March Maintenance

Spring is slowly (and this year especially) coming around the corner. If you can capture a sun break, it's time to venture into the garden and start planning for the year ahead. Here is a nice little list of places to start:

Pruning
- Remove dead branches. This helps by removing fodder for rot and also revealing the living shape of the plant.
- Prune you fruit trees before they leaf out while you can still see their structure.
- Help nudge your tree or shrub towards their most harmonious shape. This doesn't mean cutting it back from a walkway or the house, but rather helping it show off its best features and stay healthy.

Fertilizing
- As Spring rains come and vegetative growth resumes, it is the perfect time to give your plants a little boost. Especially if they are blooming or fruiting plants.
- We prefer to use organic granular fertilizers, as they leach slowly into the root system and there is very little chance of overdoing it.

Weeding
- Even through the soil is a bit wet, moving through beds and finding leftover weeds is a satisfying way to spruce things up. Be sure to get the crown or root of the weed, otherwise it will be back in short order. Try using a pitch fork or trowel to pop the weed out!

Planting
- Get some annuals going in pots and hanging baskets. If you still have the potential for a hard frost, wait a bit more.
- Perennials planted now have a leg up on the entire year.
- Staking plants that tend to flop now means you don't have the wrangle the plant when it's already big.

Veggie Beds
- Start by softening up the beds with a pitch fork and adding a little organic matter like compost or mulch.
- A few weeks later, some raking will even out the soil and prep the bed for seeds.

- Some chill tolerant veggies are ready to go in - Peas, Spinach, Turnips, and hardy Lettuces can all be planted.
- Take 30 minutes to plan out your planting calendar, so you don't get behind on getting your seeds in on  time.

Design (In Pencil)

Here's a new drawing for a soulful Northwest heritage property. With old fruit trees and lots of space, the grounds are ready for a long term plan. Chicken coops, vegie beds, and a stream side restoration with native plantings are sketched and explored. (Control-click on image to open it larger.)

Two New Books to Recommend

Finally, a book about biochar and planting trees! The author presents the case for Carbon Farming, the process of restoring life in the world's soils, as likely our only chance to reverse global warming before it's too late. (That is, if it isn't already.) Terra preta soils left behind by populous and complex Amazonian cultures now gone tell us a secret to sustainability found nowhere else in history. Biochar and trees are our best carbon-negative tools. Describes ongoing work around the world in the fields of biochar, permaculture, and green energy. A glimpse into the heart of the Biochar Movement.

This book takes a close look into the subtle and complex biology in the soil ecosystem. Descriptions and definitions of soil bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, insects, and gardeners and how these interact with plant roots, soil nutrients, and one another in the soil food web. Instructions for using compost and compost tea to "team with microbes". Written for backyard gardeners.