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“Serving the Washington horticulture community since 1937.” |
Dig Into Spring!
Finally, the weather feels like spring. The temperatures are warmer and blossoms and bulbs are here! It's time to get ready for planting the garden. Dirt matters! Vegetable gardens, annual flower beds and new areas of perennials all need the same thing: good dirt, about 18 inches of it. Even if the soil looks good and rich, if it was planted last year, it probably needs some work. If you're planning a garden planting area, start digging.
You can use a rototiller to get about 6-8 inches down. Alternatively, you can dig with a garden fork (the one with 4 big tines). The fork isn't bothered much by rocks or by wet soil. All that dirt should come out of the bed, then till or dig and remove dirt again. You can mix in as much as 50/50 soil and a good organic compost from Cedar Grove, or Sawdust Supply, or Carpinito Bros., depending on what is convenient. Your local nursery will have bags of mulch, too. Mix well and fill the first layer. For the top 9 inches, you can add some appropriate nutrients. Folks use manure (lasts 3 weeks), cottonseed meal, aged chicken manure, or a prepared product for specific garden plants.
When you are finished you should have a slightly mounded, beautiful place to put your new starts. As a treat, walk into your local nursery and select your new garden plants. Just make sure you choose plants that can take a frost or two because we may have frost anytime until the middle of May.
Spring is here and your garden awaits you!
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