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Early Preparation
When is the right time to start thinking about your garden? It seems that with this weather, summer will be here before we know it. It is never too early begin making plans for your garden this upcoming season. Once your garden wakes up, you will want to have things ready to go.
Cleaning
Over the course of the fall and winter seasons, your garden accumulates all sorts of debris. The first thing you want to do, is make sure that all of the garden beds and your lawn is clear of leaves, branches, and anything else that might have ended up on there. It is important to this so that when any of your plants start to arise, there is nothing in the way.
Another important thing you should clean are your tools. They have probably been sitting all winter long, so it is ideal to give them a good cleaning. It is a new gardening season so giving your tools a little TLC will not hurt.
Check on your Soil
Plants need good soil in order to grow properly. A good way to check if your soil is ready to get worked on is to grab a handful of soil. Start forming this soil into a ball; if the ball easily breaks off, your soil has thawed out enough and it ready to work. If the soil keeps the ball shape, it is not quite ready yet.
You will want to wait until the soil is ready so the plants can grow in a healthy, non-compact area. The right soil will allow air to travel between the roots. If the soil is not quite ready, but you just can’t wait to get your hands dirty, try raking the top soil. Working on the soil when it is not ready can lead to it clumping up and drying out like cement in some cases.
You can also take soil tests to see where your soil is at. Here are some examples of ways to test out your soil to help you decide what needs to be done in order to best help your growing plants.
Pruning
Late winter into early spring is a good time to prune some of your plants, trees, and shrubs as most of these things are still dormant. You will want to get rid of anything that is dead or dying, damaged, etc. so that your plants can continue to grow healthy.
Fertilizing
The cold weather can take a toll on the soil making it hard and dried out. Now would be the perfect time to add fertilizer or compost to the soil as preparation for the plants. Organic materials can give you some of the best results as it will nurture the soil. You can also add layers of mulch to stop the weeds from the making a comeback.
Planting
You are probably eager to get all of your plants onto the soil outdoors, but what should you bring out now? Herbs and vegetables would be ideal during this time as they do not need for the soil to be completely warmed for you to get a jump start on gardening. Here are a few vegetables that would do well in the garden this early. For your indoor plants, early spring may still be too cold. The best time to move your indoor plants outdoors is when the night temperatures are constantly in the 50s. Looking for tips on how to make the transition? Click here.
It is never too early to start preparing for the gardening season. Make sure to have a plan in place and stick to it. Before we know it, spring will be here and there will be much more to do. Simple steps like this will give your garden a great head start!
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