Spring Gardening

Winter is history and the time has come to prepare for spring gardening. Whether you have a large garden with lawns and trees, or even a flat balcony, you can share in the joys of spring. To ensure a beautiful spring garden, there is a lot of preparation to do.

The first step is to trim all the shrubs and trees and take care of the lawn. Clear all the matting from the lawn by raking it over a few times. This will help the lawn breathe by shedding its winter coat.

The second step is to get rid of all the weeds in your garden. Remember, tilling the soil leads to further spread of weed seed. If the plant beds are already planted with perennial shrubs, carefully remove weeds manually, making sure to remove the roots too. Eradicate weeds from unplanted beds by using suitable products.

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The third step is to work compost and fertilizer into your beds. It is important to remember that plants need both to thrive. Compost helps to improve the drainage of soil and it also puts bacteria back into the soil that helps plants to absorb the nutrients, especially the Nitrogen (N) contained in the fertilizer. Work the fertilizer and compost into the soil at least 30 cm deep.

In the beginning of spring, it is important to add a general fertilizer that consists of equal parts of the three most important nutrients needed by plants: N (nitrogen) to promote rapid leaf growth and a healthy green color, P (phosphate) essential for the distribution of cells at the growth points of plant roots as well as  those above ground, and K (potassium) to promote flowering and fruit formation in plants.

The plant also requires trace elements (also called micro-elements) such as Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn) and Boron (B) in small quantities. Choose a product that contains all off these trace elements, preferably organic. A product that not only contains micro and macro nutrients, but also essential bacteria that plants require to grow optimally, is ideal.

Now the spring preparation of your garden has been completed and you can look forward to a splendid garden this summer!

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