Have
the long, dreary, cold winter days given you the blues? I
know that they have me. Although Mother Nature has sentenced
me to about another two months out of my garden, there are
a few things I can do to alleviate the punishment.
March
is an excellent month to start planning for the upcoming growing
season. The first thing I would recommend is to pick up some
gardening books and magazines. Not only do they give you a
little perk, they also can provide some great ideas for the
near future. It is also a good idea to sketch out the area
you plan to cultivate and take notes of plants and flowers
that you like, or didn't work so well for you in the past.
According
to Steve Kruse, of Kruse Farm Supply in Bristol, March is
also an optimal month to take in a soil sample for testing.
If you have had problems in the past growing anything from
asparagus to zebra grass, the main culprit is probably your
soil quality. This is especially true when it comes to lawn
care.
March
is the best time to test your soil, because after the ground
thaws you can easily treat any problems that the tests may
indicate, and save a lot of time and hassle in May when you
would rather be enjoying the outdoors. Steve recommends taking
about 6 random spoonfuls from your area of growing interest
and putting them together in a clean container or a Ziploc
container. You need about enough to fill a coffee cup to be
able to get an accurate result. The cost to test the soil
sample is $10 at Kruse Farm Supply.
March
is also a great month to place any special orders at your
favorite garden center. Cut out those great pictures from
magazines and orders those gorgeous planters and baskets you
love. Also, if you want to try it on your own, they might
need to special order some of the varieties that are not so
common in our area.
Early
spring is also a good time to set aside a budget and start
saving some money for your purchases over the next few months.
You don't want to drain your first paycheck in May, when setting
aside a little extra now will leave you able to still buy
that great Mother's Day gift without breaking the bank!
Although
it is still cold and dreary, we do get some signs that Spring
is just around the corner. Remember though, no matter how
beautiful the weather becomes (hopefully!) over the next few
months, you do not want to actually plant anything until the
risk of frost is over which is around the middle of May. Planning
now can really save you some time and definitely some money
in the near future.
