Spring Garden Prep

The snow is finally gone from the garden, so it’s time for spring clean up.  Even with a light rain it felt good to work on bed preparation. 

The garlic is peeping out of the ground, but it is still too early to remove the straw covering used over the winter to help insulate the cloves.  Perhaps by next weekend, when overnight temperatures are no longer below 35⁰ the plants can be exposed.  No sign of asparagus or rhubarb as yet, but soon!

I use cattle panels to build trellises for peas and cucumbers.  As the beds are rotated annually, the trellises are taken down each fall to be put back up in the next raised bed in the spring.  This morning saw the raking in of compost and installation of the trellis in the pea bed.  Seeds will be planted within the next two weeks.  Compost was also spread on raised beds that will grow lettuce and spinach, which will be planted at the same time as the peas.

 

Fence repair is also a necessary chore due to attempts made by winter visitors to get into the garden.   Fortunately, not too much damage was done, so the repairs were quickly made, and colorful ties were replaced to alert animals to the boundary of the deer fencing, as it is difficult to see.  While we don’t want animals in the garden, we don’t want them to injure themselves trying to get in.

Even though still chilly, bulbs are forcing their way up, providing food for early pollinators.  Fruit trees, blueberry bushes and raspberry bushes are showing first signs of budding.  Once fruit trees show a ¼” green leaf bud it will be time to give them a thorough spraying, using a mixture recommended by Michael Phillips, who’s book “The Holistic Orchard”, serves as a bible for caring for the garden’s fruit trees.  The spray contains neem oil, liquid kelp, liquid fish, microbes and molasses (to feed the microbes), giving the trees a healthy dose of nutrients as they awaken from winter.  The orchard was planted three years ago, so we expect some fruit to mature this year.  Five dwarf varieties of apples, two of peaches and two of pears make up the orchard, along with raspberries and blueberries.

And soon, comfrey plants will be sending up new leaves.  Comfrey tea is used as a natural fertilizer, and the leaves are added to our compost bins and around the fruit trees to provide nutrients to the soil. 

Returning to the garden is the perfect pick-me-up after a long, hard winter.  The BBC’s Monty Don is so right in his belief that gardening is a great aid to maintaining good mental health.  Happy gardening!