In terms of year round gardening spring is the time to prepare your current plants and soil for the growing season ahead. Any bushes that blossom at this time of year (like forsythia) should be trimmed back. I’ve also found that a good pruning for roses increases the yield and may even lead to a double blossoming season in the North.
Throughout the year there are things you can do to help keep your garden healthy, happy and beautiful. Spring is my very favorite time of year to turn my attention to the garden. After months of snow and cold that first array of greenery replenishes my spirit and provides a much-needed smile.
Also, if there are any dried flowers remaining on perennials from the previous season, remove them gently. You can do this easily while you weed and till the soil without using a lot of extra time.
At the same juncture I often put down weed block or use a spray to keep creeping Charlie and other very invasive plants from taking over my borders.
Year Round Gardening
If you don’t carefully rotate plants/crops, your soil will likely need some nourishment in spring. Now, if you’re clever you composted in fall with all manner of leaves, cut grasses and other compost products, but if you didn’t consult with the local greenhouse.
Take in a small soil sample that they can analyse and provide a good solution based on what you’re growing. I also strongly advocate companion planting. This topic is covered in organic gardening to some degree on this website.
Spring is the time to add new items to your garden so that they have plenty of time to get rooted before seasons change again. Don’t be impatient! You’ll loose plants if you sew them too soon and the weather turns disagreeable that is unless you are an indoor plant grower and sow them inside. that is unless you are an indoor plant grower and sow them inside.. From this point forward, you’ll likely be watering as needed and watching for weeds.
Come summer everything should be up and blossoming. You want to continue caring for the garden (watering/weeding) so all that hard work doesn’t get wasted. As in spring, remove dead plant matter when it becomes obvious; these bits only stretch a plant’s nutrients to places they’re no longer needed.
This is also your time to be aware of any signs of disease or pests cropping up in your year round gardening maintenance. . I know that if I don’t treat my fruit trees at the first sign of leaf curl, I’ll completely loose that year’s crop.
So, the rule in summer is if you see a problem, fix it ASAP. Don’t forget to give tall plants extra support (tomatoes, for example). One family I know has tall stakes permanently installed at the side of the house and the tomatoes literally climb to the second story even with pruning!
Fall is the harvest. But even as you’re brining in the last remnants of some plants you can be sewing others for wintering, like garlic, orchid pots are useful for this,, orchid pots are useful for this,. This is also when you can dig up and split bulbs like day lilies, replanting them where you want them next year.
Additionally, begin to mulch left over vegetation and treat your soil with good nutrients again. Some coffee houses will give you free grounds for your garden that will decompose and make a great foundation for vegetables in spring, for example.
Beyond this, fall is a good time to loosen soil. I’ve found if I don’t the hard pack of winter makes Spring chores much more difficult. Additionally, loosening things allows important nutrients through to lower levels where roots will be growing next year.
Now I get to rest. Winter doesn’t allow me much gardening other than hanging plants (although I’m experimenting with an indoor tomato plant this year). Depending on where you live, this may be different.
Consult with other gardeners in your neighbourhood to get good old fashioned or modern garden ideas if you’re lucky enough to be able to grow year round.
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