Say goodbye to winter! It's now time to do some spring maintenance in your garden.
Unless you plow snow or sell rock salt, you’re probably happy to say goodbye to winter. The weather was brutally cold at times, but fortunately we had sufficient snow cover to help protect the roots of our garden shrubs and trees. You may see some winter burn on evergreen foliage due to desiccation and some broken branches on woody plants as the result of the weight of ice and snow. Now is a good time to do some spring maintenance in your garden. What are some of these tasks?
After the soil has sufficiently dried, have your soil tested. One the most important things to test is the soil pH, the measurement of acidity and alkalinity of the soil. A pH of 7.0 is neutral, less than 7.0 is acid, and greater than 7.0 is alkaline. Most garden plants prefer soil that is slightly acidic. The soil in the Poconos tends to be on the acidic side. Soil pH is very important to the health of your plants, and even your lawn, because it is affects the availability of essential nutrients, such nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. Be sure to test your garden and lawn soil separately since many shrubs and flowers have different pH requirements than turf grass. Generally speaking, add lime to increase your soil pH and aluminum sulfate or elemental sulfur to decrease it. Soil should be tested once every three years.
You can contact your local extension office to purchase a soil test for $9. Master Gardener’s are available on the first Thursday and third Monday of every month (through October) to answer any gardening questions you may have. Spring into action and have fun! The Penn State Extension office is located at 724 Phillips Street, Suite 201 in Stroudsburg. The phone number is 570-421-6430.