Make spring gardening easier by preparing your outdoor spaces

The key to a successful growing season is healthy soil. To prepare a garden space for spring, get the ground ready for planting before winter so you can plant crops as soon as the soil is warm. In doing so, the garden will be full of loose, healthy soil once it's time to sow seeds.

• There are a number of different fertilization choices, but the most nutrient-dense option is compost.
• Home made or store-bought compost is economical, and it contains more nutrients than typical fertilizer, which consists of only nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
• Compost contains micro-nutrients, which have a big impact on growing healthy plants.
• Copper, boron, calcium and magnesium are only a few of the necessary micro-nutrients available in compost that aren't typically found in commercial fertilizer.
• Preparing a garden space for spring means adding compost to garden soil in the fall before the ground freezes.
• Place a 1/2-inch layer of compost on the top of the soil, then lightly work it into the top few inches of soil with a rake, spade or garden fork.
• Rain, snow and earthworms will work over the winter to distribute nutrients from compost into the soil, making it fertile for spring planting.

• Cover crops are planted in late summer to early fall, before it gets too cold. Cool season options include red clover, Austrian winter peas and oats, which are available from many seed catalogues.
• Planting cover crop seeds in late summer allows the plants to mature before winter arrives. When the plants die back in the winter, they create a layer of nitrogen-rich protection for the soil.
• As the plants decompose, they deposit this nitrogen into the soil.
• Not only does the decomposition provide nutrients, it also provides foods for soil microbes and fungi over the winter, keeping the soil biology active.
• Once it's time to plant for spring, gardeners don't need to wait for the soil to revive from the harsh winter because it has remained active all winter.
• For spring planting, simply rake back the expired cover crops and insert plants in the garden space.

• If there isn't enough time to grow cover crops, mulching is a good option to keep soil protected over the winter.
• A heavy layer of mulch, six to eight inches deep, will also work to provide food for microbes and fungi as it decomposes over the winter.
• This mulch also prevents soil erosion, soil compaction caused by rain and snow and suppresses winter and early spring weeds.
• Once it's time to plant, rake away the mulch covering the beds, and the soil will be loose, weed-free and ready to plant.

With proper preparation, spring and summer crops are healthier and provide a more plentiful harvest. Fall preparation also greatly reduces the amount of time required to prepare for a new season of planting, making gardening a much more enjoyable task.