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Ready, Set, Grow! How to Prepare your Garden this Spring.


In the Northeast, where I live, the Winter seems to last forever. I get anxious to see the first signs of Spring. In February, I start to look out my window for any hint of Spring color emerging from the ground. In order to ensure that I get a real show of color when Spring finally hits, and to make certain that the color lasts through the Fall, I take some basic steps to help my garden grow.

Preparation and planning are the keys to a successful garden. From soil preparation to finding the types of plants that will thrive best in your yard, the basics are important. And the basics can be attacked organically and sustainably. Amending the soil with natural substances and choosing plants that are ideal for the climate in which you live can help you to yield a beautiful garden that is environmentally sound and easy to care for!

The Basic Steps:

First: The Soil
According to the Northeast Organic Farmers Association (the “NOFA”), some fertilizers can cause cancer or harm the nervous and reproductive systems. Many fertilizers are made from hazardous industrial wastes, which contain toxic substances such as lead and mercury, and, when applied to the soil, those fertilizers introduce toxic metals and chemicals—which ultimately end up in the plants you grow and eat. If you add toxic fertilizers to your garden you also add unnecessary nitrates and salts, which leave chemical residues in the food, and which will, over time, damage the soil's ability to provide nutrients, which plants need to resist disease, insect attacks, and stress.

You can have a beautiful lush garden and avoid toxic fertilizers. It all starts with the soil. If properly amended with organic material, the soil will slowly leach natural fertilizers to your plants and vegetables throughout the growing season. Moreover, if you garden organically, your garden will be sustainable over time.

Testing Your Soil
The first step in soil preparation is having your soil tested. A soil test will give you an idea of the soil pH, as well as the content of individual nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen, calcium and magnesium. If you are about to start a garden, have the soil tested first. If you already have an established garden, you should have your garden tested at least every 3 years. All you need to do to have your soil tested is to collect a sample of soil, place it in a plastic bag, and send it off (with the appropriate labeling and any required fee) to a facility that tests soil. Often your local or state college provides such testing services at a low cost. Note that your soil sample should be thawed and not too wet. In order to determine proper consistency prior to sampling, pick up a handful of soil and squeeze it. If it stays in a ball it is too wet. If it crumbles freely it is ready for sampling.

Determining Your Soil’s Drainage Ability
Good drainage is important to the health of your soil. Soggy soil easily compacts, preventing root growth and nutrient absorption by the plants. If your soil drains too quickly, this will cause the leaching of nutrients and require plants to be watered more frequently. You can easily test your soil’s drainage abilities. Test your soil by first digging a hole six inches across by one foot deep. Then, fill the hole with water and let it drain. After the water is drained, fill it again. Time how long it takes for the water to drain. If it takes more than 8 hours, you have a drainage problem, which will affect plant growth. In order to determine if your soil drains too quickly, water a small portion of your garden. After two days, in the location that you watered, dig a hole 6 inches deep. If the soil is dry to the bottom of the hole, your soil drains to quickly to promote good plant growth.

Amending Your Soil
Once you have had your soil tested and you have determined your soil’s drainage ability, you can then proceed to amend the soil so that it is in the best condition for optimal plant growth. Once your soil is properly amended your plants will grown better, taste better and better resist pests.

Below are some general suggestions for how to improve the soil quality in your garden by amending it with organic materials. Please keep in mind that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing and too much of a certain nutrient or additive can have an adverse affect on your garden. Often, the soil testing facility to which you sent your soil sample will not only provide you with a breakdown of the contents of your soil, but will also provide you with a detailed explanation of how to amend the soil—both organically and non-organically, and including the amount of each nutrient to add per square foot— for a vegetable garden or a flower garden (each type of garden requires different treatment).

Nitrogen
Why it’s needed: Nitrogen increases the green growth of your plants. Signs of a problem: Plants that have a nitrogen deficiency generally have older leaves that will yellow at the bottom of the plant. The remaining foliage is often light green. Stems may also yellow and may become spindly.
Organic sources: You can increase the nitrogen content of your soil by adding grass clippings and green vegetable matter. You may also increase nitrogen content by adding blood meal, cottonseed meal, alfalfa meal, fish meal or fish emulsion.

Phosphorus
Why it’s needed: Phosphorus stimulates root growth and promotes seed and fruit maturation.
Signs of a problem: Purple leaves, brittle roots, skinny stems and late fruit set indicate a deficiency.
Organic sources: Soft rock, bone meal and phosphate are good sources of phosphorus.

