Key steps to prepare your garden before planting

It is hard to believe that we can start seriously thinking about planting seeds and bedding plants in our gardens. On second thought, I have been getting tired with not being outside and working in the garden.

I went to buy some lettuce and onions from an Amish neighbor last week and she asked me if was too early to plant tomatoes and peppers in their gardens. I said on May 19 in Jeromesville you can feel safe because only 10% of the time in 100 years did you have a freeze date after that date. I love my Amish neighbors and their questions. Earlier in the week my daughter asked me a great question, which I had hoped she would have asked some time ago, but nevertheless she asked. She wanted my help to get their garden going. I also got asked whether we should get the tomatoes and peppers in the ground as well.

Some of my Amish friends and my daughter asked about fertilizing. Before we were able to produce granular nitrogen fertilizer after WW II, we would spread compost over our gardens and work the compost into the soil. We can go down to one of our garden centers and ask for some bulk compost or make our own. When our forefathers came here from Europe, Native Americans showed the Pilgrims how to stick a dead fish in mounds of soil to help corn grow. That sort of idea actually does work. It's called a three sisters planting. This will be a future garden topic.

As everyone who reads my column already knows, my first recommendation is to take a look at the soil. I’m starting to feel better, so it should be easier. This week I actually had a chance to look at the ground over strawberry plantings I did years ago, which was fun. Let us all do something really unusual this season and keep a record of the work we do, all the insects and diseases we see, the plants we try to grow, the problems we see, and the dates that we see everything and make a scrapbook or a journal. I recommended this to an Amish neighbor, and she thought it might be a good idea. For instance, if you find that a particular insect started to appear at a particular date, start treating your garden a week before you first saw them the next year — then there would be a better chance that the damage the insect would cause could be averted. The problem is that this record is one year off. No time like the present for getting this journal started.

Next — do a test to find out what you have in your backyard. Soil structure will give us an idea about how to improve the soil so that you can actually begin to grow some vegetables in your backyard. Here is a short laundry list of the questions that need answered: What are the proportions of soil types that you have as in percentage of clay, loam and sand? How much organic matter do you have in the soil? Are there any insects, worms or microscopic life in the soil? What nutrient levels are you at with regards to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium? You should also find out the pH of the soil and how acidic or base the soil is. Let's keep in mind that this is a start and that at least annually for a few years we should take a look at these issues. This would be the first entry in your garden journal.

Once you have discovered what your garden needs, begin adding the nutrients based on what you want to grow. I have added a variety of soil mixes to my gardens over the years ranging from mushroom compost to leaf mould compost, and Incredisol. In the spring when the plants are growing the fastest, you want extra nitrogen and calcium so the plants can grow stronger. If you're light in phosphorus or potassium, add them back. Most of the time the compost is enough. There are many different types of organic fertilizers. One of my favorites is a humectant that actually begins to bring life back to the soil. This is only the beginning to be able to understand how to grow a good garden this year.

On your stroll through your garden —inside, outside or checking out the birds — e-mail me at [email protected] if you have some problems, and I shall try to help. My website is ohiohealthyfoodcooperative.org where you can leave comments.

Eric Larson of Jeromesville is a veteran landscaper and gardening enthusiast and a founding board member of the Ohio Chapter of Association of Professional Landscape Designers.