Spring Time in September

Many of us have been working hard in our gardens for months now. In just a few weeks the leaves will be off the trees, the tomatoes and beans will be brown and dried, and frost will blanket the mornings. It's almost that time of year to clean the tools and put them away until the days are long and warm again. I suggest you not be too anxious to put your beds to bed.

Now is a great time to do some of the activities that many gardeners do in the spring. The days are still long enough to work outside, stores are offering bargains on tools and garden supplies, and the soil is warm and waiting. No doubt you have ideas of adding new beds, fences, or other architecture. Take the opportunity now to prepare your garden so all you have to do in the spring is take care of the plants that return and put in a few new ones.

Most soils will benefit from an addition of organic matter. Be it compost, peat moss, or manure, gardeners should take the time to amend their soil to benefit the billions of microorganisms and the plants that will spread their roots. Spring is traditionally the time of year people choose to start working in the soil. This may actually do some harm if the timing isn't right. If the soil is still partially frozen or if it's wet from spring rains, digging and tilling can break up the soil structure and make a marginal soil worse. Right now the soil is warm and dry; working in amendments will do no harm. By amending now, you're also giving soil organisms extra time to start decomposing the organic matter, improving overall soil fertility.

Raised beds add a component to gardening with many benefits. One is that they warm up faster than the ground in the spring, allowing for earlier planting. Rather than wait until next year to add raised beds, why not build them and place them now. Fill them with your choice of soil and they'll be ready as soon as the snow melts and the sun shines in spring.

If you want to add a border or fence to a bed or to your entire garden, waiting until spring forces you to play roulette with the weather. You may be ready to build, but the ground is still frozen. The ground warms up, but you decide to plant instead. Before you know it another year has gone by and you still don't have that fence. Do it now. Stake out the border, dig some post holes, make it happen.

The idea of working hard now just when you are ready for a break may be slightly painful. I fully understand that. To me it's a little like doing the dishes and washing the pans. Everything is ready to go as soon as it's time to cook dinner. That gourmet meal would take longer to make if you had to wash and dry everything before you could even turn the oven on.

If your garden is ready for you, if the soil is amended and the beds prepared, as soon as you're ready to prepare that exquisite scenery there is no wait. You can use the warming days of spring to not work too hard. Sure it's a "pay me now or pay me later" scenario, but after a long, cold winter I'm ready to get my fingers dirty and get some plants in the ground. If I have to wait to build a bed or work the soil, it seems that winter lasts just that much longer.

I don't know about you, but winter is not my favorite season. I like it, but not as much as spring. I love fall too. So any excuse to be outside now, while it's still warm, is welcome and if it helps me spend more time enjoying spring planting, it's a double win. That's a sure bet, not a gamble.

Many of us have been working hard in our gardens for months now. In just a few weeks the leaves will be off the trees, the tomatoes and beans will be brown and dried, and frost will blanket the mornings. It's almost that time of year to clean the tools and put them away until the days are long and warm again. I suggest you not be too anxious to put your beds to bed.

Now is a great time to do some of the activities that many gardeners do in the spring. The days are still long enough to work outside, stores are offering bargains on tools and garden supplies, and the soil is warm and waiting. No doubt you have ideas of adding new beds, fences, or other architecture. Take the opportunity now to prepare your garden so all you have to do in the spring is take care of the plants that return and put in a few new ones.

Most soils will benefit from an addition of organic matter. Be it compost, peat moss, or manure, gardeners should take the time to amend their soil to benefit the billions of microorganisms and the plants that will spread their roots. Spring is traditionally the time of year people choose to start working in the soil. This may actually do some harm if the timing isn't right. If the soil is still partially frozen or if it's wet from spring rains, digging and tilling can break up the soil structure and make a marginal soil worse. Right now the soil is warm and dry; working in amendments will do no harm. By amending now, you're also giving soil organisms extra time to start decomposing the organic matter, improving overall soil fertility.

Raised beds add a component to gardening with many benefits. One is that they warm up faster than the ground in the spring, allowing for earlier planting. Rather than wait until next year to add raised beds, why not build them and place them now. Fill them with your choice of soil and they'll be ready as soon as the snow melts and the sun shines in spring.

If you want to add a border or fence to a bed or to your entire garden, waiting until spring forces you to play roulette with the weather. You may be ready to build, but the ground is still frozen. The ground warms up, but you decide to plant instead. Before you know it another year has gone by and you still don't have that fence. Do it now. Stake out the border, dig some post holes, make it happen.

The idea of working hard now just when you are ready for a break may be slightly painful. I fully understand that. To me it's a little like doing the dishes and washing the pans. Everything is ready to go as soon as it's time to cook dinner. That gourmet meal would take longer to make if you had to wash and dry everything before you could even turn the oven on.

If your garden is ready for you, if the soil is amended and the beds prepared, as soon as you're ready to prepare that exquisite scenery there is no wait. You can use the warming days of spring to not work too hard. Sure it's a "pay me now or pay me later" scenario, but after a long, cold winter I'm ready to get my fingers dirty and get some plants in the ground. If I have to wait to build a bed or work the soil, it seems that winter lasts just that much longer.

I don't know about you, but winter is not my favorite season. I like it, but not as much as spring. I love fall too. So any excuse to be outside now, while it's still warm, is welcome and if it helps me spend more time enjoying spring planting, it's a double win. That's a sure bet, not a gamble.