Book Review: The Lean Farm

Gardening Tips for March 2018

     Now is the time to prepare your garden beds for the spring and summer growing seasons. Here in Chico, like much of California, you can actually garden year round. But let’s say you are either just getting started, or you have let last summer’s garden go to weeds, or better yet you planted a cover crop.
     Before you can work up your beds with a broadfork or a shovel, or a spading fork, you should chop off the tops of the weeds or cover crop and set the vegetation aside for composting. Depending on the situation, you can use a lawnmower, or cut the green matter with a sickle, or a hedge pruners. Then I would suggest using a wheel hoe on the weeds or crop and removing the plants into a pile for composting.
Now that you have bare soil, spread amendments as needed. Then dig the soil to loosen it, and do some incorporation of the amendments. Next week, we will discuss soil testing.    

Also, of course, if you haven’t already, you need to order seeds and if you are transplanting, buy some transplants.

     Sherri Scott of GRUB GROWN NURSERY offers quite a selection of starts at the Farmers’ Market here in Chico.
     It is too early to put tomatoes, squash and beans in the ground here, but it is a great time for planting
-lettuce plants
-spinach plants
-seeds of beets, chard, arugula and kale.  

     More to come, and of course email me at David@valleyoaktool.com if you have gardening questions you would like answered.

-David Grau