Spring is on the way!

One of my favorite books is Old-Time Gardening Wisdom by America's Master Gardener, Jerry Baker. I will be referring to his book quite a bit this spring as we begin to get back outdoors and into our gardens. Right now is when everyone starts to get antsy for spring, and they go out to buy vegetable seeds, plants, lawn fertilizer etc. Well, instead, this time of year, and actually a little earlier in the year, should be used for planning. Ask yourself what your goal is this year for your garden or your lawn. Would you like to spend less at the grocery store and on your water bill? How could you do that? Will it save you money in the long run? How much time do you honestly think you can spend on your garden or your lawn? You need to think these questions through before making any big purchases. Always remember that when you are planting seeds in your garden, each of those seeds is a plant and will produce. You may lose a few plants, but most of the time you won't have too many losses. Are you going to store extra food or give it away?

Next, if you decide to go ahead with a vegetable garden, you need to plan out the location. Location is everything! It should be near the house where you will notice it (remember it), and where you can easily care for it. Make sure you are close to a water source, and as much sun as possible. There are a few plants that will do okay in part sun which include: Chard, Chicory, Collards, Kale, Lettuce, Parsley, Peas, and Spinach. If you are creating your garden from scratch, now is also the time to remove all sod. You can spray it with roundup, or lay black & white newspaper over it covered with soil, or you could dig out the sod. If your ground is full of weeds, identify the weeds before you pull. Jerry notes that weeds can tell you a lot of information about what type of soil you have. If you see burdock, chicory, pigweed, purslane, dandelion, and lamb's quarters, that is a sign of Good Drainage. If you see mosses, sedges, curly dock, horsetail, may apple, or joe-pye weed, then you most likely have Poor Drainage. If you see buttercups, broad-leaved dock, dandelion, and plantain, that is a sign of Heavy Soil. Finally, if you notice sheep sorrel, wild cornflower, white campion, and yellow toadflax, then you have Light Soil, often sandy. (Baker, 1999)
http://www.jerrybaker.com

Well, that's a good start for today. If this post leads to questions that you need help with, that's what I'm here for! Please feel free to post. There is never a stupid question!

Happy Planning!