Each spring we anxiously wait for the chance to get out into the garden. One of the worst things you can do is to jump the gun. Don't work the soil before it's dry enough. The only thing you'll accomplish is to have large brick like chunks of soil in your garden all season.

If you're wondering when your garden will be ready to work, just pick up a handful of soil and squeeze it in your hand. If the soil ball crumbles apart when you open your hand, it is dry enough to be worked. If it remains a soft, soupy mud ball, stay out of your garden.

Once the soil is ready to work. apply an even layer of compost, rotted manure or commercial fertilizer over your garden. Compost is decayed organic matter such as leaves, grass clippings or just about any plant or animal remains. Leaves or grass clippings can be added without being composted, but are more difficult to work into the soil than composted materials.

You may also add a thin layer of wood ashes to your garden as a source of potassium. but be careful not to add too much. Ashes tend to make the soil more alkaline. Bonemeal should not be used as a source of phosphorous. It also makes the soil in your garden more alkaline.

In this area, commercial fertilizer is usually not needed in gardens. But if you want to add fertilizer to your garden, some of the available garden fertilizers are 5-10-5 15-30-15 and 18-24-6. An average rate for applying 5-10-5 is 2 lbs. per 100 square feet of garden area. The numbers on the commercial fertilizer packages represent the amount of actual nitrogen phosphorous and potassium in the fertilizer mixture. But whatever you decide to use, don't use a "weed and feed" lawn fertilizer on or near your garden. Once you have applied the organic matter and/or commercial fertilizer, your garden is ready to be worked.

This page was last updated April 2003

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