Spring Time in the Garden
A common question I get asked regularly is about soil preparation, spring cleanups and the products we use for garden care. With all products you must read the instructions! We start the gardening season at the end of April once the weather and soil start to warm up. Our most basic tasks include removing leaves that were left in the fall, weeding and removing winter debris (trash, gravel, broken branches). Prepping the soil is the next step and the most important step.
Amendments for Gardens- Organic Compost
Depending on your soil you most likely want to add some form of organic matter every spring. Soil tests are always a good idea if not sure where to start. We have heavy clay soils where we live in Colorado so we like to add organic compost to break up the soil. Amending means working the compost into the soil. This is not the same as topdressing with mulch. We always add compost to our annual flower beds and new flower gardens and really work it in about 6 inches. Established perennial beds can be harder to work compost in if you have a lot of plants. For these we top dress with soil pep.
Before- Big Load of Organic Compost
After
Before 
After- picture a year later.
Mess of weeds and poor soil! 
After
Mulch for Gardens- Soil Pep
In addition to organic compost we love soil pep for our flower beds. This is a finer, darker mulch which is all natural. It helps keep moisture in and reduces the need for weeding. It is great to use after planting and in established flower beds where top dressing is easier than amending. We spread the soil pep an inch or two thick on top and generally do not work it in.
Mulch for Shrub Beds- Shredded Cedar Mulch
We never use shredded cedar mulch in flower beds only in shrub beds. While it can be done we find cedar mulch harder to work with in flower beds. It is great for hillsides and windy areas. We use it to retain moisture and reduce weeds in shrub beds. Honestly I prefer cedar mulch and do not have positive things to say about large bark mulch and painted mulches. Let’s just say not only are they ugly but they can be awful for gardens since they do not break down easily.
Fertilizer
We use organic granular fertilizer in the spring for our perennial beds. We spread it by hand and then lightly rake it in. This is done again mid summer. For annuals in the beds and containers we spray liquid organic fish kelp. Our annuals are fertilized weekly from mid June until mid August.
We only use natural and organic products and do not use any chemicals for weed control. I started this business when I was pregnant with my daughter and have always feared chemicals. My dog and children were always in the garden when they were little and I wanted to keep them safe.
Happy Spring and Happy Spring Cleanup!
Blossom Better 
That is wonderful. I loved reading it and I find it very informative.
xoxo, Alison
On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 11:35 AM Flowers, Parties and More wrote:
> kathleen cope posted: ” Spring Time in the Garden A common question I get > asked regularly is about soil preparation, spring cleanups and the products > we use for garden care. With all products you must read the instructions! > We start the gardening season at the end ” >
Hi Kathleen! Great info on the soil prep. Thanks for the insights. We have been collecting compostable scraps from the kitchen (egg shells, coffee grounds, veggie and fruit scraps, leftover hops from our beer brewing) for a few years now in a garbage bin that just turns into a primordial organic soup. I don’t add anything else to this sludge. Twice a year (Spring and Fall), I work this into the soil of our vegetable garden (did it this week) BUT I’m wondering if I’m doing this composting thing right. I’ve noticed that my lettuce crop is less productive in the past couple of years since doing this but other things like Kale and beans seem to be doing better than ever. Any insights are always appreciated. Maybe an idea for you yet next blog post?!
Also, I’m considering adding some veggies into planter pots this year as a way to expand the volume and selection of items that I’m growing. I’m thinking I can prep and cultivate these just as if they were in the raised bed that I made. Anything I need to be wary of with this strategy?
Thanks For the insights!
EP
Hi Eric,
Great idea to talk more in depth about composting. Wondering if you are getting enough brown material ( carbon) like dry leaves, paper or wood shavings mixed in with the green materials (nitrogen). If it is smelly and too wet you need more brown material. It should start to look like soil and smell like soil not sludge. The general rule is 3 parts brown to 1 part green for the perfect compost.
Veggies in pots are a great idea especially if thinking about tomatoes. You can put the planters on wheels and wheel them in and out of the garage. The back deck is also perfect place for pots and you can treat them like planters. Nothing to be wary about except sizing. Not going to have much luck with pumpkins or watermelons in a pot.
Great before/after shots and even greater photo of you!
Stores here have never heard of soil pep!
Sent from my iPhone
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I figured I had it all wrong. Now I need to find the undo button before I plant. Thanks for setting me straight. Seems like you told me this before…
Found this today! Maybe there’s hope…
You can lay mulch over the soil with too much nitrogen to help draw out some of the excess nitrogen in the soil. In particular, cheap, dyed mulch works well for this. Cheap, dyed mulch is generally made from scrap soft woods and these will use higher amounts of nitrogen in the soil as they break down. For this same reason, sawdust can also be used as a mulch to help reduce nitrogen in the soil. When you have too much nitrogen in soil, your plants may look lush and green, but their ability to fruit and flower will be greatly reduced. While you can take steps towards reducing nitrogen in garden soil, it’s best to avoid adding too much nitrogen to the soil in the first place. Use organic or chemical fertilizers with nitrogen carefully. Test your soil before you add any nitrogen to the soil to avoid having excess nitrogen in your soil.
Great tips.
Hope it works!