Absopure
(un)Filtered
4 Gardening Tips for Spring
April showers have laid the groundwork for a flourishing spring season, inviting us to dive into our gardens and bring them to life. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or a beginner with a budding green thumb, these gardening tips for spring will empower you to nurture your garden with confidence. So, roll up your sleeves, grab your gloves, and let’s get growing!
Choosing the Right Soil
Soil is one of the most vital elements for a flourishing garden. Made of a mixture of sand, silt, or clay, soil texture affects the outcomes of garden crops. For home gardens, loam is highly recommended. Loam contains sand, silt, and clay, holds moisture, and drains well, allowing air to reach plant roots for optimal growth. Soil that retains too much water or becomes too dry stops plants from thriving. As you shop around for soil, thoroughly check the composition before buying.
When starting a garden, loamy topsoil should contain 20-30% clay, 30-50% silt and 30-50% sand. In addition to minerals, soil should also have 5% organic matter, 25% air and 25% water. Be careful buying synthetic fertilizers until a proper soil test is administered. This test assesses macronutrients present in soil, like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These three macronutrients have different jobs in helping produce the best flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Soil will shift and change, increasing in organic materials like decaying plants and animal matter, which will enrich soil naturally. However, this takes many years of consistent gardening and care.
What Flowers, Fruits and Veggies Are Right for Your Region
While you may love orchids and dream of planting them in your home garden, not every plant, flower, fruit, and vegetable can thrive in every region. In the Midwest, delicate orchids cannot withstand the harsh ground temperature present. In addition to harsh ground temperatures, many variables can determine what kinds of plants are worth buying for your garden, like light, soil moisture, exposure to cold, and humidity levels.
If your garden only receives light for half of the day, that must be noted before buying seeds. Too much or too little light will not give plants a fighting chance to survive. For perennial plants, if the soil is too dry in late summer and autumn, their chances of blooming and growing again into the following season may dwindle. It’s helpful to utilize USDA’s plant hardiness zone map to assess what types of plants will best suit your garden and understand the temperature of your region and the time length of cold exposure.
Watering Needs
Watering your garden is essential for success. Without water, plants cannot distribute nutrients from their roots through itself, causing death. Overwatering overwhelms the roots and stops oxygen absorption, which plants need to function normally. There are multiple ways to determine if you’re underwatering or overwatering your garden.
Under Watering
- When the soil is dry more than two inches under the surface
- Plants lose their color and brown
- Plants wilt and become dry
If you find your plants are underwatered, make sure to water them before signs of distress. A daily soil check for moisture at least two inches under the surface will indicate water needs.
Overwatering
- Bland fruit produced from overwatered plants
- Slumped over plants
- Yellow leaves
If you find your garden suffering from too much watering, avoid using a hose directly on the plants, and consider transferring plants to raised beds to increase drainage.
Remember, your plants aren’t the only ones who need water in the heat! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) qualify gardening as exercise. Getting out in the yard for just 30-45 minutes can burn up to 300 calories. Stay hydrated and replenish lost fluids with a refreshingly cold Absopure All Natural Spring Water bottle while working on your garden.
Key Maintenance
Along with consistently watering your plants, there is a lot of maintenance to consider when gardening. Make a weekly to-do list to keep up with tasks and sustain a flourishing and healthy garden. A daily soil checklist is a great idea, especially if your region is experiencing dry weather. This check will help avoid wilting plants and lost harvests. Consistently harvest fruits and veggies to keep plants producing, and do so in the early morning hours once the dew has lifted.
Pests can pose a significant threat to your garden if not patrolled and addressed when needed. Not all bugs are bad for business; some, including ground beetles, lady beetles, and lacewings, can keep your plants free from other pests that damage gardens. Before utilizing insecticides, make sure you know what insect is causing the damage to then determine the best course of action.
Weeds are another pest that can get in the way of your growth, so pull them regularly. Pruning and deadheading consistently remove dead parts of a plant or flower to make room for new flower buds and leaves. Before doing this, ensure you understand your plant well enough to not permanently damage it. Some perennials are sensitive to deadheading and may not reflower the following year. Additional items to include on your checklist vary depending on the region. Review the USDA’s plant hardiness zone map and your region’s climate to determine what and where to plant.
As April showers set the stage for spring, let’s dive into our gardens together. From soil selection and regional plant preferences to advice on watering and maintenance, your garden will bloom beautifully this season and beyond. Remember, gardening requires hard work, so don’t forget to take breaks and hydrate with Absopure!
