Working in the Garden
Now that you have a little direction for your new garden, working in the garden needs to be enjoyable. Plan you gardening activities more like you would a picnic or a day at the beach. Make a list of all the things you’ll need and gather your supplies during the week so you don’t spend your weekend just gathering materials. Next, you can work on apply roundup after work on Monday or Tuesday because it needs a few days to begin working. When Saturday roles around, get an early start and work at a steady pace making sure to take breaks and drink plenty of water. Gardening burns approximately 7-10 calories per minute which is equivalent to jogging. You can over garden just like over exercising which will result in aches and pains in your entire body the next day. In the general areas where you are going to install your new garden, clean and remove all debris. If weeds are persistent in the garden, apply round up at 2% solution (typically 2 oz of commercial grade round up to a gallon of water and apply using a handheld pump sprayer) Prepare the beds for planting. Use soil conditioner to prepare the planting mixture incorporating it into the existing soil. You will need to use 1 bag for every 15 sq. feet. Make sure the thoroughly work the new soils mixture together with the existing soil using a garden fork. Apply Amaze or Eptam at a rate of 1 lb per 100 sq. feet. Incorporate the pre emergent herbicide in the upper 2” of the soil by raking with a metal leaf rake. These products reduce the population of new weeds in the garden. Add 1.5 pounds of Nursery Special 12-6-6 per 100 sq. feet of bed area. Apply spreading with a handheld Earthway handheld fertilizer spreader.