How I wish I could broadcast this instead of writing so that it would be on-the-breaking-minute news. But even so it would still be too early to know what damage the past winter has done; thats part of the excitement of gardening.

Some of the damage shows up now, more will be caused if we have very heavy late freezes and some wont show up until the hot, dry days of late June or July. That makes it difficult to diagnose winter damage.

Have you discovered the usefulness of sawdust? Although we long felt that it was too acid, if not completely injurious to plants, we now know that it is neither. For a mulch it is better to get the coarse sawdust from outdoor sawmills. The very fine sawdust that you get from the local lumber yard makes an excellent thatch roof that sheds water and consequently is-of no value for a mulch.

For those living in the North the March winds can do more damage to plants than the hard freezes of winter. Right now plants are moving from a dormant to an active state. Growth impulses take place, not in the roots, but in the buds, which are exposed to all changes in temperature. Azaleas, forsythia, and other early – flowering shrubs become active with the slightest rise in temperature.

Chill, drying winds can harm unprotected plants. Be careful, therefore, about uncovering plants too soon; many will have started growth. Sudden exposure at this time could be disastrous. Uncover gradually, leaving some protective covering until the new growth becomes a little more hardened.

Digging and soil preparation can begin just as soon as the frost is out of the ground. If the ground is at all workable, get your plowing or digging started. Light, sandy soils can be put into shape sooner than heavier soils.

Nearly all gardens need lime. If quantities of organic matter are used it is absolutely necessary. It neutralizes acids in the soil which result from decomposition of organic matter and other causes, thereby aiding bacterial action. Heavy clay soils are more friable (easier to break up) and their structure improved. Lime supplies plants with calcium; a lime deficiency in the plant will mean a deficiency in food value.

Square foot gardening is a wonderful way to introduce anyone to the first time gardening experience. It requires so little work! Once you have the right soil, there is no tilling, no weeding, and no backaches! You can also be assured of greater success in growing those delicious vegetables. Square foot gardening requires a box that can be made in many different sizes according to your needs and desires. A 4×4 size can hold enough food for one adult for the season. The soil for your box must be carefully mixed with the right ingredients. It should be a mix of three equal parts of vermiculite, peat moss, and several composts. Once you have these components for your box garden, all you have to do is water! The common mistake of novice gardeners is over watering. This will be avoided because the soil mix has natural moisture retainers. The excess water will simply run off. You can place your box garden just about anywhere as long as it has a lot of direct sunlight.

It is much more convenient than a large plot located way out in the back of the yard that seems to attract every weed imaginable. A box garden will have very few weeds because the soil consists of specific clean ingredients.

Gardeners know better than most people, that everything man has came out of the earth. Therefore they respect earth. But if you have decided to make a garden, you must first remember that on the face of this earth there are many places with no soil and that a garden can be made only where there is soil. If you live in a city or a town, I am thinking of your back yard. which probably looks as if it were covered with soil. But the dirt may not be soil at all. It probably was soil once. And you can make it soil again”provided you know what soil is.

Gardening is so much fun that a lot of people, when spring comes around, rush to a seed store, come home laden with seeds, and start planting. Many of them never rush to a seed store again, because they find they “cant make things grow.” Nobody ever made anything grow. A seed is a tiny high-powered bundle of determination to grow. All the gardener has to do is put it where a seed can grow. The people whom spring beguiled into a seed store and could never beguile again”those people usually put the seed in dirt all right., but not in soil.