fall, you gathered all of the compost material from last summer, fall leaves, spent annuals and winter prunings, so you've got a good supply of soil enriching nutrients for the spring gardening tasks at hand.
If your soil is still too wet to work, aerating your lawn can be done now, to give that greenery a chance to buff up for healthy spring growth, staving off molds and giving a good dose of greening.
Once you've got your seeds and starts going, the next major step in spring gardening preparation is to work the ground. Be sure to wait until the ground is no longer soaked. If you've still got wet, soggy soil, you'll only compact the soil by working it now. Wait until a ball of soil is just wet enough to stick together, yet dry enough to crumble in your hand when squeezed. That's when you want to start digging and tilling.
If your garden beds are well established, dig or till to turn at least 8-12 inches of soil, before adding amendments. You'll also want to get a soil test kit to determine which amendments and nutrients you need to add to establish the correct Ph. Wait at least two weeks after amending the soil before planting.
Testing your soil should be a yearly spring gardening task, as certain crops and plants can become depleted of nutrients. You'll certainly recover the cost of the kit and testing in more vigorous plants, flowers and crops.
If you've got bulbs planted in your flower beds, allow them to die back naturally. When the leaves are yellowed, you can cut them back. This way, the 'strength' is retained in the bulb for next year's flowering. Most spring flowering bulbs can be left in place. Interplanting the area with annuals or perennials hides any untidy looking bulbs during the summer.
If it's a rainy day and you can't get out in the garden, check at the library or at an online garden website to see what you can find out about companion planting. Companion planting is a technique whereby you can increase the vigor, yield and pest resistance of one plant by planting it next to another specific plant. For example, tomato plants produce better tasting and larger fruit when planted with basil. (Coincidentally, tomato and basil are one of those made-in-heaven culinary matches.)
Your last basic spring gardening task is planting and mulching. Apply a three inch layer of mulch. This helps reduce watering and weeding significantly, so don't skimp here.
Now, your spring gardening preparation is complete! Have a great summer!
No comments:
Post a Comment