Preparing Your Vegetable Garden In The Spring

PREPARING YOUR VEGETABLE GARDEN IN THE SPRING

How Should I Prepare My Vegetable Garden For Spring Planting?

It's the time for planting vegetables from seed now. Before planting do a thorough cultivation of the garden while making sure to remove any weeds.

If the soil is light and sandy add lots of compost. There are a number of choices of compost such as manures or mushroom compost which all work well. Bagged and processed manures will not produce weeds. As well, peat moss can be added into the vegetable garden. All of these additions will help to lighten the soil and hold moisture. Another good thing you can add is 3 way mix which is a perfect blend of composts/manures and peat moss. In a heavier more clay-like soil it is not wise to cultivate too early. Clay soil will compact and get very hard if it is worked when it is wet. As soon as it is dry, the addition of peat moss or organic materials, which are named above, will help prevent clay from getting too hard and packed.

If the garden has been growing vegetables for many years, it may be wise to add fertilizer. A light application of fertilizer high in the middle number will help the garden to produce top quality and quantity of vegetables. Bone meal is a good organic option for this. 

Once the danger of frost is past it is ok to plant onions, peas, radishes, parsnips, carrots and turnips. All of these are cooler crops. If the soil is warm, it is also time to plant crops like beans. Do not plant out tomatoes or peppers just yet because they are not tolerant of the cold at all. In fact tomatoes and peppers can get permanently stunted if shocked too much by the cold so it is worth while to wait.

Other cool crops such as transplants of lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage could be planted now as well.