Spring is on Its Way

Spring is teasing us here in the south and I have severe cabin fever. The buttercups are starting to push through the soil even though we have had a recent ice storm.

To cure those cabin fever blues start planning where to place your garden and flower beds.

Pick up the colored pencils and free hand sketch how you would like the area to look, scan through gardening magazines and seed catalogs to start visioning how they will look blooming in your gardens.

Once you have established where you are going to plant and what you’re going to plant it is time to get those beds ready. The first step is getting the soil ready for planting by turning the soil to add oxygen to it.

Next you should add enriched soil, something that has vermiculite is a good soil to add, and the vermiculite absorbs and holds moisture in the soil for longer periods of time. In our gardens  during the winter we add decomposing leaves and horse manure and the soil gets turned a couple of times a month to evenly incorporate  the mixture, tomatoes and potatoes really like this mixture.

Now that the beds are ready for planting it is time to gather the seeds or send in orders for plants, send in the order early if you wait too late in the season the nursery may have some plants on back order. The best place to get plants if you are not going to use seed is the local nursery; the nursery in your area will have plants that are adapted to your planting zone.

If you are planting from seed now is the time to start seedlings indoors. The best thing to use is paper cups they will degrade in the soil. Use a vermiculite potting soil, fill the cups with the soil, add the seed, saturate with water and make sure the soil stays damp to the touch till germinations occurs, once germination occurs, check the soil every couple of days if soil is dry to the touch about ¼ inch down it is time to water. When plants are ready for transplanting all you have to do is cross cut the bottom of the cup and make slices down the sides, this gives the plant room for its roots till the cup degrades.

Within four to six weeks the plants will be ready to go into your garden plots. Check your frost zones and if you do plant before all danger of frost has passed be sure to cover plants with clear plastic this will provide a greenhouse effect and keep the plants warm and free from frost.