Last winter the garden was supposed to be put to bed with fertilizers giving them time to break down over the winter. If that wasn't done, you still need to add the fertilizers but they need to be well aged and organically broken down.
The next important step is to review the watering practice last year. Sprinklers often cause powdery mildew issues and weeds throughout the garden. Soakers, drips and flood can be better options and now is the time to see if there is a way to engineer those different processes.
Tilling the garden to create soil with lots of macro pores (nice word for airspace) creates the environment the seeds will germinate in well. This is part of the reason for the composted materials added at this time. I also include worm castings due to the high biological microorganisms (if is fresh) and the fact that what comes out of a worm is better than what goes in.
Soil temperature is important too. Seeds do not germinate until soils have reached enough heat. So checking that temperature will give you a better idea of when to plant.
How we plant will effect the rest of the season so take a little bit of time to plan the design and final harvest from the garden. This includes trellis for beans and even squash.
Planning is everything, with a good garden plan it will help insure you stick out the process for your own fresh food this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment