Prepping a garden: Local experts give recommendations, advice on planning spring planting

As weather warms up and days get longer, many gardeners look to their soil, and thoughts of seeds and yields start popping up. Getting a vegetable garden ready for spring takes some effort, but with a few key points in mind, the process can be more fun and rewarding.

Whether a plot is newly reclaimed from the lawn or has been a vegetable plot for years, Rennie Phillips, avid gardener and columnist for the Southeast Missourian, says the first and foremost point before planting anything is to have garden soil pH tested. Local University of Missouri Extension offices have testing kits available, Phillips says, and it's easy enough to do.

"Collect soil in your garden, send it in, get it back, results tell you exactly what fertilizer you need. Start out in perfect shape that way," he says. "As much as vegetables are, the test is cheap!"

Donna Aufdenberg, horticulture specialist in Bollinger County and Master Gardener coordinator for Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Iron, Madison and Perry counties, agrees.

"The soil test tells you whether your pH is right, and what nutrients you need to amend the soil," she says.

Commercially available fertilizers often have what's referred to as the NPK ratio printed on the label, Aufdenberg says.

"NPK stands for nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium," she says. "A lot of people use the rhyme 'shoots, roots, fruits'" to remember what each element assists with, she says. Nitrogen helps with plant growth once it's established, phosphorous helps grow the root system and potassium helps with overall plant function as well as yield.

Phillips says once the soil and needed amendments are figured out, planning a planting schedule is the next step.

"Plan it out as far as what crops need to go in the ground and when," he says. "Right now, cole crops like cabbage or broccoli" can go in the ground.

Phillips says some people plant potatoes around St. Patrick's Day in March, but he thinks that's a touch early. Last frost is typically in mid-April, he says, but heat-loving plants such as tomatoes or peppers do better if they're planted a little later than that.

Donna Aufdenberg discusses gardening techniques in her greenhouse Wednesday, March 22, in rural Jackson.Fred Lynch

"I say I plant when I have time to plant," he says.

Aufdenberg says cole crops are fine outside anytime after the beginning of spring, and plants such as carrots or radishes are typically fine to get in the ground earlier in the season, but she starts a lot of her plants in her hoop house -- a type of greenhouse.

"Herbs, vegetables, flowers," she says, "I start in a good potting or seed germination mix."

She says it's important to look for a mix with a peat moss base and a mix of vermiculite and perlite to balance aeration and moisture retention.

"You'll need a container with good drainage," she says. This keeps seeds and roots from rotting.

Donna Aufdenberg shows cuttings in her greenhouse Wednesday, March 22, 2017 in rural Jackson.Fred Lynch

Aufdenberg starts her seeds in plastic flats, typically, and when the seedlings get a little growth to them, she moves them to a four-pack. Plans for seed-starting systems are all over the internet, she says, but "I use a wire kitchen rack," with good light like a new shop light or other fixture with new fluorescent bulbs and adjustable height, so the light can be kept an inch above the seedlings at all stages.

"People tell me about lanky seedlings that fall over," and that can be avoided with this lighting system, she says.

Commercially available heating mats are fine to use with warm season crops like peppers, Aufdenberg says.

"It can make a real difference," she says. "Just don't use bottom heat for cole crops!"

Early spring is also a good time to start plants from cuttings, Aufdenberg says.

Gardening for Donna Aufdenberg starts in her greenhouse as seen Wednesday, March 22, 2017 in rural Jackson.Fred Lynch

"I overwinter a parent plant," she says, like rosemary or lavender, "and take cuttings from that."

Rosemary is good to start in water, Aufdenberg says, as long as the water is changed out frequently to prevent souring.

Above all, she says, "Keep the seed packet. Read the seed packet."

The instructions give exactly the information needed to successfully start seeds, such as how far apart to space plants and how deep to go when planting.

"If you plant too deep, the seeds won't come up," she says.

Phillips says early spring is also a good time to get into the garden soil.

"People should've taken debris out last fall but most people don't, to be honest," he says, referring to last season's dead plants.

He also says it's a good idea to plan when to add what amendments to the soil.

"Lime, if you have to add it, takes several months to get ready to use. Fertilizer, you can pretty well add any time. I use fertilizer every time I plant."

As to what types of plants he likes to grow, Phillips says everyone seems to want heirlooms, "but they have zero disease resistance."

He says he picks the most disease resistant, and information on the label is helpful in this regard, too.

It's important to pick varieties that will do well for you in your space, Phillips says.

Aufdenberg says it's important to check the plant's root system before putting it in the ground, regardless of whether it was started from seed or bought as a seedling.

"Make sure the root system is white," she says, as a brown or black root system is not healthy, which will lead to problems for the plant down the road.

Companion plants, often used in organic gardens to benefit each other, can be useful, too, Aufdenberg says.

"Alyssum is a good plant to bring in beneficial pollinators, not just butterflies. There's a lot of other things you can do, too," she says.

"There's a big push right now to pollinator plants," she says, including several varieties of milkweed, which adds to monarch butterfly habitat, butterfly weed and other native plants.

Phillips says the best advice he can give about gardening overall is not to get in too much of a rush.

"I wouldn't hurry," he says. "A lot of people hurry their garden. Okra doesn't like cold weather. Best to wait until ground's warmer. Peppers don't like cold ground, either.

"It's better to plant when the ground's starting to warm up."