Early Spring Gardening:
Build the Soil!
What can you do in the garden on these warm early spring days?
Take a Soil Sample
This would be a good time to improve your soil. Take a soil sample to find out the pH, percentage of organic matter, and mineral content. For a more complete report on minerals and organic matter percentage, send your sample to UCONN or UMASS For basic info bring it to the CT Agricultural Experiment Station, 123 Huntington St. New Haven.
Clean up beds from last year
If your gardens still have dead plants from last year, clip them off and put the tops into the compost. If your plants had a lot of disease last year, pull the plants and put the dead material in the trash so you don’t reincorporate disease organisms that may persist in the tissue. If your beds have leaves or other mulch on them, leave it be for awhile longer. About a week or so before planting seed or transplants, pull the mulch away to let the soil warm up and dry out a bit.
Turn your compost
Your compost pile should be turned to incorporate air and enhance the reproductive activity of the beneficial organisms. Use a digging fork or compost fork to bring the lower layers up to the top. If it’s too heavy or lifting threatens to hurt your back or wrists, at least work to get some air into the center of the pile by poking a pole or folk into the middle and then prying it up. Cover your pile with a tarp so that rain doesn’t leach out the nutrients.
Build some infrastructure
Fix up trellises, build raised beds, create a neater composting area, spread wood chips in paths, create some supports for your hoses. Think about ways to make your garden more convenient and easy to work in. Fix up, sharpen, or get rid of tools that need repair or frustrate you. File edges of weeders and sand splintery handles.
