Four steps to start your garden

Want to get started on your gardening? Here are some tips to consider from Countryside Flower Shop, Nursery & Garden Center before you dig in:

1. Be patient

The ground is too cold to direct sow seeds at this time. Cool-season veggies can be direct sown the third week of April or planted at the end of April. Countryside has trays and the seeds you need to sprout your garden indoors until it can be transplanted outside. You do not want to plant outdoors until the threat of frost is gone. For warm-season veggies, a good rule of thumb is to plant after Memorial Day. If you do plant early, be sure to sign up for Countryside’s e-newsletters as frost warnings are sent out in a timely fashion so customers can take the proper measures to protect their new plantings.

2. Look for the light

When starting a new garden, be sure the area you choose receives at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight and has well-drained soil. Adding compost to the area now and letting it settle in before you plant is ideal. This will provide nutrients to the soil so roots can easily be established. The soil needs to be dry when you add your compost and till. If you grab a handful of soil and it clumps, it is still too wet to work. Not enough sun in the yard? Growing vegetables in containers on a deck or patio can be an easy solution. You can place your pots on rolling caddies and move them as the sun shifts later in summer to keep your veggies growing and the fruit maturing.

3. Spray repellents

Roughly two weeks before you plant your garden in your yard, spray repellents. As rabbits and deer look for food, not only will they not like the way this area smells, but they will realize there is no food for them there either. As you plant in that area, rotate the repellents you use so that the hungry critters don’t get used to the one you are using, but learn that they don’t like that area anytime.

4. Get to the root of it

Always always use a root-stimulating fertilizer. Countryside suggests Bonide Root and Grow. Whether you plant in the ground or containers, flowers or edibles, a root stimulator is your best bet to obtain good root growth, the foundation of a strong, healthy plant.

For helpful videos by the professional staff at Countryside, visit www.countrysideflowershop.com , follow them on Facebook, YouTube, or simply stop in.

Countryside Flower Shop, Nursery & Garden Center : 5301 E. Terra Cotta Ave (Rte 176), Crystal Lake, IL : 815.459.8130 : www.countrysideflowershop.com