It's time to get a jump on the growing season

I don't grow vegetables for the simple reason that my home is in the woods on the north slope of a mountain.

In midsummer, I get six hours of sun. Also, I am surrounded by a forest full of critters just waiting for me to plant food.

If you do grow vegetables, or want to grow vegetables, now is the time to get started.

Consider this "to do" list for a really super success.

Starting seeds indoors

If you plan to get a head start on the growing season, this is the month you need to dust off or acquire the equipment for germinating seeds and raising seedlings.

Seed packets offer some advice. A complete kit includes flats, pots for the seedlings, plant lights, warming mats, sterile growing medium, and potting mix.

These can be purchased or you can substitute things you already own or can make, as long as you remember to wash and sterilize whatever you've used before.

Tools and equipment

Inspect your stock of stakes, twine, fertilizers and potting soils, and start restocking your cupboard. Sometimes winter sales can save money. Also, inspect your tools.

Get rid of worn tools and sharpen blades on cutters and saws. If you can, it's a good time to inspect your hose for holes or breaks.

Planting seeds outdoors

If you start your seeds outdoors, now is the time to begin planning what you want to grow. Evaluate your 2014 garden production. What went right and what went wrong? Perhaps you chose the wrong variety of corn or tomatoes, and there are better choices for your environment.

Are you a seed saver? If so, did you do a germination test before you planted to make sure the seeds were still viable? Even commercial farmers can get caught short by using last year's seeds. Many varieties deteriorate over the winter and should be thrown out.

Planning your garden

Draw up a grid of your garden and plan your crop rotations for the coming season.

Evaluate which crops were infested with pests, and decide if moving them would help. Pests and pathogens can winter over in plant debris or in the soil.

Some crops take a lot of nutrients out of the soil. Perhaps a crop should have had more sun. This is your chance to solve some of those problems.

Clean up your garden

As soon as the soil is dry enough you can remove plant debris from the prior year. Garden debris carries pathogens and pests that will come alive when the temperatures rise. You want a good cleanup before that happens.

Composting

If you're a person who piles up yard waste and kitchen scraps and uses what compost develops, put that compost on flower beds. There is no guarantee that you have killed harmful bacteria unless you have that compost tested.

Compost that you plan to use on a vegetable patch needs to reach a temperature of 140 degrees or higher for several days to kill pathogens. It is much safer to compost kitchen scraps with a worm farm (vermiculture).

Tilling the soil

We are in an era of debate about whether or not to turn over the soil in the garden. The advantage of tilling, once the soil is dry enough, is to expose pest cocoons and larvae to cold temperatures and bird predation.

On the other hand, tilling brings up weed seeds and destroys the microbe habitat located in the top two inches of the soil. If you had a really bad problem with, say, squash bugs and borers in 2014, tilling may cut down on the population this year.

Soil structure

If you haven't had a soil test for a couple of years, it's time to test. Gardening takes nutrients out of the ground, especially vegetable gardening where you eat the product instead of returning it to the earth.

Know your nutrient level and pH because microbes can't break down minerals for plant consumption if the pH is too high or low.

Adding organic matter every year makes a huge difference to soil structure. Organic matter in the soil bonds with clay particles to create what we call aggregate, that nice crumbly dark soil we all love.

Aggregates can trap water and nutrients for slow release to plant roots. They allow air to penetrate the soil and gasses to escape.

Your topsoil layer (or horizon) should be as wide as possible for plant roots to develop correctly. That means topsoil (or humus) should be one to two feet deep.

Deeply rooted plants are healthier, and more pest and drought resistant. With a good, deep humus topped by one to two inches of an organically active compost and a wood mulch to keep the soil cool and moist, plants can get what they need to be healthy.

If you have questions about any of these tips or other garden matters, Carbon County Master Gardeners operate a green line on Tuesday mornings from the end of March through October. Contact the Penn State Extension office located at 529 Lentz Train in Jim Thorpe. Call 570-325-2788 or email CarbonExt@psu.edu.