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Change
is a Good
Thing, MAWTHA!
Just because our gardens (and
bodies) take a bit of a hiatus from activity in January, it is not because
there is NOTHING else to do. So this year, after getting all of the Christmas
paraphernalia into the attic and dusting the tinsel off of the hearth, make a
list of to-do’s for your vegetable, herb, or flower garden.
1)
Think about which spring, summer, and fall veggies performed well and
which left something to be desired. It
could be that a change in variety is all that is needed.
Check with your county extension office to see if another kind of
cucumber or lettuce or sweet pea will produce better for your area. (http://county-tx.tamu.edu/)
2)
Is it possible that your sunny spot has now become shady?
Watch to see if tree branches have extended into the space and crowded
out the sun. If it is possible,
trim the branches back this winter to allow for more sun.
If not, consider moving your garden to another, sunnier area of the
yard.
Sometimes
when a vegetable garden has remained in the same spot for a long time, a
change is necessary. Whether a
lack of nutrition or the addition of soil-borne pathogens, it is best to
rotate garden crops so that your tomatoes get a change of pace periodically.
Try to re-arrange your vegetables so that they are grown in a different
spot every few years and replace their old habitat with nutrition-building
plants, such as clover. Also, use
the winter rest to give your entire vegetable or herb garden a good shot of
composted material to build up its fertility. In your perennial bed, check the
pH of your soil (either with a home kit from your local garden center or a
test kit from the county extension service) and then bring in a light dose of
mulch. (If you mulch lightly several times a year instead of one
deep dose, your bulbs will still be able to push through the new top
dressing.)
Although
we may not like change much, change is good in landscaping.
So make a New Year’s resolution for your garden……in with the new
and move over old. Change -----
it’s a GOOD thing!
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