Potassium
Why it’s needed: Potassium promotes disease resistance.
Signs of a problem: Irregular yellowing of low growing leaves and poor root growth are indicators of potassium deficiency.
Organic sources: Greens, sulfate of potash and wood ashes are good sources of potassium.

Calcium
Why it’s needed: Calcium is important for plant cells, root development and leaf growth.
Signs of a problem: If you have low calcium levels you will find deformed new leaf growth and branches and weak stems and roots.
Organic sources: Gypsum is a good source of calcium and it will also lower alkalinity in your soil.

Magnesium
Why it’s needed: Magnesium is necessary for chlorophyll and green leaf development. Signs of a problem: Pale green leaves with green veins are a sign of a magnesium deficiency.
Solution: You can correct this deficiency by adding magnesium sulfate.

Soil pH
Why it’s needed: Soil pH is important because it affects how nutrients are absorbed by the plant. Knowing if your soil is alkaline or acidic is important because plants only absorb nutrients when the soil pH falls into acceptable range.
Solution: In order to lower the pH in pH in alkaline soil, you can add sources of sulfur such as gypsum. In order to raise your soil’s pH, you may add dolomite lime.

Soil Drainage Corrections
Why it’s needed: If your soil does not have adequate drainage, you plants are going to be deprived of oxygen. Oxygen stimulates microbial activity and allows free root growth and is one of the most important fertility components to soil.
Organic sources/solution: Humus, peat moss, compost, and aged manure tilled into the soil help to increase the air spaces in the soil, thereby improving drainage and allowing your plants to get the necessary oxygen. In order to improve your soil’s drainage, you may also add vermiculite, perlite, sand, gypsum or chopped straw. If your soil drains too quickly, you can correct this problem by adding peat moss, vermiculite, perlite, composted manure. Mulch also helps to prevent water evaporation.

Second: Choosing the Plants that are Right for You and the Climate in Which You Live
Choosing plants for your flower garden is not as simple as picking the ones you find to be the most attractive. And, just because plants are sold at the local nursery does not mean that they are suitable for your garden. In choosing plants for your flower garden, you may want to keep the following factors in mind:

USDA Zone
Certain plants do better in a particular climate than others. Certain plants will be more resistant to the cold, heat, drought or disease. Therefore, before choosing plants for your garden, you should first consult a USDA zone map and determine what USDA zone you live in (visit www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html for more information.) Once you determine the USDA zone in which you live, you can then consult a book on plants and flowers and determine what plants and flowers do best in your zone. By choosing plants that are native for your zone, you may easily eliminate some problems, such as pest problems, that are otherwise commonly fixed with chemicals.

Light Conditions
You will also need to choose plants that will thrive in the light conditions in your garden. For example, sunflowers need bright sun for several hours of the day and will not do well in an area of the yard that sits in shade for the majority of the day. In order to determine the availability of sunlight to your garden, simply monitor your garden for a few days and keep track of the number of hours your garden has full sun. Armed with information on the light conditions in your yard, you can then consult a book on plants or your local nursery employee for suggestions on plants that thrive best in those light conditions.

The Beauty Quotient
In addition to meeting the needs of your plants, you, of course, want your flower garden to be beautiful to your eye and the eyes of your neighbors. In order to ensure a continuous show of color from Spring until Fall, you should choose plants with varying bloom times. A book on plants or your local nursery employee can help you in your quest for such plants. Also, a flower garden tends to be more attractive when there are plants of varying heights, so choose small, medium and tall plants.

Gardening is great for your body, calms your mind and is visually rewarding. Spring is here so roll up your sleeves, start digging and enjoy!

Information used in this article was found at the following sources, which you can visit if you want to find out more about this topic:

http://www.gardensimply.com (Sustainable Gardening)

http://www.pirg.org/toxics/reports/wastelands/ (Wastelands, the Threat of Toxic Fertilizer, Matthew Shaffer)

http://www.gardening.about.com/od/gardenproblems/a/?once=true& (Plant Nutrient Deficiencies, Marie Iannotti)
http://www.gardening.about.com/od/gardenprimer/g/pH.htm (Soil pH, Marie Iannotti)

http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html (USDA Plant Zone Map)

Organic Soil Fertility Management, Steve Gilman (Northeast Organic Farming Association)

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