6/10/2023 0 Comments Spring cleaning timeBut plastic quick-connectors, for example, will rarely hold their strength for a year of constant exposure to weather. Irrigation fittings tend to be fairly durable but will become brittle over time. The same is true of some plastic fittings, though not all. Garden hoses, unless you've paid a king's ransom for them, are notorious for not weathering well, and if they haven't been kept out of the cold over the winter, they'll almost certainly be in worse shape in the spring. Pay particularly close attention to garden hoses and any plastic fittings. Look carefully for leaks, bulges, discolorations, and anything else that seems even slightly out of order. To avoid dealing with a flooded garden (or, worse, basement or greenhouse), do a test run on an early-season warm day. ![]() But it's certain that, if you don't find and fix the trouble spots now, they'll let you know with great drama when it has become too late. There are as many sprinkler and irrigation systems as there are gardens, so only you can know exactly what needs to be done. You won't have room or time for it later. But if you didn't take care of those things then, now's certainly the right time to give everything a good scrub. By the way, this is also an opportune time to sharpen the hand tools that can be sharpened, whether they need it or not.įall is probably the season for deep-cleaning your potting bench, garden shed, and/or greenhouse, if for no other reason than to prevent grime from becoming more stubbornly attached over the off-season. Other cleaners will work, but they probably come with cautions that make them unsuitable for gardening. For example, you can soak in a 10% bleach solution for 30 minutes a good wipe-down with alcohol a few minutes in a 10% trisodium phosphate (TSP) solution or a bath in a 25% solution of pine oil cleaner. But it's always a good idea to get a clean start, and you can do it using any number of disinfectants and methods. Properly disinfecting tools also help to prevent the spread of disease, and you should do it as often as necessary throughout the year. And always keep in mind that there's a risk of introducing pests and diseases when importing soil, so take it from nearby or, better, from an active compost pile. ![]() If you are actually following a permaculture-style program, you'll want to pay particular attention to its prescriptions here. This is particularly important if you've used an underlayment of twigs or other coarse material in a Hugelkultur-style bed, since soil will tend to collapse into the gaps created by such material. A couple of things you'll want to un-amend your garden soil with first include any pet poop and those assertive, early-rising garden citizens we call "weeds." You can never start weeding too early in some areas of the country, and you can never weed often enough, no matter where your garden grows.Īdd soil or compost to your raised beds as needed. Spring is also the time for a new round of soil testing and amendment, although the schedule and nature of amendment will vary a lot based on the type of garden you have and its particular contents.
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