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madmagic

How goes your garden and your soil prep?

madmagic
16 years ago

For many gardeners in the US northeast & midwest, and southern Canadians in central Canada, the Maritimes & Newfoundland, April is the month before the serious planting and transplanting often starts. So, I was wondering what people have been doing this month to prepare for the 2008 growing season.

Here in Toronto, the last couple of weeks have been unseasonably warm and very dry for April. Which has me wondering (and worrying) if we may be headed into a long hot dry summer.

I've tried to prepare by laying down thick layers of lasagna compost on much of the garden -- mostly cardboard, paper, and tree leaves from last fall raked up in the park; alternately layered with UCG, kitchen scraps, alfalfa pellets, and vermicompost. In the week ahead I plan to cover the lasagna heaps with torn-up paper yard waste bags, to encourage faster decomposition like an Interbay Mulch.

There's about a cubic yard and a half of finely shaved hardwood mulch set aside to top off the garden, once all the bedding plants are set in the ground. Late last fall, two century-old trees were cut down a short block away in the park, their stumps ground up and the shavings left behind; I raked up and hauled home some of the debris.

What are you folks doing to prepare your soil this year? Planning any experiments, or trying anything different?

All the best,

-Patrick

nosey curious as always

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