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Essential Gardening Tips for Spring

I have been looking forward to being able to say “Spring is here!” and the moment has finally arrived. Although us New Englanders are still facing some lousy, bitter cold (and even a March blizzard, what gives!), March 20th brought with it the first official day of Spring. My backyard in particular needs a lot of help, so I look forward to documenting its progress as we go! In the meantime, keep these essential gardening tips for Spring in mind:

On a nice sunny day, consider taking these steps to get your yard ready for the peak of the season!

Clean Up the Garden

This is probably one of the least fun parts about Spring- the cleanup! The Fall and the Winter wreak havoc on your precious gardens in the sense that there are leaves and weeds everywhere. Be sure to pull out all of the roots so they don’t grow back.

Revitalize your soil

You want to make sure your soil is moist and packed with nutrients before planting anything this Spring. The best way to do this is by adding an organic manure or compost. To be sure you have the proper treatment you may consider having your soil tested so you can add a customized component. People add fertilizer to guarantee healthy soil and longer life for your plants. We will get more into your options with healthy soil in the coming weeks.

Prune Old Plants

The best way to get plants that survived the winter is to give them a good ol’ trim! It’s essentially jump-starting the plants system so it will thrive in the warm sunny days to come. However, do not do this until Mid-April or early May. As you know, March and early April can still bring some cold spells. Trimming back plants too early will leave them vulnerable and will be more likely to die if exposed to freezing temperatures.

Mulch

We’ve seen a few debates over which kind of mulch you should use on your garden, but we’ll get to that. Adding mulch to your garden will help prevent weeds, it will lock in the moisture and will help regulate temperature. Be sure to keep the mulch a few inches away from the stem of the plants so they do not rot!

Get Planting!

Once everything is cleared, revitalized and ready to go- you can start your planting of new shrubs and flowers! We would suggest picking up perennials so you do not need to buy new plants next year (annuals). There are many great Spring plants to choose from such as Pansies, Lilacs and Tulips just to name a few. We will be discussing the importance of paying attention to where you purchase your plants from and how they were treated prior to sale- as many corporate home centers sell plants that have damaging effects on surrounding wildlife. Stay tuned!

Now that Spring has Spring your hands are about to get pretty dirty! Give our Gardener’s Friend Hand Scrub Soap a try and enjoy having soft clean hands after a hard days work!

Easy Eco-friendly Holiday Practices

A motto around this farm? Waste not, want not. There are so many easy eco-friendly holiday practices you can adopt this holiday season. Taking care of our environment isn’t hard to do but every bit of effort can help make a difference on a massive scale!

Here are some of the ways we aspire to keep our Christmas as green as the tree in our living room!

Shop Locally-owned Businesses

There are almost too many reasons to shop local mom & pop stores to count. From one of a kind items to directly contributing to your community’s economy – nothing feels better than putting your money where your home is. Not only are you more likely to score unique, high quality gifts but you are also cutting out the need for expensive and wasteful shipping methods.

Recycled wrapping paper

We’ve already outlined the many gift wrap alternatives to consider this year- but it’s worth re-enforcing. Whether you make use of old newspapers, calendars, maps or even fabric- avoiding traditional wrapping paper will bring more joy to the holidays (and the planet). There are many companies that now offer recycled gift paper but we’re partial to the concept of making use of materials you already have lying around. Take advantage of these easy eco-friendly holiday practices – especially when wrapping presents which is arguably the worst part!

Less will be more

How many years do you look at your living room after opening presents and realize you not only spent too much money, but you bought too much junk? Less really can be more- especially when every gift has a little more thought put into it. Consider cutting back on useless spending this year. A helpful tip? Ask yourself if the recipient of your gift will in fact, still be using or loving it in a year’s time before sealing the deal. Sometimes tiny useless trinkets help fill the space under the tree, but don’t last long before meeting the trash can.

Give money to charity or a good cause

A good rule of thumb for every Christmas is to set a budget. What if this year, you took a fraction of that amount and decided to donate it to a charity or organization that could really benefit from your support? Take a moment to consider what you value in life and see who is out there working for it. Whether it’s environmental conservation or sick & terminally ill children– people are out there every day trying to make a difference. Imagine how good you’ll feel when you’ve helped them continue their mission!

All-natural decorations

This one should be obvious but based on what I see everytime I go to the store I’m not sure most people think about this! There are so many ways to decorate your home for the holidays without buying that plastic crap! Wood, burlap, natural pine, poinsettas are just a few of the many natural options available to you.

Use Timers for your holiday lights & decor

Light timers have to be one of my most favorite inventions of the last 10 years or so. Quite frankly I use these year-round, but they’re especially helpful during the winter seasons! This is such a smart way to ensure you still have your lights and decorations lit during the optimal times. No more will you forget to turn them off before bed- wasting all that energy! Set the timer to come on during the most popular hours of the evening so everyone can enjoy your displays and to shut off after a few hours. This will not only help the planet but it will keep your energy bill down 🙂 This is one of my favorite eco-friendly holiday practices because it only requires your attention for 5 minutes and then you’re set for a good month (or however long you’re set up for the season!)

Make the most of your shopping trips

I’m the first to admit I am not always the smartest when it comes to time management. A few years ago I finally made the most of every single time I got in my car to go somewhere. Christmas shopping is no longer an exception. If you are headed out in search of a single gift- perhaps you could take a moment to consider the other stops you could include on your way so you reduce the number of times you’re buzzing around town? It may add a few moments to the intial outing, but it will save you gas, energy and time down the line!

Recycle all your wrapping paper & filling

If you decide to go with traditional gift wrap, be it paper or plastic- please please please recycle it. Ideally you are actively recycling all of your trash one way or another. Even if you use the wrapping paper to help build fires in your fireplace- at least you’re getting more than one use out of it!

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Essential Gardening Tips for Spring (vol. 1)