Garden Planning for Spring and Summer

Is garden planning on your to-do list this spring and summer?

Deciding what to grow in your garden is one of the most essential steps in gardening; sometimes, it can be the most challenging too. If you focus on the three main keys to success, you can’t go wrong: available sunlight, soil type, and climate.

1. Available Sunlight:

When trying to figure out what area you want to plant your garden, ask yourself, does it get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day? If it does, consider it a sunny spot; if it doesn’t, consider it a shady spot.

2. Soil Type:

Every plant prefers a specific type of soil. A great way to improve overall soil is to mix 3 inches of All Purpose soil into the top 6 to 8 inches of your existing garden soil.

3. Climate:

Climate is another crucial aspect to consider when deciding what to plant in your garden.

When discovering which plants fit your specific growing conditions, visit your local Feeds’n Needs store; they can provide helpful tips and tricks to help get your garden prepped for the growing season.

Here are a few plant types that suit some common growing conditions:

• Shade – ferns, hydrangeas, sweet woodruff, hostas, azaleas
• Sun – fruit trees, vegetables, daylilies, roses, ornamental grasses
• Heat – angelonia, coneflowers, sage, oregano, prairie natives, cactus
• Pots – annual flowers, bush-type edibles, herbs, perennials

Growing in containers is a great way to create custom growing conditions. Not only can you move them around to get more (or less) sunlight and choose to keep them indoors or outdoors, but you can also customize your soil.

The bottom line on choosing what to grow depends on how much elbow grease you’re willing to invest in keeping plants happy.

Sources: Making the Decision on What to Grow in Your Garden | Miracle=Gro (miraclegro.com).