Five ways to prep your garden for 2012

Successful gardens require planning!

Tonight’s forecast says snow. Each night still dips into the twenties. It’s January in Denver, and if you live in the same climate zone as I do then the planting season is still several weeks away. Months still remain before any seedlings can be planted.

However, if you’re antsy like I am, then there are still plenty of things to do between now and when the warmer weather arrives.

• Plan your garden.Beyond deciding where it goes and what you’re planting, there are countless other factors to consider. You’ll be surprised to learn that gardens can give you several harvests throughout the season (usually one at the end of spring, several throughout the summer, in the fall, and right before the first frost). Consider what kind of soils your plants grow best in. Read up on companion planting to see what else should be planted to ensure awesome growth. Should you start the seeds indoors? Plant directly into the ground? Looks like you’ve got some research to do.
• Oh, and if you haven’t ordered your seeds already, get on it. Many companies are now accepting online orders.
• Test the soil, especially if last season’s garden was productive. Nutrients may need to be replaced, acidity needs to be balanced.  A quick test: Get two samples of your soil from the same area. Add about a 1/2 cup of water and a 1/2 of baking soda to one and a 1/2 cup of vinegar to the other. Either one or the other should fizz. If it is the vinegar, then your soil is acidic and can be balanced by adding some wood ash. If the baking soda sample fizzes your soil is alkaline, add pine needles. Or, add compost to kickstart the organic compounds already in your soil.
• Speaking of compost. If you have a compost pile in your back yard, the cold weather may have caused you to forget about it. Give it a few turns a week to keep the composting process active. It’s always a smart idea to have compost on hand.
• How are your garden beds holding up? If the winter weather has given the wood a beating, consider replacing a few panels. Looking to expand your garden? Now is a good a time as any to build new beds, till soil, and get things breathing. This is also a good time to start collecting buckets and containers to grow in as well.
• Gather containers to store food in. No matter what the square footage you end up planting, you’re probably going to end up with more than you can digest in one sitting. Keep those veggies fresh in the fridge, give them away to your friends, and don’t forget to brush up on your canning/drying/preserving technique.

What attention does your garden need? Leave your answers in the comments below.