{"id":67151,"date":"2024-02-28T18:00:08","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T23:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/?p=67151"},"modified":"2024-02-27T09:09:58","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T14:09:58","slug":"the-observant-gardener-a-good-garden-starts-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/outdoors\/the-observant-gardener-a-good-garden-starts-now\/","title":{"rendered":"The Observant Gardener: A Good Garden Starts Now"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Photo by Judith Canty Graves<\/p><\/div>\n

The best gardener is the one who does the most gardening by the winter fire. \u00ad
\n~ Liberty Hyde Bailey<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though it is March, a good garden starts now. Winter is the time to visualize your garden and imagine what plants will go where. Perhaps your yard is covered with snow, but as you keep warm by the fire, you can still study inspiring illustrations in the plant catalogs that start arriving in your mailbox during the winter months.<\/p>\n

Before any planting can begin, however, you should think about how to replenish the soil from the previous year. A summer of heavy growth depletes the nutrients in a garden bed. Sometimes I plant a fall garden of vegetables, so that means my garden is producing plants for three seasons and the soil will need amendments.<\/p>\n

Testing is the best way to determine what amendments your soil needs. There are many soil test kits available online. North Carolina residents can send soil samples to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service in Raleigh. The reports from these tests will reveal what specific additives your soil needs.<\/p>\n

Garden soil is the basis for all plant growth. Good soil is a complex substance with many living organisms such as fungi, bacteria and algae that combine with insects and earthworms to break down organic matter. This process creates a healthy ecosystem for your plants.<\/p>\n

Popular and easy amendments to add are mulched leaves, cow manure or compost that you can make from your kitchen scraps. I like to add organic matter in the fall that will be absorbed into the soil over the winter. No matter how you do it, preparing your garden beds with amendments is an important task if you want to enjoy a garden bounty of vegetables and flowers.<\/p>\n

When spring arrives, I visit my local garden center to talk with the staff about what they recommend to improve the soil. There are many good organic products that contain mixtures of manure and other ingredients. Some are best for vegetables and some for flowers. Be sure to read labels and ask questions to get a mixture that is right for what you plan to grow.<\/p>\n

Some soil amendments contain worm castings, which is manure from the organic matter that a worm consumes. This material is nature\u2019s best soil amendment, full of nutrients, including beneficial micro-organisms. The first time I tried worm castings, my okra plants grew to be 12 feet tall! You can also use worms. Some local garden centers sell live worms in the spring to add to a compost bin to help break down kitchen scraps.<\/p>\n

I believe that gardening, cooking and eating are all interconnected, one leading to the next. It is a joy to walk into my yard and collect fresh organic vegetables for lunch or dinner. Winter is a good season of inward activity when the earth is bare and cold, so I sit by the fire with my cat to plan for the upcoming garden season. Now is the time to plan for what spring, summer and fall will bring.<\/p>\n

Judith Canty Graves is an Asheville gardener with a background in photojournalism. Follow @TheObservantGardener<\/a> on Instagram to see new garden photos daily.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even though it is March, a good garden starts now. Winter is the time to visualize your garden and imagine what plants will go where. Perhaps your yard is covered with snow, but as you keep warm by the fire, you can still study inspiring illustrations in the plant catalogs that start arriving in your mailbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":67153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-outdoors","category-recreation"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Observant Gardener: A Good Garden Starts Now - The Laurel of Asheville<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Even though it is March, a good garden starts now. Winter is the time to visualize your garden and imagine what plants will go where. 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