Planting a Seedling
Have you resolved to make your garden the envy of your neighborhood this year? Are you determined to have a garden you don’t need to apologize for? If so, now is the time to start. The first step to having a beautiful garden is good planning. If you’ve kept a log or diagrams of your garden beds over the years to help track what was planted where, and notes about what worked and what didn’t now is the time to break it out so that you can start planning. If you haven’t kept a log or journal promise yourself that you will keep one from now on! You’ll be amazed at the wealth of information you build up over time.
Now is the time to select what new plants your going to plant this spring. As you make your selections ensure that your garden has the right environmental conditions for the new plants. It’s no good growing a plant that requires full sunlight in an area that’s always in the shade and vice-versa. If you have any doubts ask your local gardening supplier.
An often-overlooked aspect of Spring garden preparation is your gardening tools. If you didn’t get around to it as winter closed in, now is a good time to prepare them for the oncoming gardening season. If any of them need cleaning, clean them and remove any rust. If you have any tools that require sharpening get them sharpened. There’s nothing more frustrating than using blunt tools and they can be even more dangerous than sharp ones. If you need to replace a tool that’s worn out replace them now, don’t wait until you go to use it.
Remember, a lot of us get really excited as spring gets closer, and the closer it gets the more impatient we become. If we start too early the results can be a disaster. Keep in mind that spring weather can take surprisingly chilly turns so you need to plan your gardening activities accordingly. The most important date when it comes to planning for spring is the average date of the last frost. Once again, if you’ve kept a journal this will certainly help you work this out. If not, you may be able to get the information from other sources such as a [amazon-product text="farmers almanac" tracking_id="spring prep" type="text"]1571984844[/amazon-product]. Once you know the average date of the last frost you can begin to plan your sowing, hardening off dates and transplanting tasks.
A final word on spring garden preparation has nothing to do with plants and everything to do with you. Don’t just jump straight into your garden, medical clinics experience major surges in gardening related injuries as spring begins. The most common are lower back pain and strains to ligaments and joints. What happens is that we tend to forget, that like our plants we need to be coaxed gently back from dormancy. It’s no good getting all gung-ho without preparing your body first by limbering up and preparing it for the gardening ahead.
The bottom line is that if you want to have a great garden you need to plan ahead. Look at what has and hasn’t worked in the past, decide what you want to plant and where. Don’t jump in too early, make sure that the chance for frost are past and finally make sure you’re ready to start in your garden. After all, if you injure yourself, what’s going to happen to the garden?
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