The sun slipping through the clouds on these sleepy winter days reminds us that spring is inevitably on the horizon. Preparing now for your planned flowers, greens, fruit and veggies can lay the groundwork for an abundant harvest.
Fruit trees are nearly self-perpetuating, but a good haircut will ensure the kind of growth you’re looking for. Arborists encourage pruning upward growth and branches that cross each other. Trees are still asleep and happy with healthy trimming at this time.
Even with snow in the forecast, we can start to squirrel away cardboard for suppressing weeds that are sure to come. Box stores often have cardboard recycling bins that they will offer access to and you can spend the darker evenings removing tape and staples to ready them for use.
Topping cardboard with a heavy mulch of leaves or chipped branches is an effective way to save from weed pulling all season long. It’s also a great way to avoid using plastic to kill and prevent unwanted plant growth. Plastic, which inevitably breaks down in the elements, becomes embedded in your soil.
To improve your garden’s fertility, you might also want to start considering where you are going to source compost. Other than local nurseries, you could start a conversation with a neighbour who does backyard composting, but is not gardening. A few veggies on their doorstep will be a fitting thank you.
A seasonally appropriate harvest of seaweed in measured amounts is also a local resource that can add beneficial micronutrients to your garden. Any unraked leaves in the corners of lawns are also good to collect at any time.
Garden tools are needed come springtime, but you may have a few with broken handles or loose implements. Handles can often be replaced and tool life can be extended with a little care each year.
You might also think of tool and equipment sharing with family and neighbours. Not everyone needs a ride-on mower, but a few people on your street might share one while also sharing maintenance responsibilities. Secondhand rakes and shovels can be sourced by finding neglected ones in friends’ garages or for sale at thrift stores.
Now is the perfect moment to begin envisioning garden bed design, vegetable patch rotations and assessing seed stocks. Tapping into your community’s seed bank by getting together and exchanging seeds with friends is a great way to save money while sharing gardening tips. Group orders of seeds that grow well on the west coast can also be placed now before the spring rush by twitching green thumbs.
Once you have your seeds and plans in place, keeners out there might want to get growing up to four weeks before the last frost to have healthy starts by spring thaw. Investing in a heating mat is an idea, as is using heated flooring tiles, if you are fortunate enough to have any.
You also needn’t grow alone. Maybe a friend has a grow light they would happily share space under. In the absence of these tools, starting seeds a few weeks ahead can be done inside by sun-filled windows, although these can tend to get “leggy” as they stretch for more light. A simple outdoor greenhouse may do the trick instead.
No matter how green your visions are for spring, they can start becoming a reality now with a little early planning.
Let’s Talk Trash is qathet Regional District’s waste reduction education program. For more information, email [email protected].
