From House To Home

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It’s cold outside; the ground is frozen; will winter never end? Relax, spring is closer than you think, and with the coming of warmer weather comes the desire to get outside and get your gardens growing. It can be difficult to know where to start, especially if you didn’t do the fall clean-up. Leaves and other debris have gathered in pockets of the yard, plants appear to have not made it through the cold months, and everything is generally ugly. Don’t worry; Bruce Spangenberg, the Horticulture chair at McHenry County College, has some great tips to get your yard and gardens ready for spring and the growing season beyond.

Once the sun comes out and the world begins to thaw, it can be hard to be patient, but Bruce says, “Any kind of planting—vegetable, flowers, trees—obviously you need to wait for the soil conditions to be correct. The snow has to melt and the soil has to thaw out. You don’t want to work a soil that’s too wet, especially if you’re doing vegetables or flowers. If you work it when it’s too wet, you get a lot of clods that will stay there for the balance of the season.”

Being in Zone 5 means that the average last date of frost is the first week of May. Bruce continues, “You have to pay attention to putting out bedding plants—some will tolerate the cold—spinach, pansies, cabbage, peas, and broccoli. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and melons, however, don’t tolerate frost. Even though the soil conditions say to go ahead and plant, you have to look at how [individual plants] can tolerate the weather.”

Another tip is to make sure you are always checking for the hardiness factor in any plant, tree, or shrub you purchase. A Zone 7 plant put in Zone 5 might survive a mild winter, but if it does, it might be so stressed that insects and disease kill it later in the season. Local nurseries typically know what plants are good for the zone. If you are using mail order catalogs, be sure to remember to check for hardiness, as you don’t want to lose your plantings after one season.

When planting a vegetable garden, there are some important things to remember. Make sure it is in a part of the yard that gets sun most, if not all, of the day. Residential soil tends to be high in clay, so add compost to create quality soil. Mulch the soil by using straw, leaves, or compost; this helps to conserve moisture and diminish weeds. Around crops like tomatoes, peppers, and melons, you can also use black plastic. Don’t forget to water. Ideally, you want to water down several inches and allow the surface to dry out before watering again. Mulching will help keep the soil from drying out too quickly as well. If this is an annual project at your house, remember to rotate the crops. This, too, helps fend off disease and insects.

Finally, remember that thinning is not a bad thing. Plant the seeds according to the directions remembering that not every seed will germinate. Once they appear, be sure to create the space the vegetables need to guarantee a good yield. Also, if space is at a premium, train some of the plant to grow up a trellis; the yield and quality is often comparable to other growing varieties.

Don’t forget about planter gardening if you have little space or want to decorate decks and patios. Keep in mind that planters dry out faster, so water more frequently. Bruce says, “Stay away from annuals, shrubs, and small trees because it’s harder to winter them [in containers].” Herbs, flowers, and many vegetables do very well in planters and are both beautiful and functional.

April 5 is the McHenry County College annual, free Garden Fest where the public can attend workshops on all kinds of gardening topics. This can be a great place to learn new techniques and find answers to your gardening questions.

Ultimately, Bruce says, “Have a plan in place—decide what you need and where it’s going to go. Do your homework on your plants and make wise decisions before you buy.”