A good friend shared some advice on facebook this morning and I think it is worth sharing here. I know in some places gardening year round isn't feasible without a green house but that doesn't mean there isn't work to be done.
Everytime I turn soil, I try to work in compost or any other organic fertilizer so I have nice rich soil ready for spring planting. Also an important step in the planning category is to know what you are planting. If you took notes last year, they will be of great help in deciding what is worth planting this year or what you need to plant more/less of. (I highly suggest taking detailed notes Next, order your seed catalogs, I recommend ordering from a company that sells heirloom non-GMO seed, that way you can harvest and save your own seeds for next year.
Sustainable Seed Co.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Seed Savers Exchange
How to save seeds
Once I plan what I am planting, I map out my planting space on paper and draw very basic blueprints, noting which sides of the yard get full sun or shade. Most veggies take full sun (6+ hours a day), so keep this in mind when choosing seed.
What do you do to prep for spring or do you garden year-round?
Get ready!!!!! We are about to have a few days of dry weather. It will be a perfect time for some old fashioned weed and insect control practices. When the soil firms enough, either turn or till it. 1-This will bust up the insect beds where they are hibernating for the winter and freeze a lot to death. 2-it will expose the young tender roots of the grass and kill a lot back. Grass puts on new root growth during the winter if you did not know. For better weed control turn every two to three weeks if able to expose more new root growth to freezing temperatures. 3- This will also allow for better water infiltration to build your subsoil moister. Subsoil moisture is your plants reserve drinking supply in the dry months. For those of you who attended my garden workshops and learned to use a probe, winter is a great time to use it to increase your subsoil moisture and work off some of that Christmas candy too. 4- The best part about doing this is that it gets you out into the garden making winter a LOT less gloomy!!! ~Tim from Oleo Acres Farm
Everytime I turn soil, I try to work in compost or any other organic fertilizer so I have nice rich soil ready for spring planting. Also an important step in the planning category is to know what you are planting. If you took notes last year, they will be of great help in deciding what is worth planting this year or what you need to plant more/less of. (I highly suggest taking detailed notes Next, order your seed catalogs, I recommend ordering from a company that sells heirloom non-GMO seed, that way you can harvest and save your own seeds for next year.
Sustainable Seed Co.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Seed Savers Exchange
How to save seeds
Once I plan what I am planting, I map out my planting space on paper and draw very basic blueprints, noting which sides of the yard get full sun or shade. Most veggies take full sun (6+ hours a day), so keep this in mind when choosing seed.
What do you do to prep for spring or do you garden year-round?
We'll be turning the soil soon and mapping out our garden. I think we're gonna do something similar to last year -- lots of veggies and a few fruits. The blackberries and strawberries don't usually make it into storage, but they're a nice healthy treat that the boys can pick and eat.
ReplyDeleteI would really love to do some veggies this year. I may only be able to grow them in pots or planters, but I want to try it for the first time. ;) I think it'll be a lot of fun to grow my own veggies!
ReplyDeletei tried strawberries last year and all 7 of my plants gave me maybe 5 strawberries and they were tiny. i definitely want to do black and raspberries and really want a blueberries too.
ReplyDeleteim hoping we can get a peach tree or two and maybe another apple tree.
Kelly, even if you only plant 1 thing in a pot, it is so worth it and rewarding when you taste that first fruit/veg. herbs are super easy to grow in pots too!!