How Does Your Garden Grow? -
Spring Prep for Your Lawn & Beds
By RWM - Mar/Apr 04
Balzac Bill the gopher
just recently saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter, but believe it or
not, now is the time to get a jump on your gardening.
Because the growing season is so short in Calgary, being an adamant
planner is the key to a great lawn and garden. Probably the most important thing to do is
make a gardening journal. This is where you will write down your plan in detail so you can
refer to it next year. Draw a map of your garden space and mark each flowerbed and
vegetable patch with the location and type of every plant you place. In your notes, keep
track of where you bought the seedlings and how many. Also, keep track of your watering
and fertilizing regimes, and plant performance. List any diseases or bugs that may have
been a problem. Further, take pictures of your beds and keep them in your journal. Keep a
record of your lawn’s performance and weed control regime. Also, store any articles
from newspapers and magazines that spark your gardening interest. If you can remember what
you did last year, this is a great place to start your journal. Knowing which plants
worked and which didn’t is essential for keeping your lawn and garden looking
abundant throughout the season.
Next is the prep work. According to the official Zone Map, Calgary is
placed in Zone 3A, but with Calgary’s infamous weather, you may be gardening anywhere
from Zone 3 to Zone 5. This gives us the advantage of ‘pushing the limit’
somewhat. Ideally, if you were planning to grow your own seedlings, most of these should
have been started indoors in February. If you are just beginning, it may be better to go
for quick growing plants or to buy from a garden center. March and April tend to be
volatile months for weather and it is not advantageous to place plants outside. Instead,
focus on your lawn, your trees and shrubs, and your soil conditions.
Believe it or not, your lawn is in a fragile state after being buried
under snow for months. Weather permitting, this is the time to do any fall cleanup that
was not completed. Once your lawn is dry enough, use a fan-shaped rake to gentle remove
leaves and twigs. Assess the condition of your lawn and determine what measures you need
to take to grow your best carpet. Aeration is the most natural way to increase grass
growth. Using a specially designed machine, small ‘plugs’ of grass and soil are
removed. The holes that are left in the lawn allow air, water and fertilizers to reach the
roots more readily, resulting in a better growth. Aeration also helps to prevent an
abundance of thatch, which is the build-up of decomposing dead grass and roots between the
upper grass stem and the soil. Thatch is a natural killer to your lawn as it prevents the
absorption of water and nutrients into the root system. While a small layer of thatch is
good for buoyancy and insulation, when the build-up becomes extreme (1 inch or more),
power raking can be done to remove it.
If you have thinning grass or dead spots, be careful not to over seed.
In fact, often just spreading a fine layer of soil or peat moss over the existing grass
may be enough to jump-start new growth. If you feel you need to reseed some spots, a good
trick is to spread the seed before the snow melts. The snow will make it easier to see the
seed as you spread it evenly, and it provides added moisture.
Once the snow melts, it is time to assess the condition of your flower
and vegetable garden soil. First, remove any dead foliage from last year. It is important
to work the soil when it is moist but not wet. Dig with a spade (or a Rototiller for
larger areas) to break-up all large clumps and mix the soil well. Be careful not to over
work the soil; leave marble size clumps for better aeration. Next, you need to assess the
make-up of your soil and decide if it needs to be improved before planting. Most plants
grow best in rich, well-drained soil. However, not every bed is blessed with ideal soil
conditions. It is important to match your plants to the soil conditions in which they will
prosper.
There are several different make-ups of soil conditions, each with
distinct characteristics. Average or ideal soil is moist but well drained, and its
alkalinity is neutral. It doesn’t need much improvement beyond a plant fertilizer.
Sandy soil is dry, light and free draining. It can be improved by adding organic materials
such as compost, manure or peat moss. Dig the material down to approximately eight inches.
Sandy soil is excellent for plants that require good aeration and drainage. In contrast,
soil with a heavy clay component is slow draining, sticky and likely to bake like a hard
brick in the sun. Again, adding organic matter will improve its growing abilities, as can
adding gypsum. Heavy clay soil has the benefit of being able to hold water and nutrients.
Next, soil is based on its pH value, which can be easily determined
from a kit from any garden center for about $20.00. Based on a scale from 0 to 14, values
below 7.0 indicate acidic soil, and values above 7.0 indicate alkaline soil. Acidic soil
is generally rich in organic material and dark in colour. It is usual easily improve by
adding lime to make it more alkaline, and by adding coarse sand to increase drainage. On
the other end of the spectrum, alkaline soil is pale in colour and stony. It is free
draining and can benefit from a good dose of organic material.
Most of all, the key to growing a great lawn and garden is love and
attention - even the ‘easiest’ plants to grow will benefit from some TLC. RWM
References:
- www.canoe.ca/HGGardening/home.html
- www.garden-soil.com/index.php
- www.greendrop.com |
