Wednesday, March 20, 2013

First Day of Spring...........at last!

Happy Spring Everyone!............ and there is snow on the ground.  
Here's wishing you all a beautiful day!

How are you spending this first day of spring?  We still have snow on the ground so are limited to indoor work for now.  It is a good day to plant some seeds in a starter tray today.  By the time they are ready to transplant the raised beds will be ready to receive them.  This is also a good time to work on my gardening journal.  Last year the journal consisted of a piece of paper (it was a very small garden).  This year I will use one of the many blank journals I have collected over the years.

A Garden Journal is a useful tool to keep track of what and when seeds are planted, where they are planted, how well they do (or don't do), keeping track of the plant rotation, etc.  Crop rotation is vital to keeping your garden  healthy as it helps prevent the soil from being drained of its nutrients. For example where one crop takes nitrogen from the soil, a different crop puts it back in.   More of this on the page "Crop Rotation".  +Annie B. Bond's explanatin of crop rotation is one of the best, simple and clear.  Along with the notes I will add photos of the garden at various stages and keep track of the harvests.

Simply put:  where I planted tomatoes and peppers last year, I will be planting beans this year, and next year in the same space onions will most likely be planted.

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