We’ve been getting more warm days sprinkled in and I heard the first peepers this last week, so we must be getting close to spring! This time of year is all work and no reward, but in a couple of months we will be thanking ourselves!
In between rainy days, we are prepping beds for early spring planting. We are doing an experiment this year and using hay as mulch for some of our beds. This should add tons of food for all of the microbial life and boost our soil health, which will then boost our plant health and give us giant big blooms! We have access to free organic hay on my family’s land, so we decided to try it out. Right now, we are spreading the hay by hand, which is a chore, but we have some ideas for using some equipment in the future to make things more efficient. First, we will make sure that our plants like it and that it keeps weeds at bay.
We are also using our trusty landscape fabric on certain areas of the flower field. The downside to fabric is that it doesn’t add to the soil fertility, but we do know that it will cut way down on weed pressure. We also have all the weed fabric pre-burned with holes, so it’s fairly easy just to grab a roll and put it down on our bed and plant right into it.
We will start planting hardy annuals this week and just keep chugging along! Hope everyone enjoys getting their garden beds ready to go!
Joan