Spring Gardening
Article by Jessica Warren, ANR Agent, Camden County
It’s that time of year again. The time of year when everyone is itching to get outside and plant something. The sun is out, the breeze is nice, the bugs aren’t too bad yet, and everything is starting to bloom. When it comes to gardening, I find that there are a variety of strategies ranging from compulsively organized to free spirited. Today I’ll offer some guidelines on spring gardening that may be helpful wherever you fall on the gardening spectrum.
Start with a plan. When deciding what to plant, consider the following questions. What do you like to eat? What fruits and vegetables are the most expensive to buy? Which vegetables can be easily stored or preserved? How much time are you willing to spend? How much space can you devote to a garden? If you’re new to gardening, start small. Gardening has a learning curve, and you want your efforts to be enjoyable instead of daunting. Plan to plant 1/3 extra for loss to wildlife, pests, disease, and general failure. It is unreasonable to expect to have a 100% success rate and no interest from the wild animals that share your home – they like fresh produce too!
Select a site that receives 8-10 hours of sunlight and is located close to a water source. Choose a site with well-drained, high-quality soil or build raised beds. The best way to improve soil quality, nutrient holding capacity, and drainage is to incorporate organic matter. Before planting, perform a soil test through your local extension office and amend the soil several weeks before planting. Do not add lime unless recommended by your soil test! I know some people believe that you should lime whenever you fertilize, but this is simply not true! Lime acts to raise the soil pH and in our area, more often than not, the pH is already high enough or too high. Improper soil pH levels can lead to nutrient deficiencies in plants – even when the nutrients are plentiful in the soil.
Sketch out your plan for the garden. This will help you remember what was planted where, not only as things come up this year, but also in future years so that you can rotate plantings appropriately. Rotating your crops is one of the best and most effective strategies in preventing and managing pests and disease. Most insect pests and diseases affect plant families. For instance, problems that affect tomatoes may also affect eggplant, peppers, and potatoes because they are all in the same family. For this reason, it is best not to plant anything in the same family in the same area or bed for 3-5 years. This can be difficult in small gardens but do your best.
Select plants or seeds that are appropriate to your USDA hardiness zone (8b-9a in Camden County) and list disease resistance on the label or packet. Will you plant seeds or transplants? Seeds are cheaper and you can find a greater selection, but transplants are faster and easier. If using transplants, select plants free of signs of insects or disease. Before planting them in the garden, harden-off transplants by placing them outdoors in a sheltered place a few days ahead of planting them.
Keep plants growing vigorously by supplying appropriate amounts of water and fertilizer. Keep in mind that more isn’t always better – a lot of damage can be done by overwatering and overfertilizing. Too much nitrogen can make plants more inviting to aphids and whiteflies.
Monitor or scout the garden twice weekly for pest problems. This includes inspecting the plants from the bud to the soil, including both upper and lower leaf surfaces. Remove large pest insects by hand and destroy them. You can also place them in a container of soapy water, where they will sink and drown. Hand removal is always preferrable to spraying which leaves residue on your produce and harms or kills the pollinators that you need to set fruit. Do not panic and start spraying at the first sign of insect damage. Most plants that produce fruits, pods, or ears can stand a 10%–20% loss of leaves without loss of potential yields. A healthy plant is usually able to survive insect attacks.
Watch for early disease symptoms. Remove any diseased leaves or plants to slow spread. Harvest ripe crops promptly. Allowing overripe fruits to remain on the plants often invites additional insect problems. Remove unproductive plants and compost or dispose of them.
Keep a logbook of problems and failures that occur so you can avoid or prevent them in the next planting season. Make notes of successful techniques and varieties to remember next season. Make notes on pest problems and the performance of different varieties. Take photographs of insects, diseases, and beneficial insects that you find and add them to your notes. Identify beneficial insects (praying mantis, spiders, big-eyed bugs, assassin bugs, lady beetles, and all wasps) that will help control garden pests – and let them do their job. Some of these insects can be purchased, but keep in mind that many beneficial insects exist naturally in Georgia, and purchased beneficials will leave if there are no insects for them to eat. Beneficial insects will not arrive or survive if you are spraying insecticides.
Plant flowers in the vegetable garden. They provide nectar and pollen that attract beneficial insects and pollinators. Native flowers will offer much more in this respect than non-native flowers.
Spring is a great time to get outside and get your hands in the soil. Gardening is a wonderful hobby with many physical and mental benefits. Just remember, the greatest joys of gardening come from the process, not the product.