Itching to Plant

It’s now officially spring, and warm temperatures across a good portion of the country have a lot of people itching to plant. But remember, it’s only nearing the end of March. Even though most of us have experienced a fairly mild winter and are currently experiencing warmer than usual temperatures we shouldn’t get carried away as Mother Nature has been know to throw some pretty serious winter like weather our way clear into mid April. What we can do though is take advantage of these abnormally warm days by getting the pre-planting things done. Farmers do field work, in terms of tillage and pre-plant herbicide applications, and gardeners can do roughly the same type of things by removing all dead material, digging up the soil, and preparing it for planting. This is a good time to map out your garden as well. Be sure to look over all your tools now, and replace any that are broken, or sharpen those that are dull. Just remember, garden soil can actually suffer damage if it’s worked too soon in the spring, while it may be still wet and sticky. It will develop hard clumps and becomes compacted. Be patient, and you’ll be up to your elbows in garden goodies very soon!