Spring showers bring May flowers…
Happy March! The year seems to be flying by. I am spending as much time as I can in my own personal garden to help keep me grounded in this crazy world. I love seeing the garden waking up from the winter nap!
It finally feels like spring is in the air. The early flowers are blooming, roses have fresh leaves, the soil is warming up. Butterflies are coming out of cocoons and the bees are waking up. The blossoms have emerged on the fruit trees. Spring always feels like a time of renewal, everything seems fresh and clean and the same goes for your garden!
So many clients describe having a black thumb instead of a green garden thumb. :) You do not have a black thumb, you have unhealthy soil. Without healthy soil you garden will struggle, plants will not thrive. They will be stunted and have very little produce.
What does healthy living soil do for plants? Healthy living soil means micro-organisms, microscopic animals that live in the soil. They create nutrients and pathways / pockets for water to absorb. The microbes provide nutrients that build a strong, healthy less stressed out plant. Of course, the most important thing for the planet is the healthy living soil sequesters carbon from the atmosphere and turns it into nutrients plants can use.
Here are a few tips to get your garden ready for spring and summer planting if you did not cover crop for winter. You can buy a good compost and layer it on top of existing soil like lasagna. Do NOT mix the compost in. When you are actually planting your spring plants, you will dig a small hole for the plant. As you are digging the hole the two layers will mix into the hole. Always make sure to top dress with a good mulch to hold in moisture from the spring rains.
It is a great time to start pruning back flowers that went dormant in the winter. You can add healthy soil amendments (organic compost or soil booster at the base of the plant) around roses, flowers and fruit trees. Plant potatoes, herbs, leafy greens and all cool season veggies now. You can also start summer veggie seedlings indoors too.
