Rules of Thumb to Help You Prepare for the Gardening Season

Believe it or not, the gardening season will be upon us before we know it. Below are a few gardening facts to help you prepare for the upcoming season.

• Soil tests should be taken in the garden every three years.

• The best time to collect a soil sample is in the spring after soil thaw.

• Fall soil sampling is not recommended because nitrogen in the soil is depleted during the fall and winter seasons.

• Do not work soil when it is wet. If the soil sticks to the shovel, wait a few more days.

• The number one thing that kills our plants is TLC. Don’t over fertilize, don’t over trim, don’t over water.

• A sandy loam or silt loam with 5-8% organic matter is an ideal soil.

• Try to avoid using horse manure in the garden as residual herbicides are more prominent than cattle manure.

• Adding ashes to the garden is not recommended because it increases the pH in the soil

• Be cautious about over tilling your garden soil. Too much rotary tilling creates a compaction layer which can affect vegetable productivity. MSU raised some carrots, which were bent 90 degrees because the soil was over tilled and created a compaction layer.

• Rear-tine rotary tillers are easier to operate then front-tine rotary tillers.

• The ragdoll test is important in determining seed germination. Take 10 garden seeds of one variety and place the seeds in a damp paper towel. After two weeks, come back and count how many seeds have germinated. If five germinate, double the seeding

rate.

• Seeds should be planted 2 ½ times deeper than the diameter of the seed.

• Carrots can be planted using planting strips, which require no thinning. The planting strips are precisely spaced seeds enclosed in a water soluble material.

• Gardens should not be planted until the last frost in the spring. Average last frost in the spring is May 15; for Big Sandy, May 20; for Carter, May 11; for Fort Benton, May 8; for Geraldine, May 23; for Highwood and May 25; for Kenilworth.

Montana State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Montana Counties Cooperating. MSU Extension is an equal opportunity/affirmative action provider of educational outreach.