From OSU communication
Stillwater – if you are new to gardening – and even if you are not – it is now the time to develop your spring and summer garden plans. Successful gardening doesn't just happen. Here are some tips and tricks to increase your success rate.
For gardeners who start with a clean slate, map the landscape and decide what you want to grow there. Studying the landscape helps gardeners to imagine where flowers and vegetable beds go and where shrubs and trees should be placed from. If you are still cold during the weather, you can ensure a successful garden season that is rich in healthy plants and rich harvests.
Successful gardening begins with good soil. To carry out a soil test is a good idea, especially for gardeners who start with an empty canvas. This helps to determine which changes may need to be added to the soil. Contact the local Oklahoma State University Extension Office to obtain more information on soil tests.
As soon as a floor test has been carried out and changes are added to increase the quality, you should consider floor tests every three or four years.
Compost is a great way to enrich the floor. The OSU expansion contains information on composting on its website. There are some different composting methods, so choose the one that is best suited for you.
Now comes the funny part – plant selection. The proven program for the selection of plants in Oklahoma is a good way to select plants for the landscape. These plants, trees and shrubs were thoroughly examined and showed that they are growing well under the different growth conditions of Oklahoma. In particular, initial gardeners can collect some valuable information about the system selection. Be sure to choose plants with different flower times so that you have a beautiful color in the landscape throughout the overall growing season.
When choosing the locations for flower and vegetable gardens, make sure that you are near a water source. Do the flowers you want to plant require full or partialand? It is a good idea to keep flower and vegetable beds away from trees and shrubs so that they do not have to compete for light, water and nutrients. Plant systems that have similar needs nearby.
The cultivation of plants in containers is an entertaining way to give the landscape of color and texture. Beds raised can have the same effect. Make sure you use high quality soil in increased beds and good, non -moving media in the containers.
The proper planning will now help to ensure a good harvest of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as bright, colorful flowers in the landscape throughout the season.