Is It Time To Plant?

Have You Prepared?

I've answered a question with a question. Sorry about that, but have you prepared needs to be answered (or done) before the first. Or maybe you are one of those super organized types that is merely laying out your time table for getting things done.

It takes a while to get your garden area or beds ready for planting. I'll take my veggie garden as an example. There were several things that had to be done before I could even think about planting anything in it. Winter weeds had taken over during my winter siesta. That was a chore in itself. It is hard to believe how well established weeds can become during the winter.

After the weed removal process, the soil needed to be tilled and the rows laid out. I used the same area as last year, so the tilling wasn't all that difficult. The tilling also allowed me to judge what kind of condition the soil was in, i.e compacted?, ph level? sandy? etc. From those observations, it was determined that compaction was not a problem therefore no need to add any organics to losen the soil. However, there was a need to get a better balance to the ph level so I added some lime. BTW, it can take several months for lime to do its job.

Now that the garden is ready, is it time to plant? There are at least two ways to answer. Hopefully you have decided what to plant. Right? The old saying of "different strokes for different folks" holds true for plants as well as people. If you are propagating from seed, check the recommended time and other instructions on the seed packet. The internet is a super good source for information. The USDA produces volumes of information.

Now, maybe we can address the original question- is it time to plant? Check out the Frost Map below. The frost map is a guide, not a guarantee that a killer frost won't happen.




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