The Garden Plan: 2010

When it's dark and dreary in January, it's really your last chance to design a plan for the coming spring, so haul out those garden catalogs or surf the Web's plethora of garden sites for ideas.

We like to start with what we most like to eat fresh, can or freeze for winter, and those plants that provide the most bang for the buck. The lists below are on this year's game plan.

Herbs

Aromatic herbs are one of the simplist ways to get a lot for your money, especially if you are growing perennial herbs, which are also very attractive landscaping plants that attract beneficial insects ... always a good thing for the garden. When you consider a single bunch of organically grown parsley runs about $1.30 in the store, it doesn't take long to recoup your investment.

Caraway - We use a lot of caraway, especially in the winter. It's particularly wonderful with borscht and pork dishes.
Italian parsley - Our plants took a beating this year and life is much harder than it needs to be in its absence.
Dill - We can't get enough dill, though we admit that it's one of the harder weeds for us to grow even though it self seeds.
Sage - Our plant is huge and needs some serious trimming.
Rosemary - Like the parsley, our rosemary has been battered, so we'll be doing some propagation of new plants this year.
Tarragon - One of our standbys, it's located where it's happy ... in full sun ... we're anticipating the first glimpse of green.

A little work in early spring provides big rewards later

Early spring is a celebration of the new cycle of life in the garden. Everything in your garden depends on the soil. What you do now determines whether your plants are going to have nutrients and moisture later when they need it.

It is a good time to have your soil tested and add any amendments that may be needed. Do this as early in the season as you can. Some amendments need time to stabilize in the soil before planting tender young plants. Once the soil is dry enough, check the texture of the soil and add as much organic matter as needed. A little organic matter now will help conserve water and keep plants at a much more even moisture and temperature level during the harsh summer months. Read more ...

More on soil

There are several critical factors you need to know about your soil. First, is the pH. The acidity or alkalinity of your soil determines what will grow happily in your soil and what will fail. Some plants like blueberries and rhododendrons like to be on the slighty acid side—that is, with a ph of 5 to 6. Other plants favor a more alkaline soil with a higher pH of 7 to 7.5.

Soil composition can vary not only from city to city but literally from front yard to back. Your soil may be loamy or silty, or like ours in the Willamette Valley of the Pacific Northwest, really very clay-ey. Before putting in precious plants, you need to analyze the character of your soil. Read more ...