Ah, May. The month that the weather magically becomes nice and we suddenly remember that we need to plant a garden (and clean up the yard for the spring, and plant annuals, and mulch, and…). It becomes overwhelming really quickly. You just want to rush through all those gardening tasks so you can get on with enjoying the warm(er) weather.
But! Rushing has its downsides. While it feels great to get your tomatoes planted, if you haven’t prepared their planting area to ensure they’ll have access to plenty of nutrients throughout the growing season, you’ll get a few tomatoes and nothing like the dozens or hundreds the plant is capable of producing. It’s such a disappointment to nurture vegetable plants all season just for them to produce a measly harvest.
So, what should you do to give yourself the best chance at gorgeous, plentiful veggies for the entire season? It’s all in the preparation work. Take a few extra minutes to complete these three steps and you’ll have your best season yet:
(1) Clear Out Anything Left in Your Garden From Last Year
Are all your veggies and herbs still in your garden from last summer, but just very brown now? There’s no shame in that. I did exactly ZERO fall yard clean up last year (justifying it to myself because bees and other insects overwinter in hollow stalks, which in my mind meant that I was off the hook for any fall yard clean up). But to make way for new, fresh, healthy plants, you need to remove any dead or diseased veggie and herb plants.
Be careful not to remove plants that come back each year! The vast majority of vegetables are annuals, so they won’t survive a Chicago winter. But several herbs will come back each year, including oregano and chives. Save yourself some money and don’t pull those out.
(2) Loosen the Soil with a Garden Fork
Plants and people have a few things in common, one of which is that we both need oxygen to survive and thrive. Since plants absorb all their nutrients through their roots, they need air pockets by their roots. Help create those air pockets and make your soil light and fluffy by using a garden fork. Insert the garden fork in your soil, wiggle it back and forth a bit, and remove it. Repeat every few inches over your entire garden. (For those of you who have spectacular lawns, this is like lawn aeration!) Voila: air pockets.
(3) Spread 1-2 inches of Compost over the Top of Your Entire Garden
Plants absorb an incredible amount of nutrients from the soil each year. If we don’t find a way to replenish the nutrients, our vegetable and herb plants will become more sad and sickly with each passing year. How can we replenish the nutrients?
Spread an inch or two of compost over the top of all the soil in your garden each spring before you plant. The incredible amount of nutrients in the compost will work its way down to the roots of the veggie and herb plants throughout the season, ensuring they have all the nutrients they need to thrive and provide you with incredible harvests. Plus, your garden soil will stay light and fluffy, which is ideal for all of your plants.
There you go! These three quick and easy steps will create a dramatic difference in how healthy your plants are and how much you are able to harvest this summer.
Happy growing! Your next step is planting, which is fun and rewarding. If you need ideas about what to plant, scroll down and download the Growing Guide. Hint hint: May is not the only time you can plant veggies and herbs! You can plant veggies and herbs each month throughout the growing season to make sure you have a steady supply of veggies and herbs to eat, The growing guide will help you decide what to plant each month so you don’t lose plants to heat or freezing temperatures, ensuring the time you spend gardening doesn’t go to waste.
