Gardening on Your Mind? We Can Help!

As the spring temperatures begin to rise, we begin to look at our outdoor spaces. Soon, the dreary browns will begin to turn to lush greens, budding blooms and warmer, longer days will be upon us. Officially beginning March 20, spring brings with it the exciting plans for your summer garden. If you are beginning your garden prep, Joe’s Market Basket offers some handy tips.

Begin to Clean Up your Garden Area

Over the cold, long winter months it’s most likely your garden “area” became neglected. Debris, leaves, and even broken tree branches have probably landed where your garden once thrived. Now is a great time to begin to clear the area, remove weeds, and start to think about what you may be able to do to improve on your garden this year. Do you need more space or less? What plants would you like to plant this year that you may have read about over the long winter months? After you clean up the area, it’s time to move on to the next stage: garden prep.

Prepping the Soil

As the weather continues to warm, start to get your garden bed ready for planting. Prep the soil by using a pitchfork to turn over and aerate the ground, then add nutrients with compost or manure. Not sure what’s best for your garden? Ask a Joe’s Market Basket staff member for advice. Prepping soil should be done at least two weeks prior to planting anything because it will burn the roots of any new plants if it hasn’t had time to mix in with the soil. It’s important to plan accordingly.

Get Planting!

It’s exciting to decide what you want to plant in your newly prepped garden! From vegetables to flowers, the possibilities are endless. If you want a vegetable and herb garden, take time to learn about which plants do well planted next to each other, and make sure you give the plants enough room to flourish. For example, cucumbers need a lot of space to expand upward and outward to grow, but if you give them enough room, you’ll love the results! Also, petunias can be ideal companion plants to veggies because they are known as Mother Nature’s version of a pesticide. Tomatoes, peppers and beans do really well planted next to them.

Whether you need help choosing which plant to bring home or what fertilizer is best for your yard, the staff at Joe’s Market Basket are ready to help you with your every need. For more information about planning your garden, visit us at any of our Edwardsville, Godfrey, Troy, St. Peters, MO or O’Fallon, IL locations. You can also visit us online at www.joesmarketbasket.com. Happy planning (and planting) from all of us at Joe’s Market Basket!