Moving on to the second half of Growing Plants from Seed… Prepare your garden bed with four inches of compost—make your own or buy it bagged at a garden center. Till the soil after adding compost but before planting. Dig holes for each plant using a garden trowel. Holes should be the same depth as the seedling pots. Water the seedlings before transplanting so that the roots are nourished and loose. Gently tease plants apart. Place each seedling in its hole to the same depth that it was in the pot. EXCEPTION: Seedlings that have grown leggy—with long stems that only have leaves on the end—should be planted so that most of the stem is below ground. Cover seedling with soil and water. Thereafter, water daily unless there is significant rain (a ½ inch or more. To Test:  Feel to a depth of about two knuckles under the soil. If it is moist, there is no need to water. 

You know, I am sure that it is still too early to plant outside,  In our area we have to wait until there is no danger of frost on young plants. If you are not sure when that is, ask at your local garden center or seed shop. The Farmer’s Almanac suggests that in our zone, we wait until Mother’s Day weekend. 

Here are a few other hints for preparing for Spring gardening… buy a box of cheap diapers to put in window boxes when you are putting new soil in them. Attach a basket of string, dried grasses, yarn, ribbon, etc. to a fence post for the birds to use when they are building nests. I Iike to use bright colors so that I might spy the nests more easily up in a tree or deep in a bush.

It is time for the Hummingbirds to start coming back to our area. If you haven’t experienced watching the Hummingbirds flock to the feeders you are missing a special treat. I like to plant red blooming flowers in the area in which I hang the feeders so they will return often. More on that next month.

Happy Gardening…