Spring-time Gardening Mohan Ashtakala

 

    Many of us are long-time gardeners. Some, looking at the rising cost of vegetables, have decided, for the first time, to venture into this rewarding pastime. Here are a few tips for first-timers:

 

1.          Know your geography: It is of paramount importance to know your growing season, which varies by altitude and latitude. A growing season is calculated as the date between the last frost in spring till the first frost in fall. Do not plant outside the growing season.

 

2.          Choose a site: The ideal site for a garden should receive at least six hours of sunlight per day, have adequate drainage (as rain is common in the spring) and can be watered easily.

 

3.        Prepare the bed: About a month before planting, clean the garden area of old leaves and dead branches. With a spade, turn the topsoil over. Soil rotation breaks lumps of hard dirt, allows for aeration and brings nutrients deep into the soil.

 

4.          Indoor germination: Many plants require indoor germination, depending on the species. They need to be germinated indoors, before being transplanted at the appropriate time. To determine which seeds require this treatment, please look on the seed labels, or do an on-line search. Typically, paper-cups, yogurt containers and ice-cube trays make excellent starters.

 

5.          Wait for the soil to dry: One mistake to avoid is the transplanting of seedlings when the garden is too wet. Pick up a large handful of dirt and roll it into a ball. If the ball crumbles when pressed with your fingers, or shatters when dropped a distance of three feet, the soil is dry enough for transplanting.

 

6.      Choose the correct seeds: Here are some of the best vegetables to grow in the springtime: Peas, Spinach, Lettuce, Radish, Beet, Potato, Tomato, Cucumbers, Rhubarb are all planted at this time of the year. The correct seeds to plant depends on the growing season and the site’s properties.

 

 Happy Gardening!

Mohan Ashtakala (www.mohanauthor.com) is the author of The Yoga Zapper, a fantasy, and Karma Nation, a literary romance. he is published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.com.)