Your mailbox is filling up with garden and seed catalogs. But it’s never too early to begin planning your spring garden. If you wait for the warmer weather, you’ll miss gardening due dates and soil preparation. As a natural-born procrastinator, I can advise against it. I have doomed many a spring garden by not being prepared. But here are some ways to guarantee a successful spring garden.
Cleaning
This quiet time is excellent for cleaning your greenhouse and pots. If you have a greenhouse you will need to check it for needed repairs. To begin cleaning, you will need to take everything out of your greenhouse for a good and thorough scrub-down. You might want to lay out a few beer slug traps for several weeks as well. Give it a good airing-out for several weeks to make sure everything is dry.
Interested in Greenhouse gardening? Just go to the Greenhouse Gardener’s companion, http://www.greenhousegarden.com/
Planning and Preparing
Take paper and pencil and draw out your garden, even if you are doing a container spring garden. By now, you have probably done your research on what is the best to grow in your area. Which ones need more sun? Or shade? How much room will your kohlrabi need? This is a good time to work your soil by digging in a generous amount of compost and leaving it exposed to the winter elements. If your ground is clay based, then adding manure will help.
You may also want to use all of those decaying leaves in your yard for your compost in the following year. Make sure to work your soil to be at least three times higher than what you want your spring garden’s soil to be. Water it frequently and turn the compost several times a week.
For more information about how to make your compost head go to http://www.compost.your-info-station.com/ .
Consult Your Calendar
After you have decided what you are going to plant, you now have to choose when your spring garden needs to be planted. Some gardeners consult guides on moon phases while others only plant after the last frost. Now is the time to do some research. Certain areas have different planting seasons and container gardens will be quite different than starting those spring crops in a raised bed outdoors. Be certain to find a good zone planting chart and keep track of each vegetable’s planting date.
Looking for information about gardening or even a moon phase gardening calendar? Then visit the Farmer’s Almanac’s website , http://www.farmersalmanac.com/
Once you have decided on what plants to grow and when, you might want to start your seedlings inside the warmth of your home while waiting for that last frost to hit. Local stores sell seedlings pots to get you started.
Once you have planned ahead you should have a healthy garden in the spring.