Preparing Your Garden for Spring
Spring season is right around the corner, and that means it’s time to think about getting your garden ready for planting! We wanted to share with you some things that we think are important to do while preparing your garden.
Clean up your garden area
While this isn’t always the most exciting part of gardening, it is important. Make sure that your garden is free of any dead crops or weeds. If you’ve grown a cover crop through the winter, this can be a pretty difficult job. One of the quickest ways to finish this project is to go over the aboveground dead crops with a flat spade. This is probably the easiest way, although it only gets rid of the crops above ground (not the roots). However, you recycle the dead crops and compost them! Another way to get rid of dead crop is to dig it into the soil -- this will take a couple weeks to break down.
Soil preparation
After you’ve cleaned up your garden, you can add whatever soil amendments you need! Now is a good time to check the level of pH in your soil -- that way you know what types of amendments to add. If your soil has a low pH level, some good things to use are ground limestone (acidic soil) or pine sawdust (alkaline soil). Add these amendments by scattering them throughout the surface of the soil.
Buy seeds now
It’s a good idea to order the seeds you want now instead of when you actually want to plant them! They normally take a couple weeks to arrive, so getting them in advance will ensure that you are ready to plant them at the right time.
Prepare gardening tools
Time to clean and sharpen all of your gardening tools! Not only does it make them easier to use, but it also prevents the spread of disease. Dirty pruning shears can spread bacteria quite easily. Preparing your tools will also preserve them so that you do not have to buy new ones in the near future.
Repair garden fences and gates
It’s a good time to repair anything that needs fixing while you don’t have plants in the way. This will also give you more time to focus on your garden in the spring and summer!
Add water butts to your garden
Collect seasonal rainfall with water butts! This is great for the environment, and certain plants (blueberries, camellias, rhododendrons) absolutely love it. Install a water butt below a rain pipe to get as much rainwater as possible.
Start a compost area
If you haven’t already, consider starting a compost area! This will provide a place to put the waste from your garden and it will create some of your own homemade soil amendment! Be sure to include a variety in your compost pile, such as grass clippings, vegetable peelings, wood prunings, and paper. Make sure to turn your compost pile over with a garden fork once a month to help with the breakdown process.
Happy gardening! Comment below with tips of your own.
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