Just like anything we do in life planning is key to success. Planning for the next growing season is key for a successful harvest. There is more than to think about than what you are going to plant next year.
Herbs & Vegetables
You need to prepare your tools for the upcoming season. Tools with wooden handles will need to be treated with boiled linseed oil. Pruning sears, trimers, shovels, and spading forks need to be oiled.
If you are one of the lucky ones and have a rototiller, now is the time to get it services, don’t be one of those people that wait until the day you go to use it and be surprised that it won’t work. Remember to check the blades and change them if they need to be changed.
If you are planning on putting your seedlings out in your garden early in the season, now is the time to get the protective covering you will need.
The best time to start planning your vegetable seeds and plant order for next year is now. First, check your current inventory of seeds that are leftover from last year, or anything you saved from the previous harvest. Create a list of what you have and what you will need to order for next year.
Check your inventory of small pots to make sure you have what you will need for transplanting seedlings you started indoors. You can reuse pots, flats, and jars from last year, just rinse them with one part bleach to nine parts water. Check to see if you need seed-starting or potting mix to get a headstart indoors
Indoor tips, every time watering you should fertilize the herbs that you have indoors. You can use water-soluble houseplant fertilizer but you want it at half strength. Save the wood ash from the stove and use it as fertilizer for your kitchen garden. It makes lime and potash quickly available to the plants.
Seedlings growing indoors in soggy soil are vulnerable to fungus. This fungus is called “damping off” which rots stems close to the soil. If you find any plants with this issue toss the affected plants and start over. reduce watering and increase the amount of light they are getting. If the fungus persists mist the plants with a fungicide.
