In my opinion, it is never too early to start thinking about your garden. Here is our top 5 list of things you can be doing in your garden now to get the most out of your garden.
1. Get sowing
Now is a great time to take advantage of our early spring and start growing seedlings indoors. You’ll be very glad you did when you can reap the benefits of an earlier crop and a longer growing season. Lettuce and spinach plants can be started indoors already. Onions, leeks, shallots and celery are typically slower growing and so good seeds to get started early.
You may also try sowing some peas (mange tout, sugar snap and regular) to get a nice early crop. Make sure to be gentle if sowing peas indoors; the roots are very delicate and peas are not keen on having their roots disturbed during transplanting. Alternatively, peas can be sown directly outdoors at this time of year. Cover with a cloche or similar to keep the soil warm. Place clippings from holly (or another spiky bush) on the soil to distract hungry mice and rodents digging up your freshly sown peas!
Tip: Don’t sow all of your seeds now. Try to sow small quantities of different varieties one to two weeks apart. This will help prolong your growing season. Also if something goes wrong (you forget to water, they get too hot etc) you won`t loose your whole 2016 crop!
Tips for growing strong seedlings:
Most seeds will germinate above approximately 21 degree C. For large seeds (such as peas, beans, sweetcorn and squashes) you can soak these overnight to speed up germination but many of these will germinate on their own but will require more patience. Once germinated make sure your tiny seedlings have plenty of sunlight and are not too warm (around 18-20 degree C is ideal). Limited sunlight and warm conditions will result in spindly, tall seedlings.
2. Chop back and tidy up
Most plants need access to sunlight to grow. Now is a great time to give your garden a good spring clean. Chop back overgrowing bushes, remove any dead growth from last year. Feel free to be ruthless! Clear out any plants that struggle or that you simply don’t like. Mend any fence panels, raised beds or other structures that have suffered from the cold, damp conditions over the winter.
Still have energy? Why not clear out your Garden Shed as well? You’ll probably be surprised at what you will find at the back! Don’t forget to donate your old tools and gardening supplies to your local thrift store or see if you have any local gardening charities looking for more equipment.
Basically, take advantage of the next couple of weeks to get ready for a 2016 garden that you are proud of and can get lots of enjoyment out of.
3. Think about your soil
A post at this time of year about gardening wouldn’t be complete without talking about your soil. Plants draw a lot of nutrients from the soil. Every time we harvest food from our gardens we are removing nutrients that were once in our soils. Most vegetable beds are bare and flower beds fairly sparse at this time of year. This makes it easy to mix in lots of high quality compost.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a compost pile. Bokashi composting converts your food scraps to usable nutrient and microbe rich compost in just 4 to 6 weeks; and you’ll start getting fertilizing tea in just 1 to 2 weeks! So there is still plenty of time for your garden to benefit from homemade compost in your garden. Buy online or in store.
Sales pitch over! Truly, your soil may not be the most glamorous part of your garden but it is (literally) at the roots of everything and plays a huge roll in your gardening successes.
4. Install water barrels
Another important element for all plants is water. Water restrictions are becoming increasingly common and long lasting for many of us. Get yourself prepared for drier periods and water restrictions by installing rain barrels now. Many city’s and local governments are offering discounts on rain barrels. Ask around before you make a purchase.
On days when the weather may be too wet to garden you can enjoy knowing that the rains will benefit your thirsty plants later in the year.
Spend time planning your garden and try to include as many as drought resistant and drought tolerant plants as possible. Think about alternatives to water intensive areas such as lawns.
5. Attract bees to your garden
Last, but by now means least, spare a thought for pollinators in your garden. Without them your fruit and vegetable crops will be very limited. There is lots of media coverage about declining bee populations. So, what can we do? Firstly, make sure that your garden is a place that bees will love. Plant lots of bee-friendly plants; blueberries, crocuses, primroses, marigolds, lavendar, sunflowers and cornflowers. Consider planting these within your vegetable garden to attract bees and pollinators to where you need them most. This article has lots of helpful tips and suggestions for planting a bee garden.
Secondly, add bee homes to your garden. Canada boasts hundreds of bee species, all of which are beneficial to plants. Mason bees are a firm favorite of mine and are a perfect addition to any garden. They are solitary bees that very rarely sting. Most impressively, a single female will visit up to 17 flowers per minute! This is a perfect time to get a hive installed in your garden.
Mason bee hives can be bought at most garden stores and also online. I would recommend getting one where the tubes come apart easily as it makes cleaning and storing the cacoons over winter much easier. Alternatively you can google ‘making a mason bee hive’ and there are lots of tutorials. An informative guide here from David Suzuki about making a mason bee hive and attracting bees to your garden.
You can also buy mason bee cocoons from most garden stores. Alternatively you can wait to see if the mason bees find their own way to your hive. I got over 40 cocoons in my hive after just one season (and I didn’t seed it with any bought cocoons).
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