Springtime!

“Buttercups and daisies,
Oh, the pretty flowers;
Coming ere the Springtime,
To tell of sunny hours.”
- Mary Howitt

The snow is gone and we've experienced the lion roaring winds of March and the showers of April. I'm ready now for the May flowers. My wife & I do OK with indoor plants and herbs and outdoor flowers but we have had little success with outdoor crop gardening due to poor soil, too much shade and lack of skill.

This year we will try something new. My wife has been rereading the classic book, Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. We have some large planters and are buying soil, peat moss, manure and vermiculite to fill them with. We'll see how it goes.

A raised garden is a nice idea if you have poor soil or want a productive garden of modest size. You can build your own raised beds with some lumber or premade kits. You can use used tires or even an old kid's wading pool.

Bottom Line

The internet is full of advice for raised bed gardening, for example www.raisedbedgardeningtips.com/ But even better is to find a nearby neighbor who gardens and ask them about what works for your climate zone. What seeds grow best? What soil mix do they use and how much watering? What should you do about bugs and pesticides (natural or organic)? Will you need protection from deer (they ate our tulips) or rabbits (they ate our hostas) or birds (they ate our berries)? Good luck and get started soon.