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GARDENER'S
READING ROOM
Edibles
Preparing
Your Garden for Spring Planting - Hup-Ho!
If
location, location, location is everything (gardens included)
then soil, soil, soil follows closely. Healthy soil creates
healthy plants. How? Organic matter added to the soil allows
movement of water, accessibility of air to roots, and lets
those roots penetrate the soil. Also, as the organic material
transforms to humus, it provides a food source for soil microbes
and allows them to retain and release nutrients. Organic material
can be many things: your own backyard compost, various composts
purchased at Sky Nursery, leaf mold, aged manures, even worm
castings!
 So….
Choose a dry spell in late winter or early spring to dig the
ground. The soil must NOT be saturated. Add organic matter,
one part to every two or three parts soil, and till or dig
it in 8-12" deep. Spread lime to sweeten our acidic soils
and fertilizer (Whitney Farms All Purpose or Vegetable Food
or Lilly Miller Vegetable Food). Rake these in a few inches
deep. (Caution: do not use lime in your potato patch or your
potatoes may develop scab.) Remember, a seed grows to a mature
plant in only 2-4 months. Whew! It needs a little TLC to start
off!
Crops such as onions, leeks, lettuce, spinach, chard, cabbage
family crops, and peas can be sown as soon as the soil is
workable, usually late February or March. This is also the
time to plant asparagus, rhubarb, and horseradish. By April
you can plant the root crops (carrots, potatoes, etc.) and
in May (after all danger of frost and when the soil has warmed)
warm weather crops such as corn, beans, tomatoes, and squash
can be put out.
 It's
a good idea to rotate crops (move where you plant them year
to year). Remember, to attract beneficial insects and for
your own enjoyment, plant some flowers too. Sweet peas, calendula,
and annual lavatera are a few that can be sown in March. For
more information ask for Sky's vegetable garden handout.
So
start looking at seed packages, ask in the flowershed for
bareroot divisions and early veggies starts, and…. Hup
Ho!
By Sarah Garrison
Skylights Spring, Vol 16, No. 1
Other
articles on edibles
